Maybe you are one of those people who got up at 4a.m and shopped until you dropped to hit all the Black Friday bargains. I did it once. Probably, won’t do it again. I had two problems.

1) I got impatient with all the lines and didn’t really enjoy being around cranking people at 4a.m. with no coffee.

2) I overspent because I felt like I had to buy something just because I made the effort to come out at such an ungodly hour.

Black Friday did not help me stay in the black when it came to my holiday budget. Did I just say budget? I did, because it is so important to have a budget in order to prevent over spending.

If you decide AHEAD of time what you can realistically spend on gifts, decorations and entertaining, you have a better change of not over spending.

Of course, there are those impulse buys –leave the tags on so you can take them back after you have had a chance to think about what you did!

And there are those items we pick up for ourselves because, hey, they are just good deals. Someone told me that 75% of buying during the holidays is spent on the buyer! Now, I don’t know if that is true, but I would not be surprised.

Last, don’t feel like you have to buy expensive gifts for people or be pressured into spending more than you want to spend. It really is the thought that counts. Homemade gifts can really keep down the costs if money is tight.

So, yes, it is Black Friday! Have some fun but try to stay in the black when it comes to spending.