Tag Archives: budget challenge

Budget Challenge: Going on a 30-Day Spending Freeze

Oh, man did this guest post come at the right time! Savannah from Sincerely Savannah is here today to share some great tips for how to go on a 30 day spending freeze to get your budget back in check! After splurging during our trip, I’m now considering this method to get myself back on track. Read on for her great tips!

There are few feelings worse than looking at your finances and realizing – in a sudden, panicky way – that your situation is dire. Such woes can occur to anyone, particularly someone obsessed with style and fashion. Have no fear – there are ways to combat a spending crisis.

Budget Challenge: How to Go on a 30 Day Spending Freeze / hellorigby seattle lifestyle blog

One way is to take it in stride: You can make long-term saving goals. The second way – my personal preference – is to embark on a spending freeze. In other words, determine a specific amount of time in which all excess spending will be eliminated. Bid a temporary adieu to the things you want, and purchase only necessities. The guidelines below will pertain to a 30-day period, but you can customize your freeze to meet your saving needs. To undergo your own spending freeze, consider the following guidelines:

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March Shopping & a DSLR Giveaway

Affiliate Links: If you click on a link in this post, I may make a very small commission.

Another month has come and gone. March was full of a lot of ups and downs in my personal life, and I’m happy to report that it didn’t seem to affect my shopping in a negative way. I did buy a few things towards the end of the month, so hopefully April won’t be terrible… but with spring coming, I always find a few new trends I want to try, and it’s hard to resist the end of the month sales.

Anyways, onto what I got with my allotted budget ($175) this month!

March Shopping Budget & Haul - What I Bought / hellorigby seattle fashion and lifestyle blog

What I Bought

Sears: I bought a few things from Sears after seeing a fellow style blogger Instagram some items she was trying on there. I was shocked to see some cute pieces, including this jumpsuit. I have a few more items coming, but unfortunately they got broken into multiple shipments so I haven’t been able to try them yet. Hate when that happens! (-$22)

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$200 budget challenge for april / final check in

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well, that was a flop. i definitely failed my budget challenge this month.

we’ve had a lot going on, and i’m totally a stress shopper. with that said, i didn’t do that bad. i went over by about $30 when all was said and done.

so here’s a recap of my “rules”:
– things that I have already signed up for do not count towards the total
– anything I sell adds to my budget.
– whatever is earned or saved can roll over to the next month
– purchasing gifts or giveaway items for the blog do not count, since it’s not for me
– gift cards, credit card rewards, etc. do not count against my total budget

i had $236.50 to spend. what i actually spent was $267.70.

here’s what i spent my money on:

budget challenge april 2014 / hello, rigby!

1 / Golden Tote – i denied myself March’s tote to wait for April. i bought the Macroflower Dress, and received a tank top as a surprise item. love Golden Tote! -$49
2 / Sephora – the Sephora Beauty Insider sale just about killed me. after way overdoing it, i shipped back the majority of my order, but not before keeping Benefit’s Gimme Brow ($18.70) and Cartier Basier Vole Essence de Parfum ($85) -$107
3 / Kohl’s – i satisfied my kimono fix ($12) and picked up a replacement Denim Jacket ($13) for the one I didn’t end up keeping from Old Navy. -$0 (store credit)
4 / Nordstrom – my all-time favorite rain coat was on mega sale and mine is looking a bit “well-loved” so I decided to pick up a replacement for next season (see it in action on this post). i also picked up the white midi skirt you saw in this post to wear to the fashion show I attended the weekend before last. i also had to pick up some replacement black tights after mine got a snag. -$122
5 / Fabletics – i signed up for Fabletics on a recommendation from a fellow blogger after my leggings fell apart! i found these tiny holes after laundering them, and I can’t live without a good pair of black leggings. problem solved, and their leggings (and the rest of the outfit!) are seriously legit. get your first outfit for 50% off if you sign up! -$24.99
6 / Express – to go along with my new skirt from Nordstrom, i picked up this cute lace top that i wore here.
7 / Returned – last month I bought a few things from Old Navy. after some deliberations, I returned the items. none of them really fit right. +$66

final thoughts

these next couple months are going to be crazy. we have a remodel we are going to be starting on any day now, a trip to Disneyland, and our usual day-to-day hectic schedules to keep so it should be interesting. financially, i think i’m going to take the pressure off “budgeting” but there are a lot of really great things i have learned:
– don’t buy something immediately. wait a few hours or a few days. you most likely won’t “need” it anymore.
– be picky! if you buy something and it doesn’t make you feel good, take it back. having things in your closet you never wear is not doing anyone any favors.
– keep track of your basics and don’t get caught with items that are ruined! i got stuck with snagged tights and holey leggings. don’t be like me! :P
– purge your closet! then take it to plato’s closet, sell it on poshmark, ebay it, donate it, whatever. get it out of there if you’re not wearing it!
linking up with franishstephfunday monday, and look what i got

did you set a budget for yourself this month? how did you do?