Money doesn&39;t have to be boring! Each week, CreditBloggers.com takes a look at the lighter side of the personal finance world in a series called Funny Money Friday.

I love Halloween! The spookiness, the candy, the costumes. According to the National Retail Federation, I&39;m not alone in my love for this fall holiday. Consumer spending on Halloween increases 10-20% each year. The average person is planning to spend $64.82 this year, compared to $59.06 in 2006 and $48.48 in 2005. This breaks down to:

• $23.33 on Halloween costumes, including kid and pet costumes.
• $19.84 on candy.
• $17.73 on decorations.
• $3.92 on greeting cards.

An estimated $5.07 billion dollars is going to spent on Halloween in the US this year. That&39;s a whole lot of candy corn and a nice way for retailers to launch the holiday shopping season.

If your kids are gearing up for trick-or-treating this year, you might consider a little karmic balancing by sending them out with UNICEF donation boxes as well. You can order a free Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF collection kit online today and it should arrive before the Charlie Brown special airs. Have a great weekend!

Emily Davidson – Credit.com&39;s Communication Director and former TransUnion credit expert. Emily writes about credit reports, credit cards, loans and personal finance as the CreditBloggers.com moderator.