january {budget & spending}

i am going to try to be better at recapping my budget & spending each month and link up with franish & other budgeting bloggers.  i hope it will keep me on track with some of the goals i have for clothing spending this year.  here is how it broke down this month:

january	paid	original
talbots navy/white geometric skirt (gw)	2.49		see here
old navy pink dahlia cardigan (gw)	2.49
*gap kids blue striped button-down (gw)	1.49		see here
loft olive/brown full skirt (gw)	2.49		see here
*loft animal polka dot print skirt (gw)	2.49
merona yellow skinny belt	1.94	12.99	see here
merona navy tights	8	8
cherokee white button-down (new-gw)	4.99	12.99	see here
merona blue tiered blouse (new-gw)	4.99	12.99
merona yellow cardigan (new-gw)	4.99	22.99
*coldwater creek magenta blouse (gw)	3.50		see here
merona cross over pleated blouse	5.98	19.99
merona melinda teal wedges {$8.98 - gc}	1.48	29.99
merona kalama cognac boots {10.98 - gc}	3.48	34.99	see here
merona leather gloves	6.58	21.99
j crew factory wool skirt {20.99-ppal bal.}	4.42	89.50
j crew factory tissue tee - cobalt	5.99	23.50
	$67.79

regrets:  i'll probably end up listing the loft animal print skirt on ebay.  this was an example of a goodwill purchase that was made just because the price was right... i don't even really care for animal print so i don't know what i was thinking!  even at $2.50, it's not worth taking up space in my closet if i'll truly never wear it.

budget:  i have not given myself a strict budget yet this year but i would like to stay under $100 each month and closer to $60-75 so i am pleased that happened this month, even after making a last-minute purchase of a skirt & tissue tee at j crew factory.  i used the remaining paypal balance i had in my account and deducted that from the total, so i really only spent about $15 oop with shipping.  the money in my paypal account is what i earn for selling on ebay so i think of it like a credit i can put toward the purchases i make online.  i also used gift cards towards the merona shoes i bought at target, which is why the price i paid looks so low.

goals:  this year i want to add more solid colored pencil skirts and colored shoes to my closet.  i am definitely on my way there!  i didn't go to the goodwill much this month (maybe only once??), so if i go more often next month i need to be smarter about what i buy.  this is a constant struggle when prices are so low.  thanks for reading!

notes:  items with an * are not pictured above. if the item is still available for purchase online, the link will bring you to the retailer's website.  "gw" stands for "goodwill" - meaning the item was thrifted, and "new-gw" stands for new target stock i find at the goodwill.