Nearly 70% of people admitted to making a big financial mistake during the holidays. Let's talk about some of the biggest financial mistakes that most people make and how you can avoid them this holiday season.

#1. Not Setting A Holiday Budget

The holiday season is one of giving which means is also a season of spending. Every year, during this season the average American overspends by at least $1,000.

But the crazy part is, the holiday season is during the same months every single year! We always know when it's coming so in reality there is no reason for us to continuously go into debt during the holiday season. If you set a holiday budget you will decrease the likelihood of overspending by

How to set your holiday budget?

• Begin with writing a preliminary list of your holiday expenses
• Decide on your spending limit
• Make a shopping list
• Track your purchases to make sure you don't go over budget

#2. Not Saving Anything Toward Your Holiday Budget

The holidays are mainly a time for indulging. You eat all of the food, drink all of the beverages and spend all of the money. Starting a new diet or a new budget during the holidays may be too much of a challenge so instead its better to prepare for the indulgence so you can enter the holiday season guilt free.

How to save toward your holiday budget?

• Cut down on non-essential spending as much as possible
• Take the shopping list that you created in step one and estimate the cost of each item
• Decide what you can realistically afford
• Eliminate whatever you can

#3 Shopping At The Last Minute

Shopping at the last minute can cause stress and overwhelm. The easiest way to avoid making hasty decisions is to shop early. This will help you avoid missing out on good deals and getting stuck with whatever price is available. So start as early as possible and shop around as much as possible for the best deals.

#4. Buying Like There Is No January

The holiday season can put us in a space where we feel expected to spend money. We may feel pressure to purchase gifts for family or feel forced to decorate like our neighbors, either way the feeling can cause us to start spending like there is no January.

This causes us to make irrational decisions like putting our purchases on credit cards or buy gifts for friends due to holiday guilt. It appears that all of humanity is spending money during this time so it's challenging to not distance yourself from the consumerism.

Take some time to really decide what it's important to you during this season. Stores use all of the psychological tricks to get you to overspend, so be aware of their cheap tricks and resist them if you can. Focus on your experiences instead of things, give what you can afford, and enjoy your family and friends.

You will save yourself time & money. Happy Holidays!

Every new month is a new journey and since November is just starting, I wanted to show you guys how I effectively prepare my planner for the new month ahead. Functional planning is the key to getting the most out of your planner. Here are 10 tips that will help you use your planner effectively in the new month.

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1. Evaluate Your Planner Every Month: Each month, re-evaluate all of your planners and try to think of any ways that you could be more efficient with them. Do you actually need 4 planners, or can any of them be combined? Make sure you’re using each of them to their fullest potential.
2. Keep Three Consecutive Months At All Times: You want to keep the previous month, current month, and the next month in your planner at all times. Doing this will easily give you the ability to look back and look ahead as you plan.
3. Write Plans First, Then Add Stickers: If you are a big functional planner, writing down your plans first will help you be more organized and efficient, instead of having a lot of stickers everywhere with no room to write when needed.
4. Pre-Plan Your Month: Sit down and pre-plan your to-do list for the entire month. This will help you stay on track so you will know exactly what is coming up and how to plan accordingly.
   1. BONUS TIP: Use a bullet journal to jot down all of the different things you need to do throughout the course of the month, and then take that list add it to your planner. You’ll already have your to-do list ready to go!
5. Practice Writing Smaller: I’ve found that when I first began using planners, I would write so big that I would take up a lot of space. Writing smaller will help you not take up so much space and be able to use it to its fullest capacity.
6. Use All Available Spaces In Your Planner: Try and think of ways that you can use every possible space in your planner. What else can you add in the sidebar or empty space at the bottom of your page? You will 100% get the most out of your planner once you really start using all of the space that’s available.
7. Write In One Color Pen And Add More Color Later: Typically, I will write everything in black, and then go back in with colors that will signify different categories. For example, I like to use red ink for YouTube videos and purple ink for blog articles.
8. Use Icon Stickers Instead Of Writing Everything Down: Find fun stickers that will help signify messages to you, instead of having to write everything. This is a way to keep track of the different things you have to do, without having to take up valuable space in writing it all out. I love to insert small leaf stickers every Sunday, which will remind me to water my plants!
9. Keep Your Goals Broken Down In Your Planner: Break down your goals by the year, the quarter, the month, and then the week. This is a great way to track your progress and make sure you’re on track for the things that matter the most to you.
10. Use Small Decorative Stickers: Using small decorative stickers will give you the opportunity to decorate your spread as much as possible, but not take up as much space. I tend to put my stickers along the bottom and the sides, or along the lines of the planners so that I am still able to write as I need to.