With Halloween right around the corner, there are several ways you can celebrate the holiday without breaking the bank.

The first thing to remember when decorating your home for Halloween is not make your decorations Halloween specific. Instead decorate your holiday for fall. There are several things in nature that can help your home look festive for the fall season. Colorful leaves make for wonderful decorations and do not cost a thing.

For those wishing to decorate for the specific Halloween holiday, there are several websites that have craft decorating ideas made up of items already in the home. Some of my favorite craft Halloween ideas are to make miniature ghosts out of yogurt cups, skeletons out of milk jugs and black bats out of black Solo cups.

A popular treat amongst the neighborhood are the lollipop ghosts. This is where you take a facial tissue and cover a lollipop with it.

Tie it up with string and you have a great treat to give all the neighborhood children.

For those who are not crafty, you should not worry. You can find these ideas and a lot of other affordable craft decoration ideas on the internet.

When looking for the perfect pumpkin, hay bale and cornstalk this Halloween season, I would encourage you to remember your local farmer.

There are several reasons I find that your local farmer is the best place to find the perfect pumpkin. On average, I find that area farmers sell their pumpkins at a better price than grocery outlets. I also like shopping with the local farmers because I am supporting the local economy.

Finally, I would encourage you to remember to shop area retailers the day after Halloween. This is when a majority of their fall items are drastically reduced and you can start planning ahead for next year.

Do you have any tips on living frugally? Send them to localnew2005@yahoo.com.