Budgeting Bloggers: October

Wow, I haven’t bought this much stuff at one time since May! Before you rat me out to my accountant (joke’s on you, I don’t have one), let’s talk. You might remember that I held myself back a bit in September what with the whole lack of job thing. I saved my blog-related income instead of spending it on clothes like I normally do. Since I started working this month, I cut myself a little slack and added my blog income to my budget. But October just happened to be a very good month for blog income and gifted items, so I decided not to use my normal $150 “starting budget.” It was actually my goal this year to get to the point where I spend only blog and consignment income on clothes – blogging might not ever be my job, but it could at least be a self-sustaining hobby one day!

OK, enough about my hopes and dreams. Let’s move on to the really important stuff: shopping.

My Budget

• $384 (blog income)
• $86 (sold old clothes)

          =$470

What I Spent

• $106 on cheetah print scarf and pumps from Ann Taylor (total retail $208; went during sale and used stackable coupon)
• $56 on 2 plaid scarves, navy & red striped tee, and black hat from Target (total retail $63, used coupon on Cartwheel app)
• $24 on my Le Tote subscription (normally $49; redeemed a referral bonus)
• $82 on an embellished gray tee, leather skirt, and 2-in-1 sweater from Loft (total retail $179; ordered during flash sale)
• $112 on shooties, black dress, and cheetah print dress from Ann Taylor (total retail $428; ordered during an epic flash sale – extra 60% off!)
• $53 on a quilted bag from Express
• $42 on beige ankle boots from DSW (retail $89, DSW price $50; used $10 rewards certificate)
• $37 on a leopard clutch from Express (retail $50; used $15 off coupon)

         =$509 (total retail value: $1,119 + tax!)

I know I always make note of how much I save off retail, but I don’t really go into detail on how I stay organized and on top of sales. I’m planning a post for next week where I’ll share all my savvy shopping secrets. Stay tuned!

What I Received

• ~Quilted jacket, floral dress, and necklace courtesy of H&M
• ~Solitaire necklace, striped top, midi ring, rain boots, and leather jacket courtesy of Shopbop
• ~Pink statement necklace courtesy of Sterling Forever (25% of proceeds this month support breast cancer research)
• ~Ribbed sweater courtesy of Lucky B Boutique

I hope you guys don’t think I’m a douche for bragging about the free stuff I get every month. I only do it to be honest and transparent about not just what I add to my closet but how it gets there. And as much as I love pulling out my gifted items and yelling “IT’S FO FREE” (a la Rebel Wilson in Bridesmaids), they’re not really free. They’re earned through the mediocre work I do here on this blog 5+ days a week! Thanks for reading! And be sure to check out the other Budgeting Bloggers.