SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- Buying a Halloween costume is a fun and exciting experience, but it can also get expensive.
With Halloween costume spending expected to reach $4.3 billion this year according to the National Retail Federation, many families are looking for ways to save money while still finding the perfect costume.
Roz Mostafavi has decades of experience finding the perfect Halloween costume. At first, it was for her kids, and now it's for her grandkids.
"One of them wants to be a fireman and the other wants to be a dinosaur, but being a dinosaur is tough to walk around so I'm trying to help him out to be a fox," Mostafavi said.
She's gone the retail store route before but learned it can quickly become expensive.
"I mean, there was a time when I went to a party store and my son wanted something special. I ended up paying like $100 and that was way over my budget," Mostafavi said.
That's when she started looking at discount stores like Goodwill, which are stocked with Halloween items.
"Every store has their own supply of donated goods. All stores have some new products like gloves or hats that you can accessorize your costume," said Darlene Cossio, director of marketing for Goodwill San Diego
This year's Halloween costume spending represents a significant jump from last year's $3.8 billion, which many are attributing to tariff impacts. Data shows the average cost for a costume this year is just under $40.
Cossio told ABC 10News people are finding ways to save on costumes at Goodwill by using items they already have.
"She already had the leggings, the boots, and the top. So, she spent $14 buying the corset and the wings and the headpiece," Cossio said.
Something Mostafavi is looking to do is give families extra cash they can use on other expenses.
"Groceries are very expensive and people can't really afford these days to go beyond grocery and paying their bills," Mostafavi said.
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