Halloween is coming up and if you are left picking out a costume at the last minute, you have a decision to make—either go to the nearest Halloween store and pick out a costume, or go to your local Savers or Wal-Mart to find individual pieces to create the best costume anybody has ever imagined.

This leads us all to answer a difficult question—to be or not to be. Let’s start with the general direction people choose when buying a costume. It’s extremely simple for starters, much like the drive-thru dollar menu at McDonald’s. You look at an array of choices, find the appropriate size, purchase and be generally disappointed with yourself that same evening. Unlike the McDonald’s dollar menu, the prices for a costume don’t usually go for under $30 and some reach up to the hundreds.

The problem with paying that much money on a store-bought costume is that you can’t help but feel screwed. The costume will be a one piece suite with painted on buttons and chest plates that resemble Captain America or Iron Man. Expect to be freezing for the rest of the night as the material is too thin and will tear at the slightest indication of friction.

However, costumes that are store- bought are usually trends too. This year, we are likely to expect plenty of Supermen, Wreck it Ralphs and Great Gatsbys. While there isn’t anything wrong with contemporary characters, we can also expect people to all wear the exact same Halloween costume.

Although this might not look like a big deal on the surface, you realize that as the night progresses, your character is no longer distinguishable and is over-rated.

DIY costumes are different though, since you choose your budget by how much you want to stand out, rather than how mainstream your costume is. For example, the Captain America costume might increase in price after the sequel comes out next year.

Most of your costume can be found at thrift shops, Hobby Lobby, or better yet, an array of stuff you already had from previous costumes—just some old clothes from your late 90s days.

The best part about DIY costumes is that if you don’t know what to do or how to do it, the Internet is a valuable source that we should not forget—a quick Google search and you are linked to step-by-step instructions on awesome costumes that lead you on the right track, providing tutorials on Youtube, blogs and other websites.

If you do decide to do this, however, it will take a decent amount of research and thought. Once that is done, the execution will take up another hour or two, depending on how meticulous and picky you are.

Remember, buy it at the store and you will most certainly be paying for convenience. DIY will cause you to waste time, but will make you save money, depending how frugal you are.

Jaime Quesada may be reached at [email protected].