June 2011 Budget Recap

Tags

budget, budgeting, personal finance, spending

*NOTE: This budget is for shopping/food/gas only, or expense that I can control fully. I’m not including fixed expenses (, utilities, medical bills) because they’re fixed and honestly pretty boring to talk about. My TOTAL spending is not reflected in this budget *

Blown Budgets:

1. Home Decorating

• Supernova Pendant light/Chandelier – $254

2. & Accessories

• Ecote Sandals from Crossroads – $27.85
• Bird Skull ring from Crossroads – $13.66
• Gap City Flats in Pewter – $34.50

3. Groceries
What can I say I’ve done a lot of cooking this month!

Overall budget:

-$111

The Verdict?

Well I’ve tried to be good this month, and I have in terms of clothing at the very least! But the new light fixture pushed me over the edge. Oh well I still don’t regret it though! I’m feeling a little cash poor at the moment and I’m desperately trying to save up for future trips and padding the emergency fund.

Next months plans?

• Go to the library more often and find more cookbooks to read!
• Continue to be good with clothing spending… buy thrift or buy with Crossroads credits!
• Save money. Make money.

♥ E&I

January 2011 Budget Recap

Tags

budget, Money, personal finance, spending

*NOTE: This budget is for shopping/food/gas only, or expense that I can control fully. I’m not including fixed expenses (mortgage, utilities, medical bills) because they’re fixed and honestly pretty boring to talk about. My TOTAL spending is not reflected in this budget *

Blown Budgets:

1. Clothing

1. Bebe Leather Jacket – $98.31
2. Forever 21 Top (buy here)- $18.79
3. Charlotte Russe Lace top – $11.94

2. Toiletries/Cosmetics

1. CVS haul – $42.32

3. Shoes and Accessories

1. Forever 21 Suedette Platform Pumps – $28.19
2. Jessica Simpson Tito Wedges in Grey – $27.89 TJMaxx

Overall budget:

$+116

The Verdict?

Yay! I’m in the black this month. I didn’t eat out very much in January. I did buy an expensive rug for the living room (~$165) but it hasn’t shown up on my credit card yet so that’ll be a big blow to February’s budget. My parents bought me a couch! (Thank you to mom and dad.. you are the best.) And I went WAT too crazy with CVS beauty buys… goodness gracious. The 75% off signs really got me going, didn’t they! I think I have enough lipgloss to last me the entire year. =P

Next months plans?

• Sew! I’ve been creating a few new goodies and I’m currently making more blocky monsters in different colors so I can have a whole bunch to photograph for my Etsy listings
• I know I have a TON of clothes and shoes yet I still seem to go overbudget here. I have to use restraint here. (What else is new?)

♥ E&I

December 2010 Budget Recap

Tags

budget, budgeting, Money, personal finance

*NOTE: This budget is for shopping/food/gas only, or expense that I can control fully. I’m not including fixed expenses (mortgage, utilities, medical bills) because they’re fixed and honestly pretty boring to talk about. My TOTAL spending is not reflected in this budget *

Blown Budgets:

1. Gas and Fuel

2. Toiletries/Cosmetics

1. Giant Mitsuwa stock-up haul when the whole store was 20% off… the image is only part of it! – $136.66
2. Zoya Nail Polish in Astra (review here) – $7
3. Gap Scent Editions EDT in Sueded Musk (discontinued) – $42.95 from Ebay

3. Home Decor

1. Julia Pott art print from Etsy – $14.80
2. Cream Mongolian Lambswool pillow (for my future couch) from Marshalls – $46.28

I barely spent anything on food because I’m eating from my pantry and I had a lot of family meetups resulting in a fridge chock full of leftovers!

Overall budget:

$-2

The Verdict?

After moving to the condo I’m trying to focus on furnishing it. I did buy a pair of shoes and pants, and I stocked up a ton of personal care items at Mitsuwa, but my family helped out a lot with my food budget and I’m very thankful =) I’m happy to see that I stayed true to my clothing and shoe budgets this month. Yay!

Next months plans?

• Buy a couch!
• Open up my Etsy shop once again after a long hiatus
• Sew like a banshee… I need to make extra pocket money!

♥ E&I

August 2010 Budget Recap

Tags

budget, budgeting, personal finance

*NOTE: This budget is for shopping/food/gas only, or expense that I can control fully. I’m not including fixed expenses (rent, utilities, medical bills) because they’re fixed and honestly pretty boring to talk about. My TOTAL spending is not reflected in this budget *

Blown Budgets:

1. Toiletries/Cosmetics

1. Skin79 The Oriental BB Cream – $45
2. Red Cherry False Lashes – $6.05
3. ModelCo Tan Extender lotion from Marshalls – $6.56

2. Clothing

1. Express Top – $21.74
2. Helmut Lang foil top and PCH batwing top from Loehmann’s – $47.34
3. F21 floral dress and Vintage black lace romper – $10.48
4. H&M Stripe bow skirt – $32.72
5. H&M black piping skirt – $21.85
6. Black ruffle romper and black daydress from Macy*s Juniors – $10

3. Shoes and Accessories

1. Sam Edelman Zoe Boots- $155
2. Target Virginia Pumps – $32
3. Target Green Rainboots – $10

Overall budget:

-$47

The Verdict?

Not bad. I cut back on a lot of gas and grocery spending and it helped with some of my overspending for clothes/shoes.

Next months plans?

• Japan for 2 weeks! I’m leaving this Saturday!
• I’ll try to keep up with spending in Japan but I know it will be very difficult to keep track because I’m only using cash and I’ll be paying for some of my sister’s spending too. I’ll try my best though.

♥ E&I

May 2010 Budget Recap

Tags

budget, budgeting, Money, monthly budget recap, personal finance, spending

*NOTE:  This budget is for shopping/food/gas only, or expense that I can control fully.  I’m not including fixed expenses (rent, utilities, medical bills) because they’re fixed and honestly pretty boring to talk about.  My TOTAL spending is not reflected in this budget *

Blown Budgets:

1.  Food and Dining (this equals groceries + eating out)

I took a few trips to Costco, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and a couple Japanese and Chinese markets this month.  The strange thing is, I didn’t eat out much at all…just $13 worth!

I made Tom Yum Soup the other day but forgot to take pictures.  Whoops.  I’ll try to get into my cooking groove once more.

2.  Groceries

Same as above.

3.  Clothing

I bought a Talula blazer from Aritzia for $109.25 after taxes.

4.  Shoes and Accessories

My Corso Como black leather Ballasox/Festive flats finally came in the mail and I’ve been wearing them nonstop!  They are truly the most comfortable ballet flats I’ve ever had, and when this pair finally dies I’m definitely getting another pair.  I bought them from Martin+Osa when they were having their 30% off closing sale for $52 after shipping.  (Wendy from Nitrolicious also has a review for them here; this is where I first read about them.)

Overall budget:

+$13 left!

The Verdict?

Not bad.  I did shop at Loehmann’s yesterday but the charges haven’t showed up on my statements yet… I guess I’ll classify those purchases as June spending.

I also sold some clothes to Crossroads over the holiday weekend and got $17 in store credit.  Cha-ching!

Next months plans?

• I really need to head to the library for recipes!  Since my allergies stopped me in my tracks the past couple weeks I didn’t feel like doing anything domestic.
• Donate a few things to Goodwill that I wasn’t able to sell at Crossroads (just a couple jackets so far… they’re only taking Summer items right now)
• Cook!  And take more photos!

-E&I