Budge Gets a Budget

Being married means you have to be more responsible (boooooooo). So we budget, kind of. I use mint.com because it makes me feel super smart to see all the graphs and charts of my spending. And it's basically idiot-proof.

It's not secret how much I love to shop. I've never been very moderate with my shopping either. I'll go a couple months without hitting the mall, and then get sick of all my clothes and go buy 5 new outfits. Especially if it's a new season or I have something fun coming up, like a trip. I'm compulsive.

This month I decided to actually budget out the amount of money I could spend on clothes, track it and blog it. This is a feature I had planned for BYUStyle, but we no longer run that blog as we're not true BYU students anymore. :(

The idea behind a clothing budget is not just to make sure you don't overspend, but also to indicate the importance of clothing in your life, and making your closet and style a constant evolution that is growing ever-closer to your true, current taste. If you want to take your closet and style more seriously, which I suggest you should, check my older blog post about stepping up your style and creating a working closet.

This month (February), I allotted myself $100 for shopping. This includes anything for my personal style (clothes, jewelery, accessories) but excludes anything that I need to replace (my black tights, new socks, my wallet fell apart... etc).

My shopping goals (which I think everyone should have) are as follows:

1. Buy things I can wear at school and on the weekends
2. Buy things that stretch and expand my wardrobe. This means NO MORE BLACK, DANICA.
3. Transitional pieces into spring.
4. Buy things that I LOVE. My new rule, kind of going along with this budget, is that I don't buy anything impulsively. I sit on it for at least a day.

This is actually working really well for me. Having these goals and knowing I'm going to blog about it makes me more accountable. I've purchased a few things that I really love and feel great about. At the end of the month I'll post my purchases, so you can see how I budgeted for and accomplished these 4 goals. I plan to do the same for March.

The idea is to show you that fashion can be a priority and is do able, no matter your budget. Style should be a major part of your life, and you should approach it accordingly.

Anyone want to do this with me? Questions? Suggestions? I'm all ears.