Holidays often fall into a familiar pattern. Every year you celebrate them, you indulge yourself a little and you try to make sure your friends and family have a great time as well. Invariably, you end up spending a little more than you wanted to, and, invariably, every year you dread January and February because you have to pay for all that holiday extravagance.

Break the cycle this holiday season by making a plan.

Make a budget and stick with it. It’s easier said than done, but you can’t win if you don’t play. At the very least, starting with a budget gives you something to work from and lets you plan out expenses in advance.

Don’t forget the little things. The holidays are more than just gifts, so don’t forget to include small items like gift cards, gift wrap and holiday decorations in your budget. They’re small, but they can add up fast.

Make a list (and check it twice). Try to find one or two ideas within your price range for every person on your list. A list means order, and you’ll want all the order you can get during the chaotic holiday rush.

The early bird gets the sales. The sooner you start your holiday planning, the more sales you can take advantage of. After all, that Columbus Day deal might just be better than anything you’ll find on Black Friday.

This year, instead of treading through the same holiday rut all over again, change things up with some preemptive holiday budgeting. The work you put in now will save you plenty of work (and money) down the road.

The withering summer heat has finally relented and there is the first stirring of a cool, dry breeze in the air. Already the leaves, once a pristine green, have now started to don their fall coats. If you’ve been sheltering in the safety of your air conditioning all summer, fall is the perfect time to start your outdoor exercise regimen back up.

Return to a routine. Exercise is about routine and the more of a routine you have, the better. With summer, you have vacations to work around, summer camps to plan and more. If you have kids out of school for the summer it can be even more hectic. Fall is a return to a settled routine, making it much easier to settle into yours.

Competitive events and sports leagues. It’s called the ‘lazy days of summer’ for a reason. Who wants to go out and play anything when the mercury is pushing through the roof? Fall brings with it plenty of events like marathons and the opportunity to sign up for sports leagues. It’s the perfect time for you to add a little competitive spice to your workouts.

The weather. It almost goes without saying, but we will anyway. The weather is crisp and clear and the foliage is beautiful. Why wouldn’t you want to be outside?

There may not be a better time of year to get out and get fit. Fall is fleeting, so don’t let the great weather and beautiful color pass you by!

If you start asking people about their opinions on money, you’re going to get a lot of different answers. No matter what their position on it, however, the one thing that most people will agree about is that there never seems to be enough of it to go around. If you’re one of these people, here are 5 ways to improve your financial outlook.

Budgets. No one likes them, but creating and sticking to a budget might be your first and best defense against those nagging and unnecessary expenses draining your wallet each month.

Negotiation. Work on perfecting your negotiation skills and see if you can arrange a lower interest rate for many of your monthly payments like your car, house or credit cards.

Saving. It can be tough to save when you’re living paycheck to paycheck, but there are ways it can be done. Saving helps you prepare for that rainy day, potentially saving you from having to go into debt to covered unexpected emergencies.

Avoid Debt. The biggest drains on your finances may not be that nice restaurant you went to or that fancy show. Instead it’s debt. In addition to trying to renegotiate to a lower interest rate, try to eliminate your debt altogether.

Retirement. You don’t want to be working forever, so don’t forget about your retirement. If your company offers to match your 401(k) contributions, take full advantage of it.

No, there is never enough money to go around, but with these strategies you can make the most of what you have and maybe fatten your wallet a little along the way.

Captain America, anyone? Or how about those Avengers? As the summer slowly winds down, we’ve seen our share of superheroes come along to save the day. They’re great, aren’t they? But if you look around, chances are you can find some real heroes. The best part is that many of them are right in your own neighborhood. So this Patriot Day, take a moment to honor them.

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. They may be the firefighter down the street or the policeman who keeps that street safe. They don’t even need to have a dangerous profession. How about the teacher who taught you how to express yourself through music or the tax preparer who just saved you a bundle during tax time or even the prep cook who took the time to explain which foods on the menu were safe for your particular food allergy?

What makes these people even more special is that they don’t need or want a ticker-tape parade down Main Street to honor their service. They’re proud to do what they do because it makes the world a better, brighter place. So take the time to recognize these people. Often a simple, sincere ‘thank you’ is all they require or desire. It lets them know that what they do matters, whether it’s large or small.

They say a journey begins with a single step, but what about 10,000 of them in one day? Sounds like a lot, but 10,000 could be the most important number in your journey to a healthy lifestyle. As strange as it may feel to find yourself pacing in your living room late at night to get in those last few steps, there are many great reasons for them.

Even though it may not feel like ‘real’ exercise, those 10,000 steps add up. Getting those steps in every day is the equivalent of getting five 30-minute workouts a week. It strengthens your heart and lowers your cholesterol. It lets you stay physically active. An interesting fact is that calories aren’t absorbed the same way in people who exercise. Studies have found that if you’re physically active, calories are more likely to be burned off or converted to muscle whereas if you’re spending time on the couch binge-watching, they’re likely to be converted to fat.

Getting those steps in is also easier on your joints than running, meaning you’re less likely to suffer an injury that throws your whole fitness routine off. And if that weren’t enough, 10,000 is pretty cheap, too. You don’t need an expensive gym membership to get your steps. All you need is a good pair of shoes and a positive attitude.

So whether you measure your steps using a pedometer or a fancy app on your phone, make the number 10,000 a part of your healthy lifestyle.

The question of whether your teen should go out and get a job is one that every family is going to bump into sooner or later. The answer to this question (as with so many other things) is that it depends.

It depends on your teen. Your teen’s first priority can and should be doing well in school. You know your teenager best. Some of them can handle the extra responsibility that comes with a job and some of them may not be quite ready for it.

It depends on the alternatives. Working a job can help teach a teenager responsibility and the value of money, as well as give them a taste of what the real world has to offer. But are there alternatives? What is your teenager trying to accomplish by working? Is he or she trying to add to a resume in hopes of getting into a better school? Or maybe save up for something? Depending on his or her goals, would an internship, even an unpaid one, or spending extra time with after-school activities offer a better option than working?

It depends on you. In many cases, your teenager’s work schedule is going to add some extra strain to your schedule. It may mean picking them up in the evening or dropping them off. It may mean checking in with them more often to make sure their homework is getting done and they’re keeping their grades up. In a sense, they’re not the only ones taking on some extra responsibility.

Your teenager can really benefit from working a job, but before you leap into the idea with both feet give some thought to what it really means, both for yourself and for your teen.