january budget

Nordstrom cashmere poncho: originally $200, on sale for $100

Ann Taylor scarf: originally $70, on sale for $35

January total: $135

Quarterly budget: $35 in November + $202 in December + $135 in January = $125 to carry over

I have found the trick to not buying a lot of clothes - find a job where you have to wear a uniform! I'm only have joking...but this whole scrubs thing really has cut down a ton on buying clothes.

Over the last few years, I really have worked on "quality over quantity" when it comes to my clothing budget. When I first started my budget, I really tried to stretch it as much as I could - I was buying like 15 things every month! Guess how many of those things I still own/wear? Very few. While the items I bought this month are pricey, I bought only two things I really like, and still came in way under budget. The poncho/turtleneck sweater is so darn soft, and while it may not be considered the most versatile of all garments, I love it so much. The "blanket" scarf (I would say it's more oversized scarf than blanket scarf) is so darn soft - I wear it every single day and just can't get enough (more about it next week!). 

If you follow along on instagram, you will also see that I bought myself a pair of pearl earrings this month. Back when I was working, I used to take a percentage of my tax refund to buy myself that wasn't included in my monthly budgets - that's how I bought my Hunter boots and my DvF wrap dress. Since I'm now considered "self-employed" for the earnings I make from blogging, I pay into my taxes rather than get something back. I do put about 95% of what I make from blogging into savings/taxes, but my mom recently convinced me that I should reward myself a little bit (although she was hinting more at the Chanel bag I've been saving up for for three+ years). I went with a bit more of a conservative route, and bought myself a pair of pearl earrings from Tiffany's. I'm obsessed with them, and I know they will be something I will wear for the rest of my life. 

This upcoming month, I'd really like to find a pair of distressed black jeans. Something like this affordable pair from Volcom would be preferred! I'd also really like to try on this cute peplum top from Anthropologie - it's a bit outside of my normal style, but I think it could be really flattering on. Lastly, it's time to get a second pair of my black ankle work pants - I just wear mine all the time, and a second pair would be really handy to have around (especially when I'm on away rotations next fall, and won't always be able to do laundry whenever I want).

fvh in dvf

My tax refund finally came back a few weeks ago (it always takes a bit longer because someone once stole my identity to file taxes) and I immediately bid on this DVF wrap dress on eBay, which was going for about $100 less than retail price (even thought it was NWTs). It's a purchase I've thought about for years, and I'm so excited to finally have one in my possession. While a patterned version would have been beautiful, I know that, for now, I'll get the most wear out of this black version. 

On a side note, I don't advocate for wearing shapewear on a daily basis, but certain styles of clothing call for a bit of help. I'm wearing this pair that I purchased in college, but I think I'd also like to add a pair like this for when I feel I need a bit more coverage in the legs. Does anyone have any experience or recommendations?

Dress: DVF [exact]

Necklace: Le Tote* [exact]

Shoes: J.Crew Factory [exact on sale]

Nails: Essie [exact]

* I received a six month subscription from Le Tote. If you'd like to try this fun service, you can sign up here!

tax refund purchase

dress | watch | shoes

Once I started working full time after I graduated from college, my dad always told me to pay in the most I could for taxes. That always meant smaller paychecks, but also a bigger tax refund every year. Since then, I've used a portion of that tax refund to buy one item I wouldn't usually buy from my regular budget. In 2012 I purchased this purse, and in 2013 I purchased these boots [seen here].

I didn't think I was going to get a very large refund this year because I only worked for half of 2013, and because of money made through blogging (you can read a bit more about that here), but because I'm a full time student living on student loans, I ended up actually get quite a bit back instead of having to pay into the system (as I had previously anticipated). So while the majority of that money is getting tucked away in case my student loans don't cover me until August, I again would like to make a special little tax refund purchase.

A DvF wrap dress has been on the top of my wish list for years now - I always had the high hopes that I would find one thrifting (and yes, I checked out every wrap dress in every thrift store I entered), but no such luck. While one of her signature patterns would be beautiful to have, I think I would get the most wear out of a simple black version. Because the price point is just a bit above the amount I plan on spending, I may spend some time looking on eBay as there are often NWT dresses listed. 

A second option would be a new watch. I have a large gold watch from Target [seen here] that I wear quite a bit, so I know that it is something that I would actually wear, but I would love to upgrade to a nicer version. This MK watch is large but without the all of the bling and details that many of his other watches have (like this...underestated version). 

The last contender is a fun new pair of shoes that I could still wear frequently to school. These are patent, have a cute bow, and would be appropriate to wear while I'm still in school. I'm hesitant to purchase such expensive shoes just because I want this purchase to be something I have for a very long time, but these are so cute I may just have to spring for them.

Do you ever set a little bit aside from your tax refund to treat yourself? I'd love to hear what you've purchased in the past!