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Every time a new season comes along, I feel like I have no appropriate clothing. How is this possible?!?!
How is it possible that I can’t tell whether or not something was a good purchase until months after I bought it?
I need to organize my clothing and my style in 2010. If I’m going to spend money on it (and I am) I might as well get what I want out of it. Right?!?!
And, since this is a personal finance blog, you will see the financial part of that. By the way, I have no real plan on how to do this, suggestions welcome.
Good News: I bought my plane ticket home for $224 and 10k miles. I actually bought two one-way tickets on different airlines to get the best price. Last week I budgeted $400, so this reduces the amount I need to save in my Travel Fund over the next six months to about $440/month. It also sounds like I’ll come in under budget for Vegas.
Bad News: It is the 23rd, and I’m pretty much out of money for the month if I want to stick with my earlier savings allocations. It’s not going to happen. And I’m thinking of using a 40% off coupon + $25 gift card at BR to get a classy jacket. But that would still be just over $100 out of pocket.
I’m also still obsessed with the idea long boyfriend cardigan, and willing to buy a cheaper brand because I’m not convinced that it is a style that will be popular in two years. Of course Old Navy is out of my size. I’m still liking the mustard color this fall, but black/grey/brown seems more practical for a layering piece.
I’m going to an outdoor concert next week, and I’m envisioning a long cardigan over a simple patterned graphic tee, skinny belt, skinny jeans, and tall boots. I own the bottom half of the outfit, but not the top.
But wait, didn’t I just say I was out of money for the month? I could just wear things I already own… Hmph.
Any outfit inspiration ideas? I’m still thinking boots (brown) and skinny jeans. I do own a longer cardigan with thick blue and white stripes (sort of like this one). I liked to wear it with yellow underneath last year. Hmmm… Then my only “need’ is a skinny belt, but that might not work with thick stripes anyway.
I’m putting way too much thought into this. (Avoiding homework. This is unacceptable!)
At some point in the past year (or three?) I purchased 2 pillows for myself, likely for about $15 each on sale. When T and I moved in together, I kept them and he brought his own pillows. He’s been trying to steal one (or both) of mine ever since.
After months of playful battles (and some all out war –while dead asleep T violently shifted in bed and landed his cheekbone on my sleeping head. I’m convinced it was pillow related.), he insisted he couldn’t sleep another night on his crappy pillows. “I used to have a nice fluffy one from IKEA! Where did that one go? Maybe you stole it!“ I took his “crappy” pillow and showed him the faded IKEA tag. Oh.
We found ourselves at Macy’s, squeezing the entire stock of pillows. I was leaning towards a decent synthetic fill ($20), while he thought the down surround ones were nice ($30). There was so little down that I preferred synthetic. We both liked the fancy down pillows best, but $60 for a pillow? Really?
And… Here it goes. We bought them. Two pillows, $55 each after some couponing and tax. Regular price (or rather “Insane Price”) of $120, it still didn’t feel anything like a bargain. Even as Macy’s top rated pillow, it felt insane. It still feels insane. Who am I?!?!
I can justify it of course — what price can you put on a good nights sleep?! A once every 5+ year expense! But it isn’t about the ability to justify it. I can justify anything if I really want.
It’s a splurge. Which is ok. But so many splurges have made their way into my life over the past few months that it is confusing me. That doesn’t mean I’m not saving. I am. Quite a lot, actually. But the ability to splurge on things, and still save is sort of mystifying. My brain can’t handle it. I can’t properly evaluate whether these splurges are worth the price. If a pillow caused me to go into debt, obviously not. But what if I siphon $50 that would have gone to the Travel Fund (which still gets plenty) instead? What harm is there in that?
Maybe I need a break from splurges to reset my thinking. What do you think? It seems a lot of pf bloggers have had many splurges over the summer/fall. (I’m not pointing fingers, but if you felt slightly guilty after reading that sentence — it’s you!)
Yes, I’m making a huge deal out of nothing too major– $55 is not the end of the world (but for a pillow?!). This is the culmination of a lot of thoughts I’ve been mulling over lately, somewhat prompted by oilandgarlic’s comments and posts about pf bloggers making her want to spend. (Did this make you want to buy a new pillow?) I’m doing a lot of atypical spending (this month alone: birthday party, concert tickets, pillow, bootcamp, and more), and it is freaking me out a bit. Splurging is becoming typical?
November will be a quiet month. Except that trip to Vegas…. Eeeep!
On the other hand… We slept GREAT last night.
I promise this is a frugal post, even though it is about shopping!
I took up running about two years ago. After running in old shoes and getting knee pain, I stopped by a specialty running store to get fitted (at my readers advice!). While I’m certain other shoes that would suit my needs, I haven’t had any pain since buying my Etonic Kendari’s, one size larger than my regular shoe, + insoles. It set me back a lot of money last year: $140. Ouch! (No knee pain, just financial pain!)
I’m not quite due for new running shoes, but I know that I’ll need them in the next few months. I’ve also heard that it is a good idea to rotate in the new shoes with the old. So I’ve been scoping them out for awhile now. My usual stragegy is to Google the shoe, then go to Google Shopping and check out the prices. There have been sales on Overstock.com and 6pm.com for awhile, but not my size. So I waited.
Today I noticed DSW was listed as a merchant of my shoes at a cost of $70. In my size! Much less than I paid last year! I was immediately excited. The next step was to hit up RetailMeNot to check out coupon codes. I applied three codes — 30% off, $5 off, and free shipping. My shoes will arrive next week for a grand total of $48.25!
At that price, I considered getting another pair as back-up. I’ve heard of marathoners and serious runners doing this, but I don’t think is for me. It takes me at least a year to wear through a pair of shoes at my sporadic and relatively low mileage (at most 10 miles a week, often less).
This is a purchase I was planning to make sometime in the next 3 months. I even had $40 extra dollars going to my fitness fund this month to go towards what I thought would be a $100+ purchase in the future! Did I save money by spending money? Well NO, that is usually not possible. But I saved money by spending money NOW rather than spending money LATER.
I woke up this morning to find this lovely image on Banana Republic’s website, along with promises of 15%-20% off and free shipping. The same dress, styled two very different ways! What a great deal! (Uh….)
The dress alone is $150, not to mention the cardigan, shoes, accessories, turtleneck… There must be over $1000 worth of clothes in these two outfits! (I obviously considered the idea of this dress much longer than necessary… though I do have a $25 gift card.)
I really like the style of both the outfits. They are chic and put-together and accessorized in a way I can rarely manage to pull off on my own, but really is quite simple. But where on earth would I even wear these? I probably could wear them to work (the one on the right would be a stretch… and they are too short I guess) but it is in no way what most people generally wear to work in my office — much more casual. Hanging around the apartment? Going out to eat? Perhaps an afternoon at the museum? Shopping? The model looks like she is going out to do something interesting!
So. I really like the style, but it just doesn’t fit into my life. So that got me thinking — can I create a similar look that does fit my lifestyle? And can I do it for way less? So far, the answer is no. But maybe I can learn?
This is a really random post. But I think this is what I often do wrong with my shopping. I don’t buy enough accessories to make an outfit special. I fall in love with things that really don’t fit well into the life I actually have. I don’t really have a sense a “personal style”. I finally think I have enough “basics” for my work wardrobe that maybe I can branch out and try things that aren’t quite so basic. And maybe try to find more pieces that can transition well from work to play.
Do any of you actually have a clothing strategy? I always say that I’m going to try to be more focused in the clothes I buy, but I never can seem to pull it together.
My overall goal for clothing this year was to not spend more than $100/month average. Primarily due to the last two months, I only have $26 left in the year in order to meet that goal. Yikes!
Luckily, I have all the shoes I need (all in good condition) except running shoes, which I count as a “fitness” purchase. Here is what I consider my wardrobe holes right now.
Accessories:
- 1 thick black belt
- 1 thick brown belt
- 1 skinny brown belt (for work pants)
- 1-2 more trendy necklaces
- 1-2 pairs of more trendy earings
Shirts/Tops
- 1 thick dark brown or cream cardigan
- 1 short sleeve button up work shirt (or other work shirt, but I would love to find a button up that fits well)
- 1 long sleeve button up work short (or other work short)
- 1 more dress for going out (maybe. . .)
Bottoms
- 1 more winter work skirt
- 1 pair of black tights
Obviously I can’t get that all for $24. I’ve bolded the items that I’m going to carefully select October – December, and perhaps the rest will go on a Christmas list and/or wait for the new year. I’m focusing on accessories, since I don’t properly utilize them. I got this really great t-shirt dress last month (on sale since, uh, summer is over), and if I accessorize it right, it will definitely make it out this fall and winter.
PS – Always the Planner has a really similar post. We must be on the same wavelength! Fall = shopping!
I don’t think it has to be. But for me, this month, it sure has been.
I didn’t take much of the advice offered on my previous post asking about necklaces. What is “in” right now are big and bold necklaces, made sound even cooler by referring to them as “statement necklaces”. I get that. I like them too, for the right occasion. But what I neglected to mention is that the outfit was sort of for engagement photos, and the dress is pretty classic, so I ended up with classic simple jewelry. A necklace with a small fake diamond sparkle and earrings.
Whatever. It is quite understated, but at least I won’t look at it in a year (or 6 months!) and think, “what was I thinking?!” By the way, pearls looked really great, but a little too… prissy? They just weren’t quite the right look, though I might get some if an appropriate occasion comes up.
Then I zipped into Sephora for some expensive new make-up. I’ve been using some pretty cheap stuff that worked ok (but not amazing) and wanted a little more coverage. I actually wanted this set, but the shades weren’t quite right anyway. I got the Smashbox foundation (even though they are mostly known for their primer) and some powder. I’m considering permanently upping my make-up game if the products really seem better than my cheaper versions. I don’t go through it quickly, so maybe it is worth it. Maybe not though — we’ll have to see.
Then…. I stopped at a nail salon last minute and spent $20 + tip for a quick mani-pedi. The salon was clean, but the service was super rushed and really not as attentive as I hoped. But for $20, that is what you get, and my nails look way way way better than before, way better than they would have looked if I did them myself.
Oh, and tomorrow I’m getting a haircut that will come to just under $100.
OMG. I never spend this much on “Personal Care” in one month. These are the times when I regret that I so carefully track my spending and have to enter each and every item. The only thing that will save me is next month is an elusive three paycheck month. I need it!
That is me!
So I have this dress in light blue:
I also own these shoes, which are a really light gold:
And… some silver shoes that I don’t care for as much, but could wear if I had too.
My question is, what the heck kind of necklace do I wear with that dress?! I don’t want something too bold/trendy, and preferably something that goes ok with the light gold shoes. (Can you wear silver jewlery and gold shoes? And my engagement ring is white gold, but can I wear gold necklaces still?)
I know everyone has their own style, but what you would wear? Links to photos appreciated! I’m such an accessorizing failure!
If you help me, I promise to post a photo of me in the dress with the necklace I ended up wearing! (Obviously I’ll be headless.) Etsy is totally fine for inspiration, but I think I’m headed to the 3rd street promenade in Santa Monica Thursday night and I must buy it then! No time to wait for shipping!
I planned a lot for this month, but luckily, nothing at all for this long weekend! I haven’t had much desire to post the past week… so I haven’t! We’ve spent a little time with friends, a little time cleaning and cooking, some time running and beaching, and a lot of time relaxing.
Here’s what I spent (my share)
Drinks with friends: $17
Sushi: $20
Picked up dress at tailor: $45 (turned out great!)
Books: $100 (one text book that I’ll be reimbursed for, one travel book)
Cleaning Supplies: $10
Groceries: $35
Laundry: $5
I also bought lunch with 2 new coworkers on Friday ($15) and went out with a couple friends and T on Thursday ($10 or so), so all in all, September is off to an expensive start!
I’m not even going to bother with a detailed goal review of my August goals, because I’ll tell you right now. I failed!
The one thing I did accomplish was finishing out my class with an A, and that was certainly my highest priority. But as far as finances go, I spent far far too much on restaurants, clothes, and alcohol.
It was a month with plenty of wine, some sangria, and even more wine. There is nothing like a chilled white on a hot day, except for saving the money. Even at $7/bottle (typical price of the ones we’ve been liking from TJ’s), it adds up. I refuse to give the number because it is embarrasing!
Restaurants… i don’t know what happened here. Well I do actually — our (not so) new neighborhood has a million delicious offerings, many within walking distance, few at a reasonable price. Two burritos for $17? I mean seriously! And we just weren’t careful about it
And clothes! I started out the month stocking up on a few basic t-shirts I found on sale. And a cardigan. And bright teal flats. While on a mission to find a dress I liked for engagement photos (why I have my heart set on a dress is beyond me, but I do. A blue one.), I also picked up another work shirt and uh, a dress for going out. In my defense, the going out dress has been on my wish list for over a year, and when I do go out, I always hate whatever I’m wearing (usually jeans and a so-so top).
I did find a dress for the photos — a casual blue Calvin Klein dress that miraculously was $27. It had no price tag and they found a semi-similar one for $65 and said they’d charge me that. I found another semi-similar one (in an odd size, granted) for $35 and asked if they could charge me that instead. The saleswoman was agreed, and there must have been some additional sale going on to make it even cheaper. It is probably going to cost more to have it altered to fit me, but I really hope it works out. I hate shopping!
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