January Budget: Baby, It's Cold Outside

I made my only two January purchases on the Monday of my first full week back to work after the holidays. It was an unbelievably cold day and as I laid in bed, dreading leaving the warmth of my flannel sheets and down comforter, I resolved to buy a few more warm things to help me make it through the month. Once I got to work, I ordered a cashmere sweater from Nordstrom and a pair of fleece tights from Amazon.

halogen sweater | plush tights

sweater | $49 | I was nervous about the sweater because I was looking for something with a standard bottom (how do you say that? you know, regular ribbed sweater bottoms?) and is a tunic style that goes to mid-hip and has slits in the side. However, it's super soft and the right price ($49 after price adjustment that Nordstrom made completely easy and painless -- I just chatted with a customer service rep, gave her my order number, and she credited my card the $20 I paid over the sale price) and I've enjoyed wearing it both as a tunic and tucked in. It's pilling a bit under the armpits after three wears, but it was a cashmere sweater that cost less than fifty bucks, so I was kind of expecting that. Overall, I'm very happy with it and I'm considering getting a sweater shaver or pumice or something to deal with the piling on this and on my black cashmere v-neck.

tights | $35 | These tights, not so happy with. I searched for "best fleece lined tights" and a number of pieces I found referred to Plush as the gold-standard. However, they're not really that soft, they sort of bunch up around the feet, and they don't keep me much warmer than my regular non-fleece tights. I probably should have sized up as I often do with tights (I think it makes them more comfortable since my thighs are not insignificant). They weren't worth the $35 I paid for them, but you can't really send back tights after you've worn them. Oh well.

January Budget: $150 - $49 - $35 = $66 to roll over to next month

I was well under budget this month because there were only two things that I really needed and wanted. Even though I only really liked one of my two purchases, I did my best to shop slowly and with care. Small steps!

linking up with Franish -- thanks for getting me to budget!

August Budget: A Success?

Last month I embarked on this crazy mission to shop with a plan and try to stay within a budget. And it seems like it's working. This month, I only bought a few things and stayed well below my target of $150. I had hoped to go to a boutique that I love while I was on vacation earlier this month, but even though I walked passed it about five times on my way to get donuts, or hamburgers, or ice cream, I never actually made it inside. While this was kind of a bummer, it totally saved my budget. Instead, I wound up with these three items, all of which were pretty good buys.

LOFT Chevron Circle Skirt $25 | Gap Factory Drapey Marled Tank $22 | Aeresoles Magician Sandal $20

August + Rollover from July: $150 + $136 = $286
Total Spent: $67
Rollover Amount: $219

Having a budget, and knowing I planned to post about it on The Internet, made me a much more cautious shopper this month. Also, a big closet cleanout that is still in progress (and waiting to be documented) helped me keep my closet priorities straight. As I waded through the ubiquitous end-of-the-season clearance racks, I kept asking myself, "Is this worth spending even 10% of my budget on? Will it make it harder to afford something I really want? Am I just going to toss it in a year or two?" Most of the time, I decided to pass.

So what did I buy, and why? I bought the skirt partly because I want to copy this outfit but mostly because it's simultaneously comfortable and flattering. It's worked out well so far as I've worn it a half dozen times. The tank has gotten slightly less play, but I couldn't resist it's thick texture and wonderful drape. And the shoes.... they're not my favorite pair (no, my favorite pair are yellow patent leather pumps!) because they're a bit chunky for my taste, but I bought them to compliment the dress I'm wearing to a wedding this weekend and they were twenty bucks!

This leaves me with a nice roll-over amount for September. I'm hoping to take the plunge and buy a black tote bag for work -- I'm thinking hard about this one. I've got some other stuff on my shopping list, too...

Linking up with Franish & her merry band of budgeting bloggers!

July Budget: A Novelty

Here is how I typically shop for clothes:

Step One: Try to avoid shopping for as long as I can. This, I assume, will help me save money.
Step Two: Look into my closet and think, "I have nothing to wear!"
Step Three: Go shopping, with no plan at all, and buy things.

This plan has "worked," if "working" means that I have not yet had a real-life experience of that terrifying dream in which I have to take a test/give a presentation/teach a class with no pants on. But now that I'm flailing around at "fashion blogging," it's probably time to step up my game. And so, I shall join the ranks of budgeting bloggers, hoping that Fran's awesome linkup will help me stick to a budget and make good shopping choices going forward.

My new plan is to set my budget at $150 a month and roll over whatever is left over. I'm also going to add any money I make from selling clothes I no longer want in my closet. I hope that a roll-over budget will help me to prioritize filling my wardrobe holes and investing in classic, high-quality pieces.

So, without further ado, my July purchases:

Mossimo D'Orsay Flat | $23

July Budget: $150

Total Spent: $23
Total Earned: $9

Rollover Amount: $136

Pretty unspectacular, huh? And even this purchase was a total accident. But while I didn't bring home much this month, I'm excited to be rolling over $136. I'm hoping to put it towards filling some holes in my wardrobe with high-quality basics. Here's the list I keep in Evernote:

Top of the list is a black work bag. Fran blew my mind a few weeks ago when she suggested that I could work toward acquiring a complete set of items -- flats, heels, belts, bags, etc -- in a few colors of leather. I've been spending the past fifteen years buying random unmatched leather and feeling sloppy. I'm really looking forward to coordinating my bag to my black leather shoes. These are some of the bags I'm contemplating.

one | two | three

I'm leaning towards either one or two, not only because they're cheaper but also because they don't have any hardware so I'll feel good about wearing them with both silver and gold. The Madewell Transport tote seems to be everybody's favorite, but I like the shape of the Banana Republic Larkin tote more... If anyone's out there and has stuck with this monster post to the bitter end, I'd love your advice!