Princesses, superheroes and creepy critters will soon be going door-to-door to collect treats, but they may be disappointed with their Halloween candy haul. A new online poll, conducted by Angus Reid for the social media app Nextdoor Canada, asked residents in Ontario how much they planned to spend this year on candy, decorations and costumes. Most of the respondents indicated they were scaling back their budget. The poll showed: 64 per cent don’t want to spend any more than $50 22 per cent aren’t planning on spending any money on Halloween 12 per cent had a spending limit of $69 or less 8 per cent expect to spend upwards of $150 “It wasn’t exactly surprising,” Maya Kosoff, Nextdoor Canada’s communications manager, told CTV News. “It really is in line with attitudes towards cost of living generally, I would say in affordability.” Cutting candy costs The cost of both chocolate and sugar has gone up across the globe. “Price points are much higher than last year,” said Sylvain Charlebois, director of the agri-food analytics lab at Dalhousie University. One way to save money, and keep trick-or-treaters happy, is to swap out the sweets. “Chips are a good buy,” Charlebois suggested. “Last year, chips were the cheapest alternative, and this year is the same thing.” The average price of a Halloween-sized bag of chips in Canada, he explained, was “anywhere between 15 to 17 cents” a bag. “It’s not bad,” Charlebois added. He also suggested buying treats as close to Halloween as possible. “Given what we’re seeing right now, wait it out,” said Charlebois. “Wait until the last minute.” Since Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, it could be a busy night. “People will have more time,” said Charlebois. “We are expecting more trick-or-treaters.” Two other money-saving tips? Experts say many thrift stores carry budget-friendly Halloween costumes. They also recommend reusing decorations instead of going all out on a brand-new display.
