Budgeting Bloggers: February

Look at all this good stuff I got this month! Even if you’ve been reading my blog every day of February (and of course you have, because you’re smart), you probably won’t recognize half of this. That’s because it’s been so effing cold this month that I either haven’t been able to wear my new stuff or just haven’t been able to take outfit photos. But stay tuned and you’ll see it all in action soon!

February will go down in history as the month of returns and price adjustments. Let me share a couple stories for those of you who want some real-life tips on getting the best deals:

The whole top row above is stuff I bought from Loft. I started off ordering 4 items during a flash sale. I knew I wanted the polka dot shirt, but I ordered a few extra things to try because you got free shipping with a certain minimum order. I loved the shirt and the red skirt, but I didn’t love the other 2 pieces. After I made my first order, I received a coupon for $25 off a $75 in-store purchase. I decided to return the 2 duds to a store and then look around for something to use my coupon on. I found the other 3 pieces you see in the top row up there, and there was an in-store promotion going on that I thought would give me an extra awesome bargain. But when I got up to the register, it turned out everything was full price. I was in a hurry to get somewhere and I couldn’t decide what to do, so I just went ahead and paid for it even though it made me feel guilty immediately. I really liked what I got, so I decided to just let it chill out in the bag for a while, and I waited for the next online flash sale. Then just last week, I was able to snag the pieces I wanted for a lot cheaper. Once I had ordered them, I returned the duplicates to the store. Boom!

The same day I made that last return, I stopped by Macy’s and found a really cute pleated floral midi skirt. I knew there was supposed to be a big sale coming up, and I asked the sales associate if this skirt was going to be part of the sale. She said no, so I went ahead and bought it. ALL LIES. The next day I was back at Macy’s to help Kristin do some shopping, and I noticed that the skirt was 20% off! Since I had used my Macy’s card, they were able to look up my purchase and refund me the price difference. Moral of the story: some sales people have no idea what the hell they’re talking about, but others are very helpful. It never hurts to ask.

OK, story time is over. Here’s everything else you might want to know about this month’s shopping haul:

My Budget

• ~$338 (starting monthly budget of $150, plus $188 unspent in January)
• ~$480 (blog income)

          = $818

What I Spent (pictured above, starting top left)

• ~$164 on polka dot blouse, red skirt, chambray shirt, windowpane skirt, and jeweled sweatshirt from Loft (total orig. $315)
• ~$41 on striped tee, statement necklace, ikat lounge pants, pink bag, and gray cardigan from Target (total orig. $108, used a Cartwheel app deal and paid for part with a gift card)
• ~$230 on black pants (not pictured because they’re boring work pants), pleated skirt, black bow pumps, and navy pumps from Macy’s (total orig. $286)
• ~$31 on pink tee and striped sweatshirt from J. Crew Factory (total orig. $95 – major clearance scores!)
• ~$57 on gray satchel from Francesca’s

          =$523 (total retail: $861)

Almost $300 under my budget! I think I’m going to be good next month and not carry over all of my unspent money. #willpower

What I Received

• ~Peep toe booties and striped dress courtesy of the Mint Julep Boutique
• ~White blouse and floral top/skirt set courtesy of BooHoo
• ~Designer jewelry subscription courtesy of Rocksbox (use the code sarahsreallifexoxo for a free month!)
• ~Jeffrey Campbell flats courtesy of Shopbop

I’ll be linking up with the Budgeting Bloggers on Franish, so be sure to check them out! And maybe join us next month 🙂