Friday, May 30, 2014

Style Budget Month 5: May

Wow! It has been almost a month since I posted here. Sorry! When you see the items below you will think I spent the entire month shopping. Instead, I spent the entire month grading AP essays, senior portfolios, final exams, and now finishing up my semester grades. Sheesh!

On to the budget...

Is bad that I started May's budget on April 26th? I hope not. That combined with my Birthday ended up being a bad month. In fact, this may have been my worst month budget wise yet. Oddly, all my shopping was either the end of April or on my birthday weekend too. I basically went crazy with shopping on a few days this month and now my summer budget is at $0! At least I got some fun pieces that should keep me busy for a bit.

Here they are.



May Shopping
1 &2.  $16 for 2 necklaces on Groopdealz mint & white
3-5. $45 for three (used once) Tippi's on eBay for $45 for all, normally $80 each 
6. $19 for a NWT  J. Crew lace merino sweater via eBay instead of $98 retail 
7. $20 Ameernoor on Jane.com for necklace, Flower Lattice necklace retail $228
8-10. $72 at J. Crew Factory: $12 earrings, $12  hat,  $48 shoes 
11. $25 for NWT J. Crew navy tuxedo stripe cafe capris on eBay normally $89. 
12-15. $41 at Old Navy: 1 pair of jean shorts $16, a heather blue boat neck $4, boat neck navy tee $12, and a linen split neck tee $9
16. $13 at GAP for a fitted boyfriend Swiss dot top originally $55
[17-24 were Birthday gifts from myself & or husband. ]
17-19. $52 at J. Crew: $20Vintage cotton silk tee from $50, jeweled oxford Peter Pan boy shirt$40 instead of $110, side panel merino sweater $18 from $90 (paid some with rewards card) 
20. Out of print tee for $19.60 vs $28 (and for a good cause!) 
21 & 22. $28 for 2 Edith Marie necklaces, Trish and Goldie 
23.  $116 at the Kate Spade outlet: for Neda and Sophie
24.  $40 at J. Crew Factory for the Anya flats in blue suede

Total Spent = $486

Made:  $80 eBay + $260 Posh  =$340

Spent= $146

Wow! My total spent is really embarrassing! 

Here is a quick summary of the items. I have not yet worn the mint leaf necklace yet (#2), nor have I worn any of the new Tippi sweaters (3-6). I also haven't worn 17 from J.Crew yet either, but I love the soft grey color in person. Also, it is close to 100 degrees each day here in FL, so I can't even think about wearing wool.

I have gotten tons of wear out of the Anya suede flats (both pairs 10 &24). Those of you looking for shoes like the Cece flats, these are just as nice and maybe a bit wider. I've also worn the black vintage cotton silk back tee from J.Crew a ton, it is versatile enough to go from work to weekend for me.

I have worn both Edith Marie necklaces (21 & 22) a bunch since I got them and the prices and quality continue to please me. This was my second order and I will likely order again when I can.

I've worn all the ON items quite a bit, particularly the jean shorts and the split neck linen top and if you are looking for cooler weight summer items I would recommend them. I may buy more in the top as I just saw they are on sale for $11 today. I also got a crepe midi skirt when shopping with my mom that is not shown above that I adore. Check it out if you need something more conservative and cool for summer/work.

Linking up with Fran for Budgeting Bloggers.

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Style Budget Month 4: April

Hello All, it is time for my monthly Budgeting Blogger post again. 

Here are the items I bought this month.

1-4. $63  all from J. Crew, scroll work necklace from $75, tuxedo tank from $88, Tippi in Turquoise from $79.50 (used a gift card for some of order), $18 for the merino tipped side panel v neck sweater from $89.50
5. $47 Green Cece's on eBay from $128 normally 
6.$25 tipped silk tee in windowpane J. Crew from $118
7. $25 tipped silk tee in diamond print from J. Crew from $118
8- 13.$114 on J. Crew Factory: stripe boat neck at $15 instead of $42, two Clare cardigans at $15 each instead of $55 each, camp shirt for $18 instead of $65, printed cotton button down for $22 instead of $65, polka dot popover for $22 instead of $70
14. $16 (including shipping cost) Edith Marie Necklace, The Amy
15. $31 Pre- Owned Gentle Souls Fortune Stella via eBay from $238 retail

I Spent $321 for the month of April.

However, I made money too. 
+328 on Poshmark +50 on eBay = Total Made $378

$378 Made- $321 spent =$57 Made for the month of April

If I paid retail prices for the items I would have spent a whopping $1198! By not paying retail prices for anything and shopping sales I managed to save $877. 





I am really happy with items 1-4 for this post. Of course, I'm a J. Crew addict, but these pieces are timeless, versatile, and all around amazing prices. Yes, I may have purchased a Tippi (Item 1) sweater (or two) every month this year. I just can't help myself. They are literally the best sweaters ever. I mean why wear anything else? Item 3, the tipped side panel merino sweater in poolside navy, was a surprise love for me. It is a baggy fit, but I felt comfortable with it and a pair of skinny jeans. I haven't worn the scroll-work necklace or the tuxedo tank, so that tells me they may get resold in the future. 

My main shoe purchase (item 5) for the month of April is a pair of green suede Cece flats from eBay, NIB. I paid $47 for them while they retail for $128 new. I also went up half a size in them to a 9.5. I don't own anything quite this color green, but I think the color will look nice with navy, which I seem to wear almost every day.  I have worn them twice already and am a fan of the fit and style.

Items 6 and 7 were not needed, but again a sale got me for 7 and then by chance an amazing J. Crew VPS was able to locate the windowpane tee when I thought for sure it was gone, and so I ended up with two of these. Yep. I have since worn both silk tops and I am complety enamored of them. I wil wear them year round and they are well worth the money. 

Then J. Crew Factory had a sale and Giltcity.com offered 25% off on top of that and I went a bit crazy shopping. Items 8-13 are all Factory items and the crazy part is I got them all for only $114!

Next, I heard about Edith Marie jewelry on Ginny's blog and again of Intsagram, so naturally I couldn't resist placing an order. I got one item to start but it is as fabulous as I imagine I will be back for more soon. I already have my eye on the tassel necklace after seeing both Ginny and Tara style it in amazing ways. 

The last item was a bid I wasn't sure if I'd get on eBay and with shipping I managed to score these Gentle Souls black pumps for $31! They retail for $238, so this felt like a good buy.  They have yet to arrive so I can't attest to the fit and style at this time, but I have tried the brand before and they have been incredibly comfy and well made.

Alright, well this month was not really an improvement over last month. If anything I spent just as much and made less. I feel bad that I was not able to keep more of a profit this month and I really need to work hard to make money for our family as the summer is quickly approaching. As a teacher that means almost three whole months without getting paid! Also, next month is my birthday month and that seems like a good month to take it easy on the spending.

I'm linking up with Franish of Budgeting Bloggers as usual here.