Budgeting Bloggers: January

January Budget Breakdown

Row 1: Coat (on sale) // Jacket (on sale) // Shirt (on sale)

Row 2: Pumps (on sale) // Bag (on sale) // Flats (on sale)

Row 3: Shirt (on sale) // Scarf (on sale) // Sweater

Row 4: Pants // Sweater // Shirt (on sale)

Row 5: Ring // Sweater // Hat // Shoes (on sale) {all purchased with gift card c/o Shopbop}

Happy New Year! Can you believe this is my third “Budget Bloggers: January” post?! I’ve been structuring these posts the same way for 2 years now, and I’m going to try something new this year. Feedback is welcome. I’m going to put the links at the top so you shopaholics can do your thing and ignore everything I have to say if you want. Just know that I plan to say lots of interesting things. Like, I’m going to try to talk more about why I decided to buy what I bought and spend what I spent. So here goes.

January’s Budget: $634

($100 starting budget + $181 not spent last month + $97 selling old clothes + $256 blog income)

This month I decided to cut down my normal starting budget by $50. And look, I still came out ahead. Yay me.

January’s Spending: $588

The only thing I paid full price for was a pair of sunglasses from SEE (not pictured above because they’re not sold online, but you can see them on me here.) They were $106, so they were actually my biggest single purchase of the month. I didn’t mind spending a nice chunk of money on them because I love the people at my local SEE store, and their frames are made in limited quantities, which means I know I’m buying something that I won’t see a million other people wearing. Now if only January weren’t so cloudy…

As usual, I spent most of my budget on lots of goodies from Ann Taylor and Loft (I especially love the bedazzled kitten heels and faux fur scarf). Sure, there were some quasi-impulse buys, but thanks to my sales stalking and coupon hoarding, I got great deals on everything! The coated jeans don’t look quite as coated as I thought they would, but they’re still black pants, and you can never have too many pairs of black pants.

Yes, you counted right; I got three button-up shirts this month. I noticed I had been gravitating toward the button-up shirt and sweater or jacket combo lately, so I decided to stock up on more options. They were all on super sale at J. Crew Factory.

Obviously, I have to comment on the leopard coat. I’ve been wanting a coat like this since last winter, and I want it to be fabulous but not tacky or cheap looking. I ordered this one last week and it still hasn’t come in the mail yet. Keep your fingers crossed for me! I’ll report back next month.

I also saved up my credits from Shopbop (a sponsor of this bloggity blog) and got a couple fun things, like these Kate Spade leopard sneakers! Admittedly, this is not a purchase I would have made with my own money (they’re not cheap and I don’t wear sneakers often), but I totally and completely love them.

Linking up with Franish’s Budgeting Bloggers

#SundayBirthdayFunday

blush cable knit sweater, faux fur crossover scarf, distressed gray jeans, pink sunglasses, Kate Spade leopard sneakers

blush cable knit sweater, faux fur crossover scarf, distressed gray jeans, pink sunglasses, Kate Spade leopard sneakers

blush cable knit sweater, faux fur crossover scarf, distressed gray jeans, pink sunglasses, Kate Spade leopard sneakers

blush cable knit sweater, faux fur crossover scarf, distressed gray jeans, pink sunglasses, Kate Spade leopard sneakers

blush cable knit sweater, faux fur crossover scarf, distressed gray jeans, pink sunglasses, Kate Spade leopard sneakers

blush cable knit sweater, faux fur crossover scarf, distressed gray jeans, pink sunglasses, Kate Spade leopard sneakers

Sunday was jam-packed with fun activities because it was Kristin’s birthday and she called all the shots! Luckily, this year’s shots were all things I enjoyed too. We stayed in bed watching Netflix for a couple hours in the morning, then had a late brunch full of biscuits and gravy (for her); eggs, potatoes, and toast (for me); and mimosas (for both of us). Next we headed to the art museum and checked out the latest special exhibit and hit up some of our old favorites. Then we went downtown and met up with 8 of the coolest people we know to try The Escape Room Indianapolis, which is this place where you get locked in a themed room full of clues and puzzles, and you try to find and solve them and get out of the room within an hour. We stole the Mona Lisa and made it out of the “Art Gallery” room with 4 minutes to spare! (Obligatory group photo here.) There are other places with similar concepts in other cities, so do some Googling. If you can’t find one, then either there’s not one near you, or you’re not sleuthy enough to do an Escape Room anyway. Afterwards, we headed to dinner to soak up each other’s cleverness.

And, of course, we ended the day back at home, just the 2 of us, stuffing our faces with Funfetti cake. I’m starting to like Kristin’s birthday better than my own. All of the fun with none of the feeling older.

Sweater* // Scarf (on sale) // Jeans (under $30) // Shoes* (on sale) // Earrings (on sale) // Sunglasses // similar Bag

*Sweater and shoes purchased with gift card provided courtesy of Shopbop.