For many of us who love to plan ahead, 2020 has thrown all our amazing plans into pure chaos! Completely out of our control, many have had to cancel, postpone or re-plan celebrations including birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, honeymoons, and more. Our Founder was also one of those people. With a month-long trip fully booked to Europe this July to celebrate her birthday, and more, she had to cancel her dream trip and re-plan something local. We sat down and asked her to share her 5 personal tips for replanning a special celebration.

Tip 1: Work out your priorities / non-negotiables

When you’re replanning a special celebration, the first thing to do is to work out your top priorities. Due to travel restrictions, venue restrictions and more, it’s important to reflect and review on your ideas and plans, and identify what your priorities are for your new celebration. It’s highly likely they might have changed from your original plans. It could be a special date you want to work on now, it could be a certain guest list, it could be securing a specific restaurant or location. No matter what celebration your re-planning, my number one tip is to work out your 1-3 non negotiables and start there. 

Tip 2: Plan for the expected & the unexpected financially 

As you all know I'm a big lover of prep and planning in advance, and I take the same approach, when it comes to my finances - especially when organising celebrations. I love to be in control of my finances, but also to have the flexibility to adapt to both the expected and the unexpected. In late July, I was meant to be jetting over to Europe to celebrate my birthday and more. I had spent months locking in my dream spots and excited was an understatement. Plans changed and 2020 said it wasn’t meant to be but... I was determined to still celebrate in my own backyard of NZ and organise something special, so I created a new plan and budget. Thanks to American Express’s new feature Plan It™ Instalments, I ended up escaping to the South Island for an indulgent few days of luxury with my mum. Plan It allows you to pay off your Credit Card bill in equal monthly instalments, with plans ranging from three, six, nine or 12 months. The thing I love about it (versus other buy-now-pay-later style products) is that there’s no surprises – it’s just a fixed monthly fee and zero interest.  It’s now available for all eligible consumer Card Members, simply by logging onto your American Express online account or the App. Being able to pay off the trip gradually meant I was able to finalise a really amazing birthday plan with short notice! 

* If you need help creating a budget for your celebration - you can utilise one of our budgeting pages in your An Organised Life diary as a starting point or download our template HERE & customise it to work for your celebration *

Tip 3: Remain Flexible

With all the uncertainty at the moment, another key tip to remember when replanning your special celebration is to remain flexible. Ensure everything you organise, plan or book is flexible and can be changed easily. The last thing you want is to lose out on another celebration financially. Make sure you read all the T&C’s carefully, ask questions and have everything in writing stating that you can change your dates, plans, etc. easily. 

Tip 4: Create a thorough to-do list & calendar

Of course, my 4th tip is to create a thorough to-do list and calendar for your celebration. Break it down into days, weeks or months and work through it methodically. If you find you become overwhelmed, try to allocate set times or days for planning and organising, rather than working on it every single day. If needed, delegate some of the workload as well. Remember one step at a time. 

Tip 5: At the end of the day it’s all about you

Above all, remember that it’s all about you. When you’re replanning your special celebration, do what makes you happy. Try and enjoy the process. 2020 has been a crazy year, but think of the stories you will be able to tell. Remain positive and enjoy your celebration. 

Sponsored by American Express Australia.