In the personal finance blogosphere, we talk a lot about how adults can earn more money, cut their expenses and increase their nest egg. Well, what about kids? What are they supposed to do? So today’s entries is geared towards kids, and their most profitable time of year…
How You Can Earn and Save More Candy This Halloween
Tip #1: Just like saving for retirement, you need to Start Early.
I don’t mean start trick-or-treating on Halloween afternoon. I mean start five days ahead of time. Halloween is on a Saturday this year, and it is bound to be busy, so that is why it is absolutely imperative that you start on MONDAY. If you think that people won’t have candy, don’t worry. You might not know this, but stores start selling Halloween candy a month and a half in advance. YOUR NEIGHBORS ALREADY HAVE THAT CANDY.
I want you trick-or-treating every day leading up to Halloween. Here’s how you do it: Don’t repeat any neighborhoods. That way no one will catch on and you will cover a lot of ground, which will be important in Tip #2.
Either get your parents to drive you to a new place every day after school, or if they don’t want to do that, get off the school bus in a different neighborhood every day. (You will have to bring your costume with you and change on the bus to do this)
People might be surprised when they see you trick-or-treating almost a week in advance. When they come to the door, they probably won’t have any candy with them, and they might ask you why you’re trick-or-treating so early. That’s when you will give them one of these three stories. You can use these verbatim:
- “My brother is very sick. He’s at a hospital in (NAME THE LARGEST CITY IN YOUR STATE). We are visiting him this weekend and I wanted to bring him some candy because he won’t be able to go trick-or-treating himself.”
- “My grandpa died in Canada and mommy and daddy say I need to be a big (BOY or GIRL) and go to the funeral there. But they said I could trick-or-treat beforehand.”
- “I have to go to a camp for special kids that day.” (Don’t get any more specific than this)
Tip #2 – Remember which houses had the best candy
Now that it’s Saturday, Halloween day, consider the previous five days your research. Now that you know which houses are giving out the best candy, you can make your Halloween the most profitable ever by visiting them again and again on Halloween.
Here’s the trick. The houses that give out the best candy will have many kids coming through on Halloween. They can’t remember each kid. All YOU need to do is have a costume that can be slightly varied each time you ring the door. So write down the best ten houses you visited during the week and hit them in that order over and over again all Halloween night, changing your costume slightly each time. For example:
Pirate #1: Put peg leg on your right leg.
Pirate #2: Put peg leg on your left leg.
Pirate #3: No peg leg, but put on an eye patch.
Pirate #4: No eye patch, but add a parrot on your shoulder.
Pirate #5: Put on eye makeup and now you’re Captain Jack Sparrow.
See what I mean? No one will recognize you, and even if they did and they pointed it out, just change your voice to fool them and say “But that kid’s peg leg was on the other leg.” Here’s another idea:
Princess #1
Princess #2: Put on butterfly wings.
Princess #3: No wings, but put on cone-shaped hat.
Princess #4: Carry a mushroom and now you’re Princess Toadstool.
With just a few simple accessories, you can change into many different costumes and reap the benefits of those cash cow houses.
Tip #3 – Keep Your Candy Safe
Just like any investment, you want to make sure your candy is safe. So when you get home, hide it in a safe. If your siblings haven’t followed this advice, they will have only small bags of candy to begin with and they will start asking for some of your huge stash. These people are moochers! Your safe should have a combination lock on it so that only you know how to open it!
So this Halloween, have fun and remember Norm’s three tips: Start five days early, visit the best houses several times, and buy a lockable safe. Oh, and stay safe!