January Budget

Oh hey, welcome to the first budget post of 2017! For the past three years I've budgeted $300 a month for clothing and accessories (not counting gym clothes, pajamas, or undergarments), and this year I decided to give myself a raise to $350 a month. I was really excited to get shopping this month and to try my hand at buying fewer, higher-quality items, but clearly that didn't quite work. Instead I shopped the sales and ended up with a lot of less expensive pieces and didn't come anywhere close to that $350 marker. Le sigh. Of course, I got a lot of great deals in end-of-year sales, and I did order a bunch of other items that I ended up sending back.

I'm so excited that I bought my first Lily Pulitzer dress at the beginning of the month during the After Party sale. I'm not super into most of the Lily patterns, but her little white dresses can't be beat! I'm definitely pairing this dress with those fun pom-pom earrings during our trip to Thailand in March!! I also love the jeans I snagged on sale - they're my first pair of jeans from J. Crew and I don't know how I haven't tried their jeans before!! This pair is so soft and stretchy but still super flattering.

I did make one error this month - I usually never buy final sale items online, but I decided to risk it and pick up the ribbon-trimmed striped tee. I mean, it has stripes, so how was I supposed to say no?! But the fit is just a little off. It's a little short and a little boxy. I'm still going to wear it (because, as I said earlier, stripes) but it just wasn't the best way to use my budget.

Here's what ended up in the keep pile this month:

Lily Pulitzer dress - originally $198, on sale $64. This dress is so freaking cute, I can't wait to get the chance to wear it!!
Pleione peplum tee - $42 (seen here). If you're going to pick up one blouse, get this one. Seriously, do it. It's so cute and flattering and works well dressed up and dressed down. Do it do it do it.
J. Crew toothpick jeans - originally $125, on sale $62.50. I love these. They have the perfect amount of distressing and are so flattering.
BaubleBar pom-pom hoop earrings - $34. I just got these in the mail on Monday and they are so cute! I love statement earrings but have a hard time finding ones that aren't too heavy - these ones are super light!!
Ann Taylor embellished shell (I got this in black) - originally $79.99, on sale $18, used rewards $8. I snagged this from the clearance rack during my lunch break and am so glad I decided to go for it! I love Ann Taylor's clearance section (they always have such great stuff at really low prices!) but rarely buy anything online because their minimum for free shipping is so high. Now I work just a couple of blocks from an Ann Taylor so I can go there in person and search for deals whenever I want!
J.Crew grosgrain ribbon tee - originally $39.50, on sale $17.99. This was also a clearance rack snag, and it was a mistake. Boooooo.
Ann Taylor velvet blazer - originally $169.99, on sale $40, used rewards $30 (seen here). I've been wanting a new black blazer for a while now, and the velvet is so fun!

Total spent: $258.49
Total saved: $429.99

I can't believe how much I saved this month, I found some really good deals!!

As for February, I'm still hoping to find a cute dress for Valentine's Day and lots of pretty blouses - I already ordered this one, this one, and this one! Oh, and this sweater. Looks like I may have already spent my budget for the month...

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