Here’s a recap of my clothing and makeup purchases for February.
- Budget: $300
- Remaining clothing budget from January: +$101.67
- Actual: $215.33
- Remaining: +$84.67
- Buffalo Exchange Circles Necklace – $9.20 (similar)
- Buffalo Exchange J. Crew Embellished Tank (XS) – $17.86 (similar)
- Buffalo Exchange Forever 21 Chanel-Inspired Cropped Jacket (S) – $11.37 (similar)
- Forever 21 Flower Hair Pin – $1.62 (similar)
- Forever 21 Glossy Skinny Belt in Red, Navy (S/M) – $6.06 (similar red, navy)
- Forever 21 Coral One Shoulder Ruffle Trim Dress (S) – $20.46 (buy)
- Urban Outfitters Pins and Needles Paperbag Trousers (0) – $29.21 (10% coupon) (similar)
- J. Crew Double Serge Skirt in Bright Dahlia (00P) – $84.87 (20% coupon)* (similar)
- J. Crew Double Serge Skirts in Bronzed Ochre – $66.68 (buy)
- Ann Taylor LOFT Faux Fur Jacket (00P) purchased from Annie – $48.29 (similar)
- Ann Taylor LOFT Flower Pin – $10.01 (35% off) (similar)
- Charlotte Russe Belt Trio in Pink, Gold, Floral (S) – $11.37 (similar gold)
These items were not paid for by me but were additions to my closet this month:
- Bebe Fiona Pumps (5) gifted by Adrian for Valentine’s Day (buy)
- Pink Quilted Purse – won from Inspirafashion’s Closet blog giveaway – $0 (similar)
- Burgundy Knit Cowl – won from Destined For Now’s blog giveaway – $0 (similar)
* Elle
notified me of a J. Crew sale on these skirts and even had an extra
single-use 20% discount code. I’m forever indebted to this girl! By the time the actual J. Crew sale came around, these colors were already unavailable.
- Budget: $50
- Remaining makeup budget from January: +$3.04
- Actual: $199.89
- Remaining: -$196.85
- Saks Chanel Black Pearl Nail Polish ($25 gift card) – $2.06 (buy)
- Enzo Milano Clipless Curling Iron 1″ Round – $119.99
- Dior Capture Totale One Essential – $77.84 ($25 gift card provided by Allure) (buy)
- Solia Professional Ceramic Ion Mini Styler (1/2″) – included with purchase (folica.com promo) – $0 (buy)
Note: All prices include a 8.25% Texas state sales tax.
Summary:
February was a bad month for me as I overspent significantly on my makeup budget and only barely squeaked by on my clothing budget because of last month’s excess. I actually had to end up returning a few clothing items and selling others (I sold Angga my F21 Floral Mary Janes) in order to not totally blow my budget out of the water. My original hopes were also to have a little blog sale and recoup some losses, but planning the wedding and DFW blogger meetup ended up taking over the last remaining weekends in February.
As for my clothing purchases though, I invested in several J. Crew pencil skirts as I love the colors and the skirts surprisingly fit me without any alterations needed. For the quality of the material as well as the classic cut of the style, I feel like they were good pieces to spend a little more money on. And when they went on sale, I just couldn’t resist!
For my beauty budget, the Enzo clipless curling wand was something that I would’ve put off purchasing had it not been for my wedding. My plans are to curl my hair for the wedding so I purchased this tool now to try and practice with it before my actual wedding day. The Dior serum is also an item I would not have purchased if it hadn’t been for the $25 gift card that I won from Allure magazine for my review of this product late last year. Unfortunately with even either of these items my budget would have been exceeded, but from now until summertime I’ll need to be on a makeup buying freeze!
Here’s to having a better spending month in March! Time to get the game face on.
P.S. All purchases were also made using Mr. Rebates wherever possible so I did end up saving myself some more money.
P.P.S. If you missed my outfit for the day, check it out!
Related Post: January budget recap.
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Aubrey says
Well, I must say… I am impressed by anyone who budgets their spending, and even more impressed when they attempt to stick to it. I just love that you even went so far as returning some items and selling others, even though I'm still sad for you since you didn't get to keep it all! I am a budget nazi; I have created and helped people implement budgets in almost all of my college classes (none of them being financially related haha) and I can't get enough. Yeah, we all fall off the horse now and then but you are doing excellent… keep up the good work!! WORK THAT BUDGET, GIRL! 😉
Kileen Cheng says
yeah, i was sad that i had to return some of the items too but that's
buyer's remorse for ya! and i'm planning on having a running budget post so
that people can see what i'm spending as the month progresses instead of
just seeing the recap at the end. i'm glad you enjoy the budget post!
kimmie says
You got some great buys in last month! and I'm impressed that you are doing your own hair for your wedding.
I'm a little confused about the items you chose to return, didn't you already wear them to take pictures? And you still returned them? Am I missing something?
Siena Style says
great idea to have the budget under control!I do not think you are a shopaholic!:)
LindsayBobindsay says
I don't think wedding purchases should count. You're not including your dress in your clothing budget are you? It's a one time special event.
I have been wanting that fuschia skirt ever since I saw so many of Kendi Everyday's 30 x 30 outfits based on it.
Kimberly Parham says
You have so much more control than I do. Well, I don't have a spending budget, because there really isn't anything "extra" to spend at this point. Little S. is quite a monthly expense, herself. But I'm always impressed with this roundups!
Liz Badley says
I love that you keep your budget like this! What a great idea! Love the new purchases and can't wait to see you wear them!
-Lizzy
http://restonstyle.blogspot.com
Elle says
I love this feature, but I also feel ashamed of my own out of control spending. Good for you for returning when you went over your budget!
p.s. did you get the bronze ochre yet? how does it compare to the other ones?!!
Nelah says
You seem to have a fairly good start on your budget plan though. I think it is such a wise idea to do a monthly recap and have it written visibly somewhere to remind yourself of the goal. I totally skipped my February budget because I blew a giant hole in my wallet haha. Too embarrass to reveal the figures (I put a blame on weak US dollar lol), now I have the rest of the year to makeup for my loss.
Kileen Cheng says
that's what i was thinking too actually! it's not JUST for the wedding though like my dress is, which is why i included it in here instead of my wedding budget. it would probably make sense to split it half and half? 🙂
Kileen Cheng says
yes, i did get my bronzed ochre skirt!! it fits me actually just as well as
the others. i think i'm just bigger then the rest of you girls. i must
have a big booty. 🙂
Simply Bubblelicious says
Kudos to you my dear to actually follow a budget. I have attempted and failed so many times. Some really yummy finds here. I have the bronzed ochre skirt as well, and adore it. Have been eyeing the cotton version of the bright dahlia. Have a great weekend.
Justine @ Just Better Together says
The hair curling iron is an investment! =]
Just Better Together
come check out my giveaway
Angga Heinrich says
I know I sound like making an excuse but I think you can definitely erase the curling iron from the beauty budget, because it is necessary for the wedding and its a great investment too, it is not really everyday that you actually buy curling iron so you can make an excuse on that lol!
as to what you purchase, I really love the recap on all those clothing that you bought, you did make a good choice, I might be over my budget too, since I really want the mary jane pumps that Ivonne was wearing to the blogger meeting, the pumps remind me so much of Miumiu spectator pumps so i might be indulging on it, but I'm still not sure because march is still long way to go LOL
Lets keep our budget in tact, I too love doing this, it really reminds me of not spending because I have a budget to stick to it, but at the end I'm sure we all appreciate it 🙂
<3
http://reserveradefashion.blogspot.com
Kileen Cheng says
yes, i'm planning on posting a running march budget like you have too! and
we do have such a long way to go for march! we can do it. 🙂
Sewpetite Gal says
I always find these so interesting – love the detailed recap!
Chay says
LOVE 7, 8, & 9…the colorful skirts are TOO cute, I would SO wear them in a heartbeat, foe my splash of color, and I could do so much with the trousers, dress them up OR down!
Hiking in Stilettos says
I'll have to look into this Mr. Rebates site. Looks like you had a few good deals!
jillian says
wish i had your shopping budget! but i am really impressed by your purchases 🙂 and its good youre responsible and keep track of your spending! love that one shoulder red dress. xoxo jcd :: cornflake dreams
Really Petite says
I love that you actually take the time to do this. I think I am too scared to even attempt this – the way I spend..LOL Good job Kileen!:D
Kileen says
yeah, my spending was definitely scaring me too. it's so easy to be enabled
and i've had to learn to tell myself No to lots of things i would've
purchased if not for this budget. i'm glad you enjoy though! 🙂
eclecticflair says
I need to start a budget too. It seems like so much work but you make it look doable. Thanks for the inspiration!
Lidi @ Eclectic Flair
Kileen says
It's not too much work. Just take pictures of what you buy and write down what you paid. Helps keep me in track! 🙂
Kileen
Nelah says
You seem to have a fairly good start on your budget plan though. I think it is such a wise idea to do a monthly recap and have it written visibly somewhere to remind yourself of the goal. I totally skipped my February budget because I blew a giant hole in my wallet haha. Too embarrass to reveal the figures (I put a blame on weak US dollar lol), now I have the rest of the year to makeup for my loss.