7 Top Tips to Enjoy a Frugal Halloween Party on a Budget
One of the enjoyable aspects of Halloween are the parties. Throwing a Halloween party can get quite expensive. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be. Following are just a few of frugal and budget-friendly Halloween Party tips to help you and your family enjoy a frugal Halloween party on a budget.
1. Buy your candy early and check out the bulk food stores, warehouse clubs and dollar stores. Candy takes stage front and center during Halloween and the weeks preceding it. However, candy can be purchased year around. In fact, if you’re a savvy Halloween shopper and party thrower, you’ll buy next year’s candy right after the Halloween holiday. That’s when it’s cheapest. It’s kind of like buying a turkey the day after Thanksgiving.
2. Invite your guests to bring their favorite Halloween party snacks. This will save you a lot of time and money preparing snacks and you’ll get to enjoy all of the creative snacks people bring. You can then devote your attention to making scary but delicious punch, and decorating.
3. Gift bags – Visit a website like Orientaltrading.com for great goodie bag items. They have all sorts of fantastic Halloween knick-knacks and crafts for an extremely low price. You can also visit your local dollar store for great ideas.
4. Invitations – You can use an online invitation system like evite.com to send email invitations, or if you like old school traditional invitations consider making them yourself. A cut-out black spider from construction paper, glued onto a white note card, is a simple and attractive invitation. You can also make them on your computer if you’re not crafty.
5. Set the mood with music. Fortunately, music is now quite inexpensive. You can download a Halloween album or scary sounds for just a few bucks. Plug in your iPod or MP3 player, hit shuffle and repeat and your music is set. You can also position speakers in the windows on the front of your home to set the mood for partygoers as they approach your house.
6. Carve pumpkins – This makes both a great decoration for the party and a fun yet inexpensive activity for party goers.
7. Speaking of decorations, you can find them quite cheaply right after the holiday for next year. Also check on auction sites for decorations. Another option is to make your decorations yourself. Sheets, black dye, cotton balls pulled out to make spider webs and other items you can find around your home are enough to create a scary scene. And if you don’t want scary (maybe the children are too young) you can create cute Halloween decorations too. Spiders, bats and Jack O’Lanterns – oh, my!
With a little planning and creativity, it’s easy to enjoy a frugal Halloween party on a budget. Be prepared to plan ahead, ask others to contribute, and embrace your crafty side. This holiday only happens once a year so enjoy it and make the most of it.
Easy Strategies to Save Money on Shipping and Handling Fees
Shopping online is becoming more and more popular. You can avoid the crowds at the mall and find exactly what you want from the comfort of your own home. You can also find some pretty good deals too. But once you put all your items in your shopping cart and check the total, you might be surprised that it’s costing a lot more than you expected.
Shipping and handling fees can really add up and negate any savings you may have found. However, that doesn’t mean you should log off and drive back to the mall. Here are some easy strategies you can use to save money on shipping and handling fees when you’re shopping online.
* Comparison shop. When you’re comparison shopping, remember to add up the total amount including the shipping and handling fees. This isn’t as straightforward as it sounds. Some companies will include shipping and handling in their prices, while others add it on to the total once you’re ready to check out. Add the totals including all associated fees before you decide which is the better deal.
* Shop ahead of time. One of the big conveniences of online shopping is that you can arrange to have your purchase delivered overnight. That’s a big stress reliever when you’ve forgotten to pick up a present for tomorrow’s birthday party, or when your printer runs out of ink and you need to print something yesterday. It can also add a lot of additional expense, though. Save money by planning ahead of time and purchasing well in advance. That way you can use the least expensive, and often the longest, shipping method.
* Search for “free shipping.” When you’re shopping online, try an internet search for places that will ship your item for free. In the search engine, type the item you want to purchase along with the words “free shipping.” This could bring up some possibilities that you may have otherwise missed. You can also find really good deals by shopping this way.
* Ship to a local store instead. Sometimes you will find an item you need online, but it isn’t available locally. Some companies will charge shipping and handling fees for delivering that specific order to your home. However, if they have a local store, they may ship it there for free. They can do this by including it with their regular shipments to the store. You will have to go to the store to pick it up, but that’s a minor inconvenience when you think of all the money you can save.
* Make bulk orders. Some online stores will give you free shipping and handling if you order a certain amount. If you really need those purchases, it can be smart to order more so you qualify for free shipping. However, if you’re only adding items to your shopping cart to avoid shipping fees, you may have been better off paying the extra fees instead.
Online shopping is a great way to save time and money. By using these tips for saving on shipping and handling fees, you can save even more and still get the items you need.
How to Find Last-Minute Labor Day Getaways for Less
Labor Day is just about here, which means summer is almost over and autumn is on its way. This is the last long weekend of the summer season. So that means it’s the perfect time to plan a getaway. If you have left planning your Labor Day getaway until the last minute, don’t worry. There are still plenty of quick trips you can plan to celebrate the end of one season and the start of the next. They can also be very affordable; you just need to know where to look to find them.
Here are some frugal ideas for finding last-minute Labor Day getaways for less:
1. Check out Expedia.com. Expedia.com lists last-minute deals and offers for travelers looking for a quick getaway. When you find a trip that appeals to you and is in your budget, be sure to book it right away. Their great deals are often scooped up almost as quickly as they are posted.
2. Tell your friends. Spread the word that you’re looking for a last-minute Labor Day getaway deal. They might know someone else who isn’t going to be able to make theirs, and connect the two of you. They also may have heard of other getaways you haven’t.
3. Check for seat sales. Airlines often have last-minute deals for travelers on some of their flights. If you’re flexible as to where you travel to, you may be able to fly there at a much cheaper rate than normal. You may not be able to travel on the exact date or at the exact time you want to, but if you can pick up a seat sale, you can travel for a lot less than you normally would.
Call your local airlines to find out if they have any sales and what their destinations are. Your savings on the flight could mean you have more money to spend on fun once you get there.
4. Read the newspaper ads. If your local newspaper has a travel section, start scanning it for ads for cheap travel packages. As Labor Day approaches, you might start seeing some of these. When you find one you like, be sure to book it right away as they are usually booked quickly by other savvy frugal travelers.
5. Call your favorite hotel chain. They might have a sale on room bookings. Call and see if they have any special sales on for Labor Day. Again, you might not be able to be picky about where you go, but the savings could make it all worthwhile.
6. Search on the internet. The internet is always a great source of last-minute information. Search for cheap trips to your destination and see what comes up. Remember to research any opportunity thoroughly before sending any money.
The Labor Day weekend is summer’s last hurrah! Make the most of it by booking a last-minute getaway without breaking your budget.
Labor Day is just about here. It’s an important day in our calendar as it signifies so many things. The kids are going back to school. This is the last long weekend of summer and it’s almost time to get back to our other endeavors. It’s a celebration of the end of a season, and the beginning of another. All that together means it’s the perfect time for a party!
Having a limited budget doesn’t have to limit the fun you can have with your friends and family. You can still plan a party that everyone will enjoy. Here are some frugal ideas for your Labor Day party this year.
1. Host a potluck. Who doesn’t enjoy a potluck meal? As the host, having a potluck is an easy and frugal alternative for you. The food is often the most expensive part of any gathering. When you invite your guests to bring their own, this will cut down on the cost considerably. As well, your guests will enjoy sharing their favorite dishes. With so many different foods to choose from, there is sure to be something that even the pickiest eaters will like to eat.
2. Bring your own side dishes and desserts. If you don’t want to host a potluck, you can still cut down costs by inviting guests to bring side dishes and desserts to share. This way you can prepare a main course, but still save money by not spending for other foods. You might want to make a list of what everyone is bringing so you don’t end up with a table full of desserts and no potato salad.
3. Borrow party equipment. When you’re having a party, everyone wants to come. You don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings by leaving them off the list. Besides, the more the merrier! But you may not have the equipment you need to host a large gathering. Instead of spending your money on extra chairs and tables, invite everyone to bring their own. See if you can borrow an extra barbeque instead of renting one to grill burgers for everyone. You may even want to see if anyone has a canopy you can borrow so you can stay outdoors where there’s more room if it rains.
4. Plan a party in the park. Hosting a party in a local park could be a great way to keep things under your budget. There is usually a covered area you can use, as well as fire pits or grills. You might have to pay a fee to rent the area. However, you can also split the costs with other friends or family members who want to co-host the party with you.
5. Play old-fashioned party games. Entertainment can take a big bite out of your party budget. If you’ll have kids at the party, see if any of your guests would like to paint their faces or make balloon animals for them. Old-fashioned party games like horseshoes or a scavenger hunt can be fun for everyone at the party.
Labor Day is definitely a day worth celebrating! These frugal ideas will help you celebrate the last long weekend of summer while still staying under your budget.
Everyone loves to attend a good party. The costs, however, can be a deterrent to throwing one of your own. Throwing a good party does not have to cost an arm and a leg, however. There are several cost-effective ways to throw a cheap, but great, party. Utilize the following tips to keep your money and your sanity.
* Instead of renting out a hall or a venue for your party, consider having it at the park. Some parks will charge a deposit or a small fee to rent the park area for the day while others require a permit for parties, so be sure to check the local regulations.
* It can be tempting to want to hire a caterer or to order food for the party, but your budget could be better served if you made your own food. You can also hold a pot-luck where all guests are responsible for bringing one food or drink item. This can help to ease the cost on a tight budget. For birthday parties, instead of buying a cake, bake one yourself or have a family member or friend bake the cake for you. This will save money and you can have fun decorating the cake yourself.
* Planning ahead always helps to ease the budget as well. Decorations and such can be purchased beforehand so that all expenses are not paid for at once. Sometimes putting items on layaway can be a big help as well.
* Instead of buying favors at the store, consider making them yourself and involving your family, including children, in the process. Making handmade favors or paper goods can be a great bonding activity. So, in addition to getting a task accomplished, you will be enjoying some family quality time as well.
* Bring your own music. Some events may call for music, but skip the DJ – instead bring a stereo with CDs or even an iPod with songs pre-loaded. DJs can cost several hundreds of dollars but a stereo will keep playing music long after your guests are gone.
Planning a party is a fun endeavor, but not budgeting properly can make the party cost a lot more than planned. Consider having your party in a park atmosphere and providing the food and music yourself. You can enjoy family quality time if you make your own party favors and enlist the family help while doing so. Remember, it’s not the amount of money spent that makes a good party, it’s the company.
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