April Budget

For a few months now, I have been grappling with a couple of issues when it comes to shopping and writing a personal style blog:

First of all, there's no doubt about it, I love to shop!  However, I am a teacher and am therefore working with a relatively small budget.  In order to not spend too much money, I tried a few tactics that actually made my shopping habits less healthy.  I would attempt spending freezes where I spent absolutely no money on clothing for a specific period of time.  However this led to binge shopping when the freeze was over.  I don't feel good about this.  And ultimately I don't feel good about constantly wanting more and more clothing when I truly am happy with all of the clothes in my closet.  I know that there are healthy ways out there to enjoy shopping for new pieces while not going overboard with the spending.

Also, I know that I sometimes feel jealous and frustrated when I read blogs and I see these lovely ladies constantly wearing new Tory Burch boots or carrying the latest Kate Spade bag.  I just wish I knew how they could afford these luxurious items!  For this reason, I want to be completely authentic and transparent when it comes to my purchases.

So, I've decided to develop a clothing budget (duh, right?) and I've decided to tell you about it once a month to hold myself accountable.

I looked to the blog J's Everyday Fashion for guidance as to how to set a clothing budget.  J's suggestion is to spend 2%-8% of your income on clothing.  Since I'm on a tight budget when it comes to living expenses, I shot for a budget of approximately 2% of my annual salary.  This means that I have $1,000 to spend on clothing each year.  Now, $1,000 felt like an overwhelming amount to keep track of so I decided to track my spending quarterly.  That means for each three month period, I can spend $250.  Although I do plan to rollover money to the next quarter if I don't spend it all.

Alright, now that I've explained to you my reasoning and budget, let's get down to what I purchased this month!

Blouse: c/o Stitch Fix- $68
Shorts: Old Navy- originally $26.94 but with Gap Card points, $0
Denim Jacket: Old Navy- originally $34.94 but with Gap Card points, $0

Total Spent in March = $68
Remaining Quarterly Budget = $182

The blouse is definitely on the expensive side and I'm not entirely comfortable with how much I spent on it.  However, as I explained here, I've told Stitch Fix to send me less expensive items from here on out so hopefully I won't be spending so much money on one piece in the future.  I had a bunch of Gap Card points saved-up so I decided to use them on some basics.  These shorts are super comfy while still looking nice and I can't wait to wear them when the D.C. temperatures become sweltering.   I mentioned before that I was looking for another denim jacket in a darker wash.  This jacket fit the bill and I've already worn it once!  I can tell that it will be a favorite piece to remix.  I also ordered a few pairs of pants but I'm not yet sure if I'm going to keep them.  If I do, I will include them in my May budget post.

Alright, thanks for letting me get my feelings about shopping and money off of my chest.  Stay tuned for how I continue to use my established clothing budget!

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