Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Style Budget Month 2: February

The quotation "Neither a borrower nor a lender be" is said to Laertes, by his father Polonius, in the play Hamlet and this quote is one that has come to my mind often this month. One because I'm teaching the play at school and two because I have a ton of outstanding debt. Largely this is due to the excessive cost of tuition for grad school, but my shopping habit (coupled with the unfortunate teacher salary) certainly hasn't helped this issue.

That being said, I am working on changing, and I am using this blog to hold myself accountable. I want to sell more and when I do shop I want it to be for quality items that will get worn. If something is languishing away unworn in my real closet- chances are- I will soon be listing it in my Poshmark closet (link above) or I will re sell it on eBay. 


This month I did much better than last month. In fact this month I actually made money. I also was able to go into Target and Old Navy and I did not shop! I'm pretty pleased to report this months spending. I've also updated my format to now show the items I bought with the prices I paid, plus shipping costs. This way I will have visuals of the items to help remember them and to see if they actually get worn. Here are the images. 

Five items bought  at the start of the month for a total of $122 spent. $62 on Posh and the rest J. Crew Factory. However, then J. Crew had to get me with a big 50% off sale and I spent a bit more, but since I had a rewards card it wasn't THAT much more.



1. Charley Merino Sweater in Grey: Normally $69.50, paid $21
2. Plaid Boy Shirt: Normally $88, paid $32
3. Navy Skimmer Pants: Normally $59.50, paid $24 UPDATE: RETURNED= +19 back to budget (after return shipping)
4. Factory Classic Printed Cotton Button Down Shirt: Normally $64.50, paid $12
5. Cafe Capris: Normally $89.50, paid $30
6. Pear Bracelet : $70, paid $12.50
7. Pack Green Tippi Sweater: $79.50, paid $22.50
8. Tortoise Cece Ballet flats on Posh: $138, paid $30
9. Multistripe Popover in Azalea Guava : $78, paid $22


If I paid retail prices for these items I would have spent $736.50 and instead I spent only $194.  And since I actually made money this month I'm not feeling too bad about spending. I need to work to not BUY anything, but I'm taking baby steps here.

This month on Posh I made a total of $319, so subtract my $194 that I spent and I actually made $125 this month!

I'm also linking up with one of my favorite blogger role models this month, so here is her button/link for you to investigate the lady who came up with the budgeting blogger idea first.
Franish



Coming up next:  I am planning to work on a post detailing a comparison (and a review) on my favorite pants the CafĂ© Capris (retail- shown bottom left above) and the Skimmer pants from Factory (top right).

13 comments:

  1. I love that you're doing this too! I'm trying to work down to spending zero dollars.

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  2. Hi, you're set up as a no-reply blogger (you can chencge that in your settings to add an email) so, I'm commenting here :) you have a fun style! If you want to send me a picture of yourself in all black I'd be happy to try to identify your shape. I have a feeling you might be rectangular like myself. I'm posting on that next week. My email link is on my "work with me page" of my blog. :)

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    1. Awesome! Thanks for the tip about the no reply blogger part. I will fix that. I will also send a picture. I was thinking rectangle or apple, but just couldn't decide. Thanks so much for stopping by. You are a blog role model for me. :)

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  3. woohoo, good for you!!! i have started thinking about selling my stuff too. i just get lazy...

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    1. Thanks so much for commenting ! I have been lucky with Posh and eBay, but it definitely takes effort! Let me know if you have any question about selling---I'm happy to help!

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  4. L- I know exactly how you feel! This is something that I always struggle with, and boy is Target my main weakness. I keep telling myself to take the plunge and list things on eBay, but have yet to do so. I think it's great that you're doing this, it definitely encourages the rest of us!

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    1. Thanks for commenting. It is seriously a HARD task to not shop, but what I have found is that each month feels a bit easier. I have been attempting this since November and this is the first month I feel like I really made progress. Let me know if you need any tips or have questions about selling on eBay or Poshmark.

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  5. I wish I had luck on Poshmark! I listed some items for a couple of weeks, but after not getting any interest I just sold everything to a consignment shop. Maybe that's just a lack of patience on my part, lol! Love your purchases!

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    1. Thanks so much Katie! Your blog is amazing! Let me know if you ever have questions about Poshmark or selling online. I am planning a selling tips post very soon, but mostly it just takes patience.;)

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  6. I love that your budgeting post is introduced by a Hamlet quote - so perfect!

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    1. Thanks so much Anna Belle. I love Hamlet- it is my absolute favorite thing to teach. What do you teach? I really liked your guest post on WCIS this week.

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  7. Oh my gosh, I am just smitten with the pink striped blouse and tortoiseshell flats that you got this month! So beautiful! I'm stopping over from Fran's linkup!

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