The key to saving money at Halloween (or on any occasion, really) is to determine where you spend the most money, and then find ways of replacing those expenses with smaller ones. For instance, the scariest part about Halloween is how expensive some of the costumes are. So, why not make your own? Sites like CostumeIdeaZone.com and Halloween.com feature plenty of user-submitted ideas, ranging from the cute (wear a cardboard box with drawn-on fish and plants and go as an aquarium) to the absurd (wear a cereal box and carry a toy knife to go as a “cereal killer”).Another common money-muncher is food. Whether you’re purchasing for the children in your neighborhood or throwing a party, there are a few “tricks” to getting the “treats” right. Always buy your candy in bulkthe bigger the bag, the better. If you have any left over at the end, donate it to your hungry co-workers after the event. As for party foods, a few well-themed dishes are often better than a smorgasbord of regular foods. Guests may pick at the chicken nugget tray or deviled eggs, but they’ll really flip for some witches’ fingers (finger-shaped cookies with an almond for a nail) or some mummy mini-pizzas (mozzarella on English muffins with lives for eyes). Also, save your seeds when pumpkin carving, lightly salt them, and roast in an oven for another cost-effective snack.When it comes to decorations, don’t purchase more than you have to. Plastic decorations are bad for the environment, and are often discarded after one use. What kind of investment is that? Save your money by using materials you find around the housea haunted gingerbread house, shrunken heads made from apples, etc. You can serve Halloween dips and candies in hollowed-out gourds, which can later be turned into soups or fertilizer. And it’s always more fun for your child to decorate their own trick-or-treat bag (made from an old canvas tote) than to carry the same plastic orange pumpkin that everybody else has.These are just a few examples of ways to save money during your Halloween celebrations. Use your creativity and see what else you can come up with to make sure this year’s scares don’t come when you balance your check book.