Spooky costume ideas for the budget minded

On the hunt for an oh-so-clever Halloween costume but on a budget? Don't fret. There are a slew of creative costume ideas that won't suck the blood out of your wallet.

Can't sew? No problem. There are a slew of do-it-yourself ideas that are super easy. For example, a cardboard box can easily be transformed into robot or race car outfit.

Here's our list:

For women
Marilyn Monroe: Wear white dress, blonde wig and red lipstick
Martha Stewart: Apron with "It's a good thing" signature, blue oxfords, and khakis
Ballerina: Wear an old leotard with socks or ballet slippers

For men
Green Giant: Wear all green including a hat
James Bond: A hand-me-down tuxedo with a martini glass
Harry Potter: Preppy clothing and black-rimmed glasses

For couples
Sonny and Cher: Wear hippie style clothing and high heels for Cher
Peanut Butter and Jelly: One wears all brown, the other one wears all purple

For anyone
Egg: All white with a yellow construction paper circle taped on you..or a yellow hat
Pig in a Blanket: Wear a pig nose and wrap a blanket tightly around you
Ghost: Cut two holes for eyes in a white sheet
Jelly Beans: Multi-colored balloons taped all over you

Beware of energy-sucking vampires at home

Does the prospect of high energy prices this winter make your blood run cold?

With Halloween around the corner, Google has come up with a clever solution to help save consumers money on their monstrous heat and energy bills. The site serves up various techniques on how to combat "energy vampires," or electric and heating appliances that literally suck the blood out of the average consumer's bank account and has the ability to worry folks as winter approaches.

So, in order to help users save a good deal of money per year on these appliances, the ghost busters at Google came up with an application called the Google haunted house which gives users a few Halloween-themed tips on how to help minimize home-energy consumption this winter.

Haunted by ghosts? Close the fireplace flue damper. Wanna combat energy vampires? Turn off game consoles when not in use.

Shown on its micro-site here, they serve up savings tips and ways to cut energy waste. The application also gives an estimate of the amount of money one could save if they follow the tips.

When one enters the number of each appliance such as game consoles, computers or lamps that are being used in the house, the haunted house savings calculator automatically gives users a rough figure of the amount of money they could save and the pounds of carbon dioxide that are not not being consumed.

Also, here are a few tips to combat so-called energy vampires:

• Use a power strip with an on/off switch to fully power down home electronics while in standby mode.
• Use a power strip for multiple battery chargers so it can be easily switched off when not actively charging.
• Unplug or switch off all nonessential devices when preparing to travel out of town.
• Unplug your charger for your cordless phone, portable music play or other portable device after its recharged.
• Plug home electronics, such as TVs and DVD players, into power strips and turn the power strips off when the equipment is not in use (TVs and DVDs in standby mode still use several watts of power). However, while unplugging DVRs can save money, they will not be able to record programs while turned off and program scheduling may need to be reset when turned back on.
• Turn off your computer and monitor when not in use. Alternatively, set to hibernation or sleep mode rather than using screen savers, which do not save as much energy.

Click here for the spooky details.

Halloween tips for trick or treat on the cheap

Halloween is lurking around the corner and the costs associated with the tricks and treats of the season can be a pocketbook horror show.

Shelling out hundreds of dollars on candy, costumes, decoration and accessories? Now, that's scary.

Here are a few tips to save on fright night:

Buy candy in bulk
Head to the nearest BJ's Wholesale Club, Costco or Sam's Club and stock up on your Halloween candy stash. Buying smaller, one-pound bags of goodies at the corner drug store costs about the same as a five-pound bag at a bulk-buying warehouse. The caveat? Bigger isn't always better in regards to variety. Also, not everyone is frequented by a slew of trick-o-treaters. Team up with a friend or neighbor when buying in bulk to split the savings.

Get spooked for less
Haunted houses, spooky hayrides and Halloween-themed amusement parks are a fave in the weeks leading up to fright night. Many attractions offer discounts to patrons if they visit during the weekdays instead of the weekend. Also, some haunts, like Six Flags' "Fright Fest," extend discounts to those who purchase tickets in advance at their online store.

Reuse decorations
Like to transform your home into a full-blown haunted hotspot? Consider reusing decorations from previous years or, better yet, buy seasonal decorations that can be used throughout autumn. Uncut pumpkins on the porch can be showcased in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. Also, hay bales and garland made from plastic fall leaves can be transformed from a Halloween prop into a turkey day treat with ease.

Click here for additional ways to make your Halloween more budget friendly.

Renters willing to live with ghosts to save money

Willing to play host to a ghost? A recent survey commissioned by Wakefield Research on behalf of Rent.com found that 11 percent of renters believed that their home had ghostly guests, while others insisted they would endure paranormal activity to save money.

Here's the lowdown from the Rent.com press release:

In fact, 69 percent of renters would be willing to crash with Casper for the right price. More than half (51 percent) of renters would share their home with a ghost in exchange for free rent, and over one quarter (27 percent) would do it for half-price.

Three in 10 people who have rented (30 percent) said they’d bunk with the boogeyman if they received free utilities, while nearly one in four (23 percent) would do it in exchange for a free flat-screen TV with cable.

Overall, 31 percent of renters said no deal. Nothing, “not even a million bucks,” would convince them to conquer their phasmophobia (fear of ghosts). However, a greater percentage of males than females are willing to live with ghosts for any given tradeoff (74 percent vs. 64 percent).

Click here for the ghostly details.

Morning Deals: Pet food, bath products & costumes

Deal Of The Day:

Pet Food: Free dog food sample

Other Morning Deals:

Bath Products: Buy one select bath product and get the second free at drugstore.com. Offer ends on Halloween

Costumes: Get free shipping on all Halloween costumes at drugstore.com- offer ends October 22, 2009