2018 Halloween Spending & Financial Fears Survey
WalletHub conducted a nationally representative survey of over 500 Americans to see how much people are planning to spend on Halloween festivities as well as what aspects of personal finance frighten folks the most. You can find the results in the following infographic.
Ask the Experts
For advice and insight, we asked a panel of experts to share their thoughts on the following key questions:
- Roughly 30% of people say their finances are a horror show. Would you expect that figure to be higher/lower? And is this a bad sign for the economy moving forward?
- More than 50% of people think credit cards are a trick, not a treat. What do you think is the bigger issue: credit cards being bad or people using them wrong?
- 2 in 3 people think the economy will get scarier in the next 12 months - do you agree?
- Does it surprise you that more than 8% of people think a Halloween costume is worth going into debt for?
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Debbie Psihountas
Ph.D. – Professor of Finance & Dean – School of Business and Technology, Florida Southwestern State College
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Dena K. Wise
Ph.D. – Professor/Family Economics Specialist, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
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Bradley A. Stevenson
Ph.D. – Associate Professor of Finance, Bellarmine University
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Laura Hendrix
Ph.D. – Associate Professor Personal Finance and Consumer Economics, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
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Sterling Raskie
Lecturer of Finance, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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Gregg Dimkoff
Ph.D. C.F.P., C.L.U. - Finance Professor, Seidman College of Business, Grand Valley State University
Debbie Psihountas
Dena K. Wise
Bradley A. Stevenson
Laura Hendrix
Sterling Raskie
Gregg Dimkoff
More Experts
Full Details Overall
| Which are you more afraid of? | |
|---|---|
| Racking up credit card debt | 51% |
| Snakes | 49% |
| Is a Halloween costume worth going into debt for? | |
| No | 92% |
| Yes | 8% |
| Do you think interest rates will get scarier in 2019? | |
| Yes | 71% |
| No | 29% |
| What is the scariest thing about credit cards? | |
| Interest rates & fees | 35% |
| Fraud | 27% |
| Overspending | 20% |
| Hidden terms | 9% |
| Losing them | 8% |
| Which are you more scared of? | |
| Not having your credit card with you | 74% |
| Having your credit card with you | 26% |
| Which scares you more? | |
| Data breaches | 70% |
| Spiders | 30% |
| In general, are you scared you use your credit card too much? | |
| No | 60% |
| Yes | 40% |
| How much do you plan to spend on Halloween-related purchases this year? - Intervals | |
| Will spend $50 or less | 76% |
| Will spend more than $50 | 24% |
| What will you spend the most on this Halloween? | |
| Candy | 50% |
| Food and alcohol | 23% |
| Costumes | 14% |
| Decorations | 9% |
| Party tickets | 4% |
| What’s the scariest thing about Halloween? | |
| Strangers Ringing Doorbell | 42% |
| Spending Money | 27% |
| Movies | 23% |
| Costumes | 8% |
| What is your biggest financial fear? | |
| Unplanned emergency | 23% |
| Not enough retirement savings | 22% |
| Fraud | 20% |
| Job loss | 19% |
| Loss of health insurance | 10% |
| Poor credit | 7% |
| What scares you or stresses you out most? | |
| Money | 29% |
| Politics | 25% |
| Health | 17% |
| Terrorism | 12% |
| Economy | 9% |
| Work | 8% |
| Would you say your finances are a horror show? | |
| No | 70% |
| Yes | 30% |
| Do you think the economy will get scarier in the next 12 months? | |
| Yes | 65% |
| No | 35% |
| Are credit cards a trick or a treat? | |
| Trick | 54% |
| Treat | 46% |
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