Happy Halloween!!!

On my particular street, in the neighborhood of Bungalow Heaven, in the city of Pasadena, in the state of California, in the country of the U.S., 900-1000 kids will descend throughout the night.

I heard a story, and I'm not sure if this is true...but that in the 1970's , there were kidnappings and other stuff happening around Halloween, so the City of Pasadena designated certain streets to be "safe zones" and our street just happened to be one of those. Almost 50 years later this street still attracts families and kids. It's also a big ol' party, with neighbors sitting outside on their front porches or in their driveways to pass out candy because with the numbers of kids coming through, you'd be opening and closing the door a thousand times during the night.

So many kids come through that I now buy about a thousand pieces of candy, each year! We then, have to be stingy and only give 1 piece each, or else we'd run out, before the end of the night and then have to, shamefully, turn off our porch lights, signaling our empty coffers or ask our neighbors for some of their candy (which our neighbor next door has generously provided before).

We also have to tell our friends to be stingy and only give ONE piece of candy each! No more!!!

If the candy were money, we would definitely be in scarcity mode. We would buy just enough to last us through the night, if we carefully gave just 1 piece each. We never buy more candy, each year, because it's ridiculous to spend $3-400 on candy that we're giving away, right? So, we spend about $100-$200 each year. And yet, we still have the fear that we don't have enough...that we will run out before all of the kids go away...and that we will disappoint the children or possibly face getting our house egged or toilet papered.

None of those things have ever happened, and I don't think I've seen other houses get egged or toilet papered. Yet, there's the fear. There's also fear that if we didn't pass out candy, our neighbors would shame us, since it's a tradition on our street, in our neighborhood. In fact, in early October, someone in the neighborhood was concerned that the houses on our street may not decorate...

I don't know if this person lived on our street, but I'd be curious to know her intention to her question. Is it to rally us? Is it to slap us on the wrist for not having our decorations up early? Most of the responses were that it was too early to decorate...and for this neighbor to not worry...that those of us who live on Michigan Avenue will get our Halloween spirit on...just a little bit later.

Now, tell me in the comments below...what are you doing for Halloween today? Do you decorate? Buy loads of candy? Do you get a lot of trick or treaters in your neighborhood? Do you still get dressed up? Share your photos, if you want! In the meantime, are you in scarcity mode? Do you buy only what you need and never a little more? Do you hold onto your money too tightly, never spending on what you value or on experiences that may increase your value? Do you have fear of what others may think, if you decide to go in a different direction that may not be the "norm?" As always, I'm here, if you'd like to talk! Just sign up here or go to the schedule link to find a time.

With Gratitude,

Happy Halloween! Trick or Treat!

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Money, Love & a Brothel