Nearly 1 in 4 Halloween celebrators expect to carry spending debt into November, according to LendingTree's 2026 Halloween spending survey of 2,000 U.S. consumers. The average planned Halloween spend is $162 this year, down 16 percent from $192 last year.
Gen Z shoppers face the highest debt risk. Forty-three percent of Gen Z celebrators, ages 18 to 29, expect to go into debt for Halloween. Millennials follow at 35 percent, Gen X at 14 percent, and baby boomers at 2 percent. Parents of children under 18 also report high debt expectations, at 40 percent.
Most Halloween debt lands on credit cards or buy now, pay later plans at checkout. These tools let shoppers leave stores without immediately spending from their bank balance, but the bill still comes due later. Gen Z shoppers plan to spend an average of $102 on candy alone before costumes or decorations. Social media pushes 74 percent of Gen Z shoppers to spend more than planned.
Over a third of celebrators, 35 percent, say they have gone into Halloween debt before. More than half of that group, 51 percent, regret how much they spent.
A $162 Halloween tab left on a credit card for a couple of billing cycles will accumulate interest charges on a costume or candy that does not last past November. The debt rarely shows up as one big bill but as a balance that survives a payday or two.
Setting a spending limit before you shop keeps Halloween a one-time expense. Budgeting before entering a store, not after seeing the receipt, prevents a fun night from turning into a bill you pay off at Thanksgiving.