I feel like budgets and December don't mix well. I've kind of thrown out the whole budget thing over the past few months, but I still wanted to link up with Franziska for her monthly Budgeting Bloggers post. I've been working part-time on top of teaching the past month and a half, which has allowed me more fun money than normal. I don't feel all that guilty about doing extra spending since I've spent a lot of extra hours working (and I got a small raise teaching this month as well)!
Here's what I bought this month!
Here's what I bought this month!
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| bananarepublic.com |
I bought this cardi in gray and fell in love with it. This is pretty pricey for me (full price is $89.50!), but it's a seriously great sweater. I loved it so much that when they were running a 40% off promo I decided to get the oatmeal color since I also had a $10 reward to use. I've worn both quite a bit as they're perfect for layering and pair perfectly with many of my tees.
I'm pretty sure you all know how much a love a good v-neck cardigan, so when I was browsing the J.Crew 30% off AND free shipping sale I snagged this one. I've been trying to expand some of my color options and thought the mint would be a nice addition since I have nothing in this color. I think it'll transition nicely from winter to spring!
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| oldnavy.com |
Okay, slight impulse buy, but how cute are those sheep?!? I haven't been all that excited about the animal sweater trend, but when I spotted this one I thought it was sooooo cute! I passed on it at full price, but when I went back and found it at 50% off I knew it had to be mine!
This is just a cute, casual tee that's another good winter-to-spring transition item. Gap is carrying a lot in this neon coral color, but this tee was all I could justify. I love this color paired with gray to tone it down a little.
Express Pave Embellished Neon Studs - $11
I bought these in neon pink (which is no longer online) and love them so much! They're great to go with a lot of my bright tops and also just to add a little pop of color to some of my more neutral outfits!
Target Stud Earring Set - $0 (after sale and coupon)
I couldn't find these online, but Target has some really nice sets of studs that run $7.99 for 6 or so pairs. I did some extreme couponing at Target one night when I was buying groceries and gifts and managed to pretty much get a set of 6 pairs of earrings for free. Yup, I'm okay with that.
Tarte Bambeautiful Amazonian Clay Eyeshadow Quad - $20
I've been trying to limit my makeup purchases lately (especially since I bought my Naked 2 palette), but I'd had my eye on this quad for a while. Ulta doesn't offer many coupons for their high-end brands, so when they were offering 20% off everything (and I was buying some gifts from there anyway), I decided to go on and get this quad in "Sew the Seeds."
Total
= $190
It's a little much for a regular month, but since I've been working part-time on top of teaching, I don't really feel too guilty since I've made a lot more money than I've spent! :)
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January's Budget Plan:
I was originally planning on cutting off most spending in January, but since I didn't make it out of town, I actually still have some shopping money set aside for that. I'm pretty much cutting out unnecessary makeup and nail polish purchases for a few months while I work with what I already have. (Might I point out I didn't buy any nail polish this month? I got 7 new bottles, though, as gifts! Ha ha!) It's very tempting seeing all of the cute new early spring items popping up in stores, but I will continue to stick with my rule of "I don't pay full price." :)
Amazingly, I haven't made any after Christmas purchases. I checked out quite a few sales yesterday, but really wasn't all that tempted. I've had to really work on not buying things just because they're ridiculously cheap on clearance, but I'm getting better at it!
How'd your budget fare this month?
Were you tempted by all of the holiday sales?
Did you give in to the after Christmas sale mania?
Express Pave Embellished Neon Studs - $11
I bought these in neon pink (which is no longer online) and love them so much! They're great to go with a lot of my bright tops and also just to add a little pop of color to some of my more neutral outfits!
Target Stud Earring Set - $0 (after sale and coupon)
I couldn't find these online, but Target has some really nice sets of studs that run $7.99 for 6 or so pairs. I did some extreme couponing at Target one night when I was buying groceries and gifts and managed to pretty much get a set of 6 pairs of earrings for free. Yup, I'm okay with that.
Tarte Bambeautiful Amazonian Clay Eyeshadow Quad - $20
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| ulta.com |
Total
= $190
It's a little much for a regular month, but since I've been working part-time on top of teaching, I don't really feel too guilty since I've made a lot more money than I've spent! :)
***
January's Budget Plan:
I was originally planning on cutting off most spending in January, but since I didn't make it out of town, I actually still have some shopping money set aside for that. I'm pretty much cutting out unnecessary makeup and nail polish purchases for a few months while I work with what I already have. (Might I point out I didn't buy any nail polish this month? I got 7 new bottles, though, as gifts! Ha ha!) It's very tempting seeing all of the cute new early spring items popping up in stores, but I will continue to stick with my rule of "I don't pay full price." :)
Amazingly, I haven't made any after Christmas purchases. I checked out quite a few sales yesterday, but really wasn't all that tempted. I've had to really work on not buying things just because they're ridiculously cheap on clearance, but I'm getting better at it!
How'd your budget fare this month?
Were you tempted by all of the holiday sales?
Did you give in to the after Christmas sale mania?
Hi, visiting from Franish's link up! I like the BR sweater. BR has some great promotions!
ReplyDeleteThey really do! Most of my coupons for there are for at least 30 or 40% off, so that makes getting full-price items a lot more affordable!
DeleteI really like the cardigans!!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm a cardigan addict, so that's usually the first thing I go for in a store!
DeleteI bought the fox sweater version of that sheep sweater! So cute! I've been wearing it under blazers or over button up tops to kind of keep it from being completely fit for a six year old, haha.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised with how many compliments the sheep have gotten me! I think with those types of sweaters you have to do exactly that... Style them with more grown up items!
DeleteI love that first sweater! I saw it on someone else on instagram and went to go see if my store had it, but they were all out :( it looks fab!
ReplyDeleteYeah, it went pretty fast in my store as well. I'm super happy I had the coupons and was able to grab them before they were gone since they've quickly become a closet essential for me.
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