Halloween has grown into one of the largest discretionary spending events on the American calendar. Total spending reached a record $13.1 billion last year, and the average person planning to celebrate expected to spend about $114 on costumes, candy, and decorations, according to the National Retail Federation.

Most of that money is gone by November 1. The candy gets eaten, the costume gets worn once, and the inflatable lawn ghost goes back in the garage until next year. None of that is an argument for skipping the holiday. It is an argument for seeing what the same $114 could become if even part of it went somewhere it could grow.

The Real Price of a Single Halloween

The sticker price of Halloween is $114. The long-term price is higher, because every dollar that leaves your account is a dollar that can no longer compound.

Put one year’s $114 into a low-cost fund that tracks the S&P 500, such as the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) or the lower-fee Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO), then leave it alone. At the market’s long-run average of about 10% a year, that single $114 grows to roughly $767 in 20 years, close to $1,990 in 30 years, and about $5,160 in 40 years.

Trim the assumption to a more conservative 7%, which is nearer the return after inflation, and the same $114 still reaches about $441, $868, and $1,707 across those same stretches.

That is the cost of one skipped Halloween, invested once and forgotten. The larger number comes from doing it on repeat.

What Happens When You Do It Every Year

Halloween arrives every fall, so the fairer comparison is an annual habit rather than a one-time deposit. Redirect $114 into the market each October instead of the checkout line, and the compounding stacks year over year.

At a 10% average annual return, $114 invested every year grows to about $1,817 after 10 years, roughly $6,529 after 20 years, close to $18,752 after 30 years, and about $50,456 after 40 years. Out of that 40-year total, only $4,560 is money you actually set aside. The remaining $45,000 and change is growth.

Dial the return back to 7%, and the results shrink but still land hard. The same yearly $114 turns into about $4,673 after 20 years, $10,769 after 30 years, and $22,758 after 40 years. A holiday that feels like pocket change becomes a five-figure sum for the price of one decision repeated each fall.

Why the Math Works

The engine here is time, not timing. Compounding pays a return on your past returns, so the balance grows faster the longer it runs. The first decade looks modest, and the last decade does most of the heavy lifting, which is why starting earlier matters far more than starting bigger.

The two rates above are not promises. The S&P 500 has averaged around 10% a year since 1957 with dividends reinvested, yet that figure is a long-run average assembled from sharp rallies and painful drops. The index fell more than 18% in 2022 before rebounding the next year. The 7% assumption bakes in inflation and a rougher ride. Real results will fall somewhere in that range, and some years will be negative.

Where That $114 Could Go

The vehicle matters less than the habit, though a few options suit this kind of small, steady contribution.

A broad index fund or ETF that tracks the S&P 500 hands you 500 large US companies in a single, low-cost holding, which is why funds like SPY and VOO are common starting points for new investors. Fractional shares mean $114 can buy in no matter where the share price sits, and most brokerages let you automate the contribution so it happens every October without another thought.

Holding that money inside a Roth IRA adds a second advantage, since qualified withdrawals in retirement come out tax-free. For a small yearly amount like this one, the Roth wrapper can turn decades of growth into money the IRS cannot reach later.

The Case for Still Buying the Candy

None of this calls for a dark porch on October 31. Halloween buys something real, whether that is an afternoon with your kids, a reason to see the neighbors, or a night people actually remember. Those are not line items a spreadsheet captures, and treating every dollar as a future portfolio balance is its own kind of poverty.

Investing also carries a risk that a candy run does not. Markets fall, sometimes for years at a stretch, and the historical averages above assume you stay invested through those declines rather than selling at the bottom. The $114 you spend on Halloween is guaranteed to buy Halloween. The $114 you invest carries no such guarantee, at least not on any fixed schedule.

Splitting the Difference

The most workable version of this is rarely all or nothing. Spend on the parts of Halloween that matter to your household, trim the parts that do not, and invest the gap.

Cutting a $114 budget to $60 and investing the other $54 every year still compounds into roughly $8,900 over 30 years at 10%, or about $5,100 at 7%. The holiday survives, and so does the habit. Running the numbers is not about guilt. It is about knowing the real trade-off, so the money that leaves your account each fall leaves on purpose.

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Benzinga Disclaimer: This article is from an unpaid external contributor. It does not represent Benzinga’s reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.