5 Scary Halloween Spending Facts That May Spook You

Happy Halloween

The unprecedented pandemic has certainly stunted our day-to-day activities and even our dearest holidays like Halloween. Health officials have forecasted a new surge in COVID-19 cases in the fall, as temperatures drop and the flu season approaches — all while celebrations, including Halloween, are due to kick off later this month. Below are 5 scary Halloween spending facts that may spook you.

Year after year, Halloween continues to be a highly anticipated holiday in America. But this year, we may have to proceed with caution with respect to trick-or-treating.

On the bright side, Halloween is usually an outdoor holiday as opposed to most other holidays celebrated inside of a relative’s home.

States across the country have either limited or restricted regulations for standard door-to-door trick-or-treating. That being said, residents have tried their best to lift spirits and continue longstanding house decorating traditions.

This blog has consistently been focused on how to save for early retirement, but often we forget to focus on the present. Of course it is imperative to save for your future, but every present day should not be taken for granted. Thus, give yourself permission to enjoy the holiday.

The National Retail Federation (NRF), in a partnership with Prosper Insights, surveyed 7,013 consumers about their Halloween shopping plans. The following 5 scary Halloween spending facts from previous years give me goosebumps!

Interpreting Spooky Halloween Spending

If you’re ever curious why you rarely receive a Halloween greeting card, it’s because most Americans are spending their October budget on costumes, candy, and decorations.

Spending in the past 3 years has hovered around the $9 Billion [yes, B, as in BILLION] mark. Due to the circumstances, I’d expect spending to be reduced this year.

Take advantage of this situation and your bank account will thank your unintentional frugality.

If there’s one lesson from the infographic, it’s that consumers spend money on things they are passionate about! Who doesn’t love Halloween?

And if Americans are spending $9 billion on Halloween, just imagine how many purchases are made in November and December during the holiday season peak.

Either way, this is no excuse to stop you from completely forgetting about Halloween. Dress up if it’s your favorite tradition. But make sure to enjoy yourself while staying safe.

Watching scary movies with jump scares [that you’re probably expecting] may also be an efficient way to practically quarantine yet still enjoy the spirit of Halloween.

If you’re looking to get ahead on shopping too, the Amazon Halloween Store has a variety of options for costumes, candy, and fun to celebrate the spooky holiday.

Just remember to not overdo it on the candy! This will save your waistline and your dentist unnecessary hassle! Cavities are never fun, no matter what age you may be.

Scary Halloween Spending Facts

May each of you reading this be lucky enough to eat a large candy bar this October 31st.

Let me know your favorite costume or trick-or-treat tactic below in the comments.

September Side Income Report | 2020

September 2020 Side Income FLA

Welcome to the 2020 September Side Income Report.

Let’s start this post with the obligatory caveat:

FLA’s side hustle income reports are not for the purpose of bragging. This side income amount of money is by no means impressive. The sole purpose of this series is to inspire you to create diversified income streams in order to help you achieve your financial goals faster.

I began this tumultuous F.I.R.E. (Financial Independence – Retire Early) journey almost immediately after graduating from college and shortly realizing it is never ideal to work for someone other than yourself.

After withdrawing from the corporate world, I plan to fully indulge in my mission of helping 10 million people with their own path to financial freedom. I’ve discovered a wonderful community of people with shared mindsets. So I’m currently on a journey to see if we can turn FLA into a little business that supports the mission.

The reason I’ve decided to publish these income reports is because I want you to be a part of the journey.

After aggressively saving 70%+ of my annual income year after year, I’m approximately 20% of the way to retirement with 10 years to go. I’m aware that side hustles may never fully support one’s expenses, but I’m willing to try.

At the very minimum of making $1/month (what one may consider failure), I am ecstatic as I realize this can be considered supplemental income that will be able to be reinvested into this blog to enhance your reading experience on FLA.

Through my arduous journey, I’ve learned to focus on the future value of money. One dollar to you may look like a standard George Washington-faced bill, but to me, I see its potential.  Accounting for 3% inflation, investing that dollar could return 5 times its original value in 25 years. Yes, that’s like putting $1 into an ATM and having it return a $5 bill back to you. How amazing is compound interest?! Hypothetically, you can increase that principal amount, and you’ve got yourself some unbelievable returns.

My hope with these income reports is ultimately to present some transparency for you. By showing it doesn’t take much effort to earn and save, I may motivate you to chase one of your biggest dreams. Dreams may originally sound outlandish, but they all need to start somewhere, right? Without further ado, here is FLA’s second ever side income report.

 

SEPTEMBER SIDE INCOME REPORT

The best way to make money is to have various streams of revenue. The best way to protect yourself in the course of ill-fated events stripping you of some of your main sources of income is to diversify.

We have all heard the pragmatic advice of “Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.” Well, put this theory into practice. The following is my best attempt to develop additional sources of income. Below are the six ways I attempted to make money from my side hustles in the month of September.

 

 

Stocks are my absolute favorite money making assets. Your money can make money for you with the click of a ‘buy’ button! Sure, there are ups and downs in the stock market, but if you look historically at the S&P 500 Index or the Dow Jones Industrial Average, your investment generally grows over the long term. Remember, investing and gambling are not the same thing.

“If you aren’t willing to own a stock for ten years, don’t even think about owning it for ten minutes.”

-Warren Buffett, American Investor/Business Tycoon/Philanthropist/Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway

Investors and analysts may contend that conducting research on which stock to buy may be active work, but it is a generally held credence that dividends are passive income.

What are dividends?

Simply, they are distribution of some of a company’s earnings to a class of its shareholders. In this case, you are the shareholder. Yes, I know it’s hard to believe, but the company you invest in will reward you with bonus money!

Let’s take a look at the aftermath of the stocks that paid out dividends this month:

Investment Income September 2020

Which stocks am I invested in? I have a few individual stock picks, but the finance community knows this is often a loser’s game. I mainly hold VTI, the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund, which allows you to be diversified and capture 3,525 different stocks with a minimal expense ratio, or annual fee, of 0.03%. Index funds will often take you to the promised land in the long run.

Typically, you have 2 choices with dividends. You can either accept the dividend as cold hard cash or you can choose to reinvest the money back into the same stock automatically. It’s as simple as clicking ‘yes’ button when prompted with the question on whether or not to re-invest dividends.

I strongly recommend you to reinvest your dividends and capital gains. Why? Well, look at this way: you didn’t have the earned dividend money to begin with. Do you really need it at this moment? Why not let your additional money grow even more? Open up an investment account and enjoy the magic of compounding interest by increasing your principal investment.

September Side Income – Stock Dividends Total: $186.21

 

In my free time, I participate in paid surveys. It’s one of my other sources of income. The surveys are mindless and allow you to temporarily escape from life’s struggles and reality. Oftentimes, you have a chance to play your part in society and provide meaningful feedback on hot topics that may be decided by top companies and government officials.

The 3 survey programs I use daily are:

  1. Prolific
  2. Pinecone Research
  3. YouGov

I strongly recommend any of these three survey websites because of the higher payouts. Our time on this planet is valuable. Always consider how much time you are trading for money.

Prolific

Prolific seems to have the highest quantity of surveys available. Each survey also previews an hourly rate to the user. This significantly helps in determining if the survey is worth your time. I’ve seen them range from $3/hour all the way up to $30/hour, but on average are $8/hour.

Pinecone Research

Pinecone Research surveys always reward you with $3 for every survey. Since each survey is typically around 10 minutes long, the site has a pretty standard hourly rate of $12/hour. However, the frequency of surveys is much less than Prolific.

YouGov

Finally, YouGov’s typical survey lasts for 10 minutes and will pay out $1.50, translating to an hourly rate of $6/hr. Even though it is, the lowest payout, it still helps to have supplemental income. Again, always consider the balance between time and money.

YouGov is an eclectic group of the media, nonprofits and companies that congregate to find out what the world thinks. YouGov happens to be one of the most-quoted data sources in the US and across the world.

Prolific, Pinecone Research, and YouGov offer all kinds of rewards, but I normally recommend cash payout via PayPal. The transfer is usually instantaneous. Prolific does pay out in GBP, but the money is translated to USD when conducting a bank transfer in PayPal.

In fact, Prolific does not have a minimum payout, Pinecone’s minimum payout is $5, and YouGov’s minimum cash payout is $50, albeit YouGov offers the option of a $15 Amazon gift card.

September 2020 Survey Earnings

Pinecone Research September 2020 Checkout

Prolific September 2020 Cash Out

Prolific September 2020 Cash Out USD

September Side Income – Surveys Total: $89.08

 

An additional passive income stream is selling your old goods or unused consumer products. Simply list your items with competitive pricing on Amazon and/or eBay, sit back, and let the buyers make you offers.

I notice friends, family, and even co-workers constantly looking to throw out items that are still in perfectly good condition; it drives me nuts! Why not let someone bid on the product? Worst case will be that it doesn’t sell, and then you can throw out the item. No harm, no foul.

At the very least, donate your stuff. I typically enjoy donating old apparel to the Salvation Army and other charities. It always feels good to know your treasured clothing is not going to waste.

This month for September Side Income, I did not have any buyers interested in the inventory, but I’m not upset. The eBay account may not generate a consistent profit, but when items do sell, it’s a nice bonus!

September Side Income – Selling Total: $0

 

As a blogger, I would like to keep the user experience as clean as possible. Therefore, I have chosen to keep all Google AdSense ads from my website. I am an avid reader of many other blogs, and I can truthfully admit it retracts from the reading experience. I am very proud of this decision and will continue with this route.

September Side Income – Google AdSense Revenue: $0

 

I published my first eBook titled “How I Launched, Marketed, and Promoted a High-Traffic Blog in Under 15 Days” at the beginning of August. I only promoted the book as part of the launch, but several people found their way to the sales page. Again, this is a learning process to convert the views into actual sales. As Robert Kiyosaki alludes to in his book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, it’s all about being a best-selling author, not a best-writing author. There is a subtle yet significant difference.

September Side Income – eBook Blog Startup Manual Sales: $0

 

Who would’ve ever thought that spending money would actually earn you money? Well, with cash-back credit cards, now it’s certainly possible. With my Capital One Venture Card, I can now make this dream a reality.

Depending on the card you have, you’ll score 1-2 miles with every dollar you spend. Capital One Miles can be used in a variety of ways, and are generally worth between half a cent and one cent apiece.

Earn 50,000 bonus miles (equivalent to $500) once you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.

This month I was able to keep my spending down due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic that limits the amount time spent outside the house, thus limiting the amount of opportunities to throw away those hard earned paychecks.

Capital One Credit Cash Rewards Cash Back September 2020

After looking at my monthly expense report, I saw that I earned 3,126 miles, which is equivalent to $31.26.

September Side Income – Capital One Credit Card Cash-Back Rewards: $31.26

 

Thank you for taking the time to read through my latest September Side Income Report and thank you for contributing if you have previously purchased something through one of my affiliate links!

If you wish to support this site, but don’t have a need for any of my affiliate products, you could simply do your regular Amazon shopping through any of the links on this site that lead to Amazon.com. You won’t pay any extra and I will receive a small commission. Thanks so much if you do so!

That’s a wrap for this income report! I am looking forward to earning more money on the side in the future. Stay hustlin’, my friends!

Total September Side Income: $306.55

 

Editorial Note – Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.

User Generated Content Disclosure – Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.