Being mindful with your money doesn't mean you can never enjoy yourself again. In fact, spending on things you enjoy is an important part of sticking to your long-term financial plan. But how do you make sure those fun expenses don't throw your plan off balance?

Financial wellbeing isn’t only about controlling your spending and building resilience. It’s also about making space for the things that make life meaningful and exciting.

Holidays, events and experiences are some of the most memorable parts of life.  Looking forward to something enjoyable, taking a break or sharing experiences with others can have a positive effect on your overall wellbeing.

At the same time, experiences can easily push finances off track — especially during high-spending periods like the summer months. A weekend trip, a festival ticket or a few spontaneous dinners may each feel manageable, but together they can add up quickly.

The opposite can also happen. Plans stay vague ideas and never turn into reality because the costs were never thought through.

Planning ahead helps with both. When you account for the cost in advance, you can enjoy the moments that matter without financial stress — and you make it much more likely that those experiences actually happen.

Turn plans into numbers

You may already have included a holiday or experience as one of the goals in your financial plan. The same principle can also be applied to smaller experiences. While a financial plan supports long-term financial health and goals, applying this approach to ‘fun experiences’ can help create balance in your life — making room for regular moments to look forward to. See the assignment for a practical exercise to try.

Write an experience wish list

Instead of planning only one big holiday,try making a broader list of experiences you would like to have.Think about anything you have ever considered, talked about or thought sounded interesting, meaningful or exciting — from small activities to larger trips. You might ask yourself:

• Which experiences matter most to me?
• Which experiences are most achievable in the short term?
• Which experiences would simply be nice to have?

Some people find it helpful to group plans into three levels of priority:

Thinking about your ideal season helps you spend intentionally rather than reacting to every opportunity that appears.

Estimate the full costs associated with the experience

In the Understand your spending lesson, you learned about the planning fallacy — our tendency to underestimate how much time, money or effort something will require.

This often appears when planning holidays or seasonal spending. People usually remember the main cost — such as flights or accommodation — but overlook the smaller expenses that come with it.

Meals out, activities, transport, gifts, new clothes for a trip or spontaneous plans can all add up.