Have you noticed something interesting that’s happened? Have you noticed that even though we can be sweating like pigs in 105-degree temperatures (especially here in Texas!) in the middle of summer, all of a sudden you start seeing pumpkins and decorations and costumes for Halloween?! Well, I sure have and it’s really made me wonder.

Even though Halloween is still 24 days away — and when some retailers started displaying those items for sale, it could have been 100+ days before Halloween — this marks the beginning of the single-most financially dangerous time of year!

Believe it or not, the next 85 days could determine your financial success or failure for all of 2013! Ranking only behind the Christmas holidays, Halloween represents the second-biggest consumer spending season.

Despite the current national economic tensions, the National Retail Federation (NRF) still predicts nearly 158 million consumers will participate in some sort of Halloween activity this year, to the tune of almost 7 BILLION DOLLARS. Can you even imagine that?

Take adults and children — yep, adults apparently have gotten in on this children’s holiday — and add it all up, we’re talking about an average of $75 per “consumer” for Halloween this year. And, I’m here to tell you, consumer is the key word!

Even walking down the aisles of your local grocery store you’re faced with row upon row of “specials” and “seasonal displays” tempting you with all those Halloween “must-haves” on sale. Did you know $2.08 BILLION will be spent on candy alone?

And don’t even get me started on the whole costume thing! One report from the owner of a local costume shop said the AVERAGE amount her adult customers spend on a costume is between $165 and $185, which includes the costume, makeup and accessories. Take about $100 off that amount and you have the average amount parents will spend on a CHILD’S COSTUME for a few hours of pleasure!

This adds up to around $2.6 billion for costumes, including about 14% of consumers who buy costumes for their pets, adding up to around $330 million. Do you have any idea how many orphans that could feed for an entire year? Let me tell you: 3,586,960 orphans! That’s right, over 3.5 MILLION orphans who could eat for the next 365 days.

Go ahead with that $2 billion for candy; keep your superheroes both large and small for another $2.6 billion; have fun with all the spooky spider web, cardboard tombstones and screeching pumpkins for almost $2 billion. All I’m asking for is just the costumes for Fido and Fluffy… and trust me, those costumes bring your pets absolutely NO pleasure.

Worse yet, you probably had no intention of spending any or all of that money to begin with. They sucked you in with the oldest and sneakiest marketing trick around — the SALE! Those four letters, that one little word can exert a power that even the most financially-responsible person finds hard to resist.

It’s so easy to think, “Look how much I’m saving on…” instead of turning that idea inside out and taking an honest look at how much you’re spending on something you probably would not have even bought in the first place had they not seduced you with the “sale.” Think how much money you could save by NOT buying on sale!

Now, imagine what you could REALLY acccomplish in both your life — and the world — if you didn’t spend all that money on costumes and candy and decorations. You could make a difference in the life of your family, in fulfilling your dreams, in changing the lives of children around the world! Wow!!

So, if you’re looking to be a REAL superhero this Halloween, you could demonstrate your super-strength resisting all those “spook-tacular” sales; you could use your super-willpower to save a few orphans and in the process save your kids’ teeth from all that candy; you could choose to face your worst nightmare of ending up dead broke at 65 and do something TODAY to turn it into your dream life!

Why not get a head start on Halloween and scare up a little interest with your friends and coworkers around the water cooler and in your family? Don’t forget to leave me your comments below, and be the first to share these haunting ideas on Facebook and Twitter.

Don’t forget to join me this Wednesday evening for my Spiritual Equipping Broadcast. Gather your friends and family and meet me on your TV, radio, smartphone or computer! (Check the sidebar for more details.)

In great faith,

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