Happy first post of a new monthly series I’m introducing on my blog! For awhile I’ve felt really STUCK when it comes to blogging and sharing because on the one hand I’ve spent a lot of time really blogging about finances and financial goals and on the other hand I do like to buy things. The struggle, as they say.
We spent time talking about budgeting and trying to figure out how much to spend in what categories and it seemed to me like we were allocating a lot of money to be spent on things we didn’t need to spend money on.
I pay myself weekly from Poshmark. Every Thursday morning I redeem my Poshmark balance and it hits late Thursday night or Friday morning. From there I make payments and spend money. I felt like I would sometimes make small payments and spend lots of money. So I suggested this: what if each week I had a $25 spending allowance. It covers random, fun things for myself and Madeleine. It ends up being $100ish a month (depending on how many weeks there are). It can roll over or be spent each week, but that’s what I’ve got to work with.
This has been our first month of it, and I have honestly LOVED it. Instead of feeling like “I shouldn’t buy this,” I’d say “oh I’ll get that next week!” and I’d have time to think about it and the freedom to buy it. AND NOW let me share with y’all what I spent my money on. I’ll break them down by weeks.
May 1st – LC Lauren Conrad slippers + dish towelÂ
As an early first mother’s day gift to myself, I bought matching slippers for Madeleine and I. She loves them pulls them off the minute I put them on her feet. But whatever, they’re cute. They were having a $10 off $50 sale plus 20% off and I had a $5 credit, so it ended up being a little more but I made up for it the next week. I saved $22.76.
Total was $33.64
May 8th – Freshly Picked + Book for Madeleine
I’ve always loved Freshly Picked moccasins but thought they were so expensive… and then I read about The Fringe, their membership program. Basically you’re charged $10/month. That $10 is applied as a credit to spend on their site, and being a member gets you 20% off of everything and free shipping. It’s basically the opposite of a credit card. It’s brilliant, like a store savings account that also gets you a discount! I joined this month, and the $10 will be deducted one week from my spending.
Madeleine’s been really into books, so I bought her another touch and feel book from amazon.
Total: $17.04
May 15th – Plaid Honey bummies
I am OBSESSED with Plaid Honey. They have handmade, SUPER CUTE pants/shorts/bummies for babies and kids. We have another pair of them, but I stupidly didn’t size up so she won’t get to wear them as long as I’d hope. I got these cute coffee bummies in a size up so she can wear them all summer long! We’re also super fortunate to have been chosen as a rep for them, so if you’re perusing their Etsy store and decide you need something, use code PLAIDHONEY15 and tell them Madeleine sent you 🙂 You’ll get 15% off!
Total: $17.00
May 22 – LC Lauren Conrad Little Co
This is the most impulsive purchase I’ve made in awhile, but my girl Lauren Conrad debuted a baby/kids line so I immediately knew what my money was going for. I got these cute shorts, this happy as a clam tee, this bubble romper, and these little pants.
They were having $10 off of a $25+ purchase and I redeemed my Fetch points for a $10 Kohls gift card, making it $25. Turns out… I ordered that tee shirt not in a size 9M like the rest of the items… but in a 5T. Sooooo there’s that, lol!
Total: $25
May 29 – More Plaid Honey bummies!
Plaid Honey was participating in an Instagram sale, and they posted pictures of cute bummies I wanted for Madeleine. I literally set a reminder on my phone and waited and waited… and waited. 🙂 I got the rainbow and watermelon ones, and thanks to a code, they ended up being $26.95
Total: $26.95
So apparently this month was Plaid Honey and Lauren Conrad month. I ended up being $5 under budget, so I put that aside to pay on our debts. Also, a few months ago I realized that I had my own kind of “personal brand” – colors and topics and things that were very me. As I rounded up my purchases from the past month, I pulled Justen over and said “Look! Aside from the bunny book, these all fall in the range of my colors!”
PLUS, like I’d mentioned in that post, I’m about debt repayment AND carefully spending. So I’m glad I’ve finally figured out a way to bring those two together. Cheers to clarity and figuring out a way to spend without going crazy or feeling unhinged.
$119.63 of $125.00 spent
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