October 2010 Budget Recap

Tags

Money, monthly budget recap, 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. Gas and Fuel

2. Toiletries/Cosmetics

1. Sephora (F&F): Bobbi Brown Gel Eyeliner in Mauve Shimmer & MUFE Full Cover Concealer in 006 – $44.57
2. Clarisonic Mia – $104.30

3. Clothing

1. Gap 00R Jean Leggings and White oversized button down in S Petite – $61.93
2. Forever 21 lace top – $21.63
3. H&M off the shoulder sweater (worn here and here) & off the shoulder sweatshirt – $66.60

4. Shoes and Accessories

1. ASOS Rings (YSL-ish ring and moulded ring) – $23.59
2. House of Harlow 1960 Necklace (worn here)- $69.95
3. H&M fur collar (worn here) and circle scarf (worn here)- $41.23

Overall budget:

$-229

The Verdict?

Ehhhh I went overboard with the shopping… thanks to Pam‘s INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH H&M enabling and the crazy Gap 40% off sale and the well-deserved hype surrounding the Gap Legging Jeans (as shown here by PAG!).

Well in recent news I’m putting in an offer for a townhouse today. Wish me luck! The cost of this place plus my already brewing decor plans is going to be a lot of $$$ so I’d better focus on that instead of clothes/shoes/makeup. Heaven help me.

Next months plans?

• Save up for decor and moving expenses if I actually get the townhouse
• SEW some more and add more things to the shop… any extra income helps

♥ 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

April 2010 Budget Recap

Tags

budget, budgeting, Money, monthly budget recap, 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:

Pretty much everything except toiletries and home decor.  Cue the sad faces.

Overall budget:

+$2

The Verdict?

Just like I predicted, my shopping bug came back.  I used up all of my Crossroads store credit and bought a few things from Loehmann’s and Asos.com.  I did do a ton of cooking this month, which skyrocketed my groceries spending.  I’ve adjusted the Grocery budget to $150 from now on.  (Food & Dining = Groceries + Dining Out, so that’s why this category was in the red as well)

But I guess it could have been worse…  Clothing and accessories were only over budget by $2 each.

This is the first full month I’ve had at the new apartment.  I just got my utility bill so I’ll be calculating how much to put into my long term savings/emergency fund today.  Also, April is one of those wonderful 3 paycheck months for me.  I’ve already deposited the third “extra” paycheck into that high interest savings account.

Next months plans?

• Continue to cook new recipes, but I’m running out of ideas!  Must get to the library soon.
• Get rid of more clutter! (always on my list)
• Relax and perhaps read more

-E&I

March 2010 Budget Recap

Tags

budget, budgeting, Money, monthly budget recap, net worth, 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:

NONE!

Notable items I bought this month:

1.  Clothes

• Light denim J Brand skinnies from Loehmman’s – $13
• Theory navy blue city shorts from Loehmann’s – $24
• N.E.O. LA black silk jacket from Goodwill – $8.99

2.  Toiletries/Cosmetics

• Lioele BB Cream from Ebay – $17

3.  Decor

• Pretty milk bottle soap dispenser from Target – $14

BUT… I did buy a $500 Nikon EOS Rebel XS.

This money will come from my ~$2500 work bonus, so I won’t include this.

Overall budget:

+$212

The Verdict?

I did wonderfully this month in terms of spending..especially with clothes and shoes!  With all of the hustle and bustle of moving I’ve been too pre-occupied to shop.  But now that the townhouse is out of the question, I predict I won’t be so ‘good’ in the future.  Let’s hope it doesn’t get too out of hand, shall we?  I’m doing so well with closet purging!

(Well if I do have the urge to shop I have a $40 credit at Crossroads.  I love clothes recycling!)

Next months plans?

• Cook more, since I have my own kitchen and fridge now.  No more sharing with terrible roommates.
• Taking some recreational taiko classes this spring;  I did it for 3 years in college and it’s been far too long since I’ve touched a drum.
• Maintaining my nice clean apartment.  I bought Real Simple’s Cleaning book via Amazon after I read most of it at my local Barnes and Noble.
• Get rid of more clutter!
• Fiddle with my new SLR and take some wonderful pictures of family and friends.

-E&I

February 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.  Shoes and Accessories

• Black Suede Minnetonkas $24 from Ebay
• Converse Elastic Lace Ups $15 from Loehmann’s
• Steve Madden Rusttik Suede boots $30 from Loehmann’s
• Vince Camuto Gordon Lace Up Shooties $15 from Loehmann’s

2.  Clothing

• Forever 21 Silk Pants $32
• Romeo and Juliet Couture blue tank $6 from Loehmanns’
• RVCA Sleeveless White Button-down $5 from Loehmann’s
• Breton Striped Top from Asos.com $31
• French Connection Starlight sequin woven top $15 from Loehmann’s
• Sequin Max Studio Tank $10 from Loehmann’s
• Romeo and Juliet Couture sequin blazer $15 from Loehmann’s

Overall budget:

+$63

The Verdict?

So-so.   I thought February would also be a NO-CLOTHES-SHOPPING month but…. that was a big fat failure.  Haha.

I’m happy I that ended up in the black, at least.  After a month of not shopping for clothes I guess I started to binge at Loehmann’s.  :(  I’m the type that wears a newly purchased item the very next day… So I wear everything I buy at least one time.   (Isn’t it easy to see that I’m trying to convince myself to feel better about my clothing binge??? Haha.)

I feel like I know my style well enough to know what items I will actually wear.  And according to this month, it seems to be everything black.  50% of my wardrobe is either black or white or gray.  You can’t go wrong with those colors.  Pops of color are meant for playful accessories, IMHO.

Oh and yes, I did indeed buy a breton top (the exact one above, from ASOS.com) that I was obsessing about earlier this month.

Next months plans?

• No more roommate/apartment-mate!!!  I’m finally living on my own in a cute little one bedroom apartment.  My 2 bedroom lease ends at the end of March, but the 1 bedroom lease starts March 14th.  (I wasn’t able to push it forward, so I’m stuck with mid-March)  That means moving in will be a long and hopefully easy process.  And I’ll be able to ‘escape’ from my hellish apartment-mate way before our 2 bedroom lease ends.  
• The short sale townhouse is still waiting for approval.
• I opted for a 4 month lease for the 1 bedroom apartment just in case the approval comes early.  This means rent will be MUCH more expensive compared to what I pay right now.  I can’t afford to shop as much as I usually do in the coming months.   I really don’t want to be spending more than I’m bringing in.  This is really going to be crunch time in terms of my spending.

-E&I