I GENERALLY WORK AROUND 35 HOURS A WEEK, which is close to full time, if you’re comparing to this country’s national standard. And since I’m a student too, I think I will. I think it’s fair for me to. I think it’s honest to say that I do more in any given week than I really should be doing.

But just because I work a lot doesn’t mean I have money. I’m sure this is a sentiment that many other students can identify with. And still, with Halloween just days away, we’re expected to drop upwards of $100 on something we’ll wear once. Or, if we’re resourceful, something we’ll wear once a year.

I shouldn’t be expected to afford this. And yet, when people ask me how I’m dressing for Halloween and I tell them “I’m not,” they look at me like I’m some Puritanical, prudish, Prohibition-era leftover.

I just don’t have money to spend on something as frivolous as a costume.

So this year, I’ve been looking for some cheap alternatives to the traditional mid-autumnal wallet drain.
Here’s what I have come up with so far.

I found this one on a Web site, and I’m not sure it’s as good as it is just strange. They are recommending you scour your kitchen for old utensils and then attach those to a pair of old sweatpants and an old sweatshirt.

Voila! — you’re a kitchen drawer.

The Web site also recommends finishing it off with a colander hat. A costume “suitable for both adults and kids,” the Web site says. Or, you know, nobody.

My colleague, Features editor Paige Ricks, recommends just dressing all in one color. When people start giving you the look, explain yourself.

“I’m a Skittle.”

The best part of this costume is that you might also convince some of your friends to join you — dressed in different colors, of course — and then you’ve saved yourself and your friends money. And that’s just more money to spend on Saturday night, when you go out again.

Of course, there are many other inexpensive costumes, and I am on a relentless pursuit of the best ones. There are more than 48 hours before you and I have to suit up.

I’ll keep searching.