It's Halloween and that means CANDY.

I may almost be 22 years old, but I love candy just as much as the next person. And with Halloween tomorrow, I find myself wondering... why is candy so expensive, why do people think it's so bad for kids to have it, and where did this tradition come from? (Click on the picture to read another woman's point of view on candy).

You may be scoffing at my "why do parents think it's such a bad idea for their kids to eat candy" comment. I understand it's full of sugar and not the healthiest "food" on the planet. As the parent, you have control over your child's candy consumption. Let them enjoy the wonders of trick-or-treating. I remember going from door to door as a kid and feeling cheated when someone tried to put an apple in my bag. An apple? Really? It's the one night a year where children can throw everything they ever thought about nutrition out the window. Why ruin it? Just because a stranger gives them candy, doesn't mean they are going to eat it all that night. 

As an "adult", I find myself looking forward to Halloween just so it's acceptable for me to eat more candy. However, some people question the point of receiving candy on Halloween. Isn't dressing up enough? No. It's simply not. For me, not knowing what the person behind the door was going to place in my bag added to the excitement of the day. And emptying out my haul on the kitchen table after the festivities were over was always the best part of the night. I would trade with my brother, and we'd put the rest in a jar that my mom would allow us to eat sparingly. Like a treat for dogs, if you will.

Although I'm not sure the exact origins of candy on Halloween, I do know it's been going on for centuries. A Wiki Answers article claims ancient Rome would pass out sweets on days they honored the dead. True? Maybe not. But we can't break tradition!

That leads me to my next point: the cost! My roommate and I went to Target the other day to buy some candy for our apartment. We wanted a large variety bag (you can't have all the same candy), but we were shocked to find the price was in the double digits. What?! It's a bag of candy! This goes for any pricing strategies: I bet stores would sell more of a product if they lowered their prices. Higher prices = lowers sales; lower prices = more sales. Am I right? I'm not an economist at all, so I may be completely off, but as an every day consumer, I think sales revenue would increase. Sure, a company could get a decent profit if a few people buy a very expensive product, but I think the balance between high prices/less sales-low prices/high sales isn't that balanced. It doesn't even out. You'd get more sales with lower prices!

...All this for some candy.