Halloween is not just kids stuff; many adults also enjoy dressing up and becoming someone or something else for a night. Depending on your budget this can be easily done, just open your local phone directory and look up costume shops.

Depending on the particular costume shop you can expect to lay out anywhere between $ 40 and $100. The cost to purchase a costume from a specialty shop can range from $15 straight up to $1000 or more depending on the costume you choose.

Not only are the costume shops fairing well financially this time of year, but most retail stores also share in the financial windfall of what has become the second biggest decorating holiday.

It seems that we are willing to throw caution to wind with our budgeting system to turn our homes into haunted Halloween havens, and to indulge our fantasies with costumes.

For those who do not mind the extra expense, more power to you. However, there are still quite a few of us, who simply cannot afford to jeopardize our budgets. So, what should a struggle ghoul do? Begin by price shopping as many costume shops as you can. If the cost is still on the expensive side, then check out a discount store such as Kmart or Wal-mart and browse their selection of costumes. Be aware that in most cases you will still spend upwards of $40 in order to obtain a costume for Halloween night.

Keep in mind, that with a homemade cape, mask and bit of face paint you could create a very unique costume that will not cause undue harm to your budget.