Category Archives: Halloween

The Halloween Economic Theory

Halloween Economics

Trade Stuff For Better Stuff

When I was a kid we used to go trick or treating on Halloween. Knock on doors, get candy.

It was pretty fun. We’d spend a couple weeks before hand coming up with some costumes to wear, usually homemade, and usually pretty crappy.

The best part was when we’d get home, and trade all the stuff we didn’t want, for the stuff we did want.

It’s one thing to get free stuff, it’s even better to exchange that free stuff for even better stuff.

Of course, it wasn’t really free. We had to go out and get it. No kid in their right mind would show up without a costume. I suppose that was kind of an unwritten law of Halloween economics. People would get to see these cute kids come to their door, dressed up in costumes, in exchange for spending a few hours and a few bucks on a bag of candy.

Everybody looked forward to it. There was even that unwritten rule that if you left off your porch light, it meant, “do not disturb.”

We kids expected that, and the people that didn’t want to participate didn’t have to.

Later on, I was hard up for some cash, so I answered an ad in the newspaper for a sales job that promised daily payouts.

Being young and dumb, I figured it was perfect. Only it ended up being a door to door sales job, in the bad part of town, selling really cheap kitchen tools like spatulas and cutting boards.

After the second big dog chased us away, I’d had enough.

Same structure, but different results. 

One was fun, exciting, and something we looked forward to all year long. The other was a very short lived horror show.

This is what happens when you compare a job or a career you’re right for, and one you’re not right for.

The one you’re not right for sucks. You feel like crying every morning when the alarm clock goes off. You can’t wait until Friday so you can go home and forget anyway you can.

On the other hand, when you’ve got something going you love, it’s the opposite. You love the people you work with, and they love you. You’re happy to see each other. You actually look forward to doing what you’re doing.

And when you get paid, it almost feels like it’s free, since you don’t really feel like you’re doing any work.

Then just like kids on Halloween night, you can trade that “free stuff” for even better free stuff. Trading that money for what you want.

If you haven’t found that ideal income stream yet, it’s out there.

Waiting for you.