March Budget Update

Well everyone, it's time for another budget update post! Can you believe it's already the end of March? Seriously, where is the time going? I said something about not believing it's already March 2015 the other day...and then totally realized it's actually March 2016. Oops...

Anyways, this month was interesting for my wardrobe. I ordered a bunch of stuff, some I'm still on the fence about (leaning towards returning) so I'm not including those pieces in this post. The items above I purchased this month and love, so they are 100% staying in my wardrobe. 

Old Navy Peplum Cami (in gingham) - $24.94, on sale for $18. I loved the simple look of this top for Spring and Summer. Plus it comes in tall sizes and I'm a sucker for anything blue and white. Since it was less than $20 I didn't really think twice about adding this to my arsenal of tank tops for the upcoming warmer months. My color, seen in this outfit post, is no longer available but they have a couple of cute options still in stock, and on sale for 50% off one item! 

Saint James Minquiers 10 T-Shirt - $70 (some sizes on sale here for $55). I've wanted one of these classic Brenton striped shirts for years. As I'm traveling back to France this year, and I essentially live in striped tops when I'm not at work I decided to bite the bullet and order one. I love it and I'm already contemplating what color to order next! Any suggestions? Side note, this top runs large. I am wearing a medium in this outfit post, but it fits like a large or extra-large. I like the relaxed fit, but if you want a more fitted look then I'd suggest going down a size or two. I normally order a large in tops, so I sized down one and still got a relaxed fit. 

Rag and Bone Heritage High-Waisted Skinny Jeans - $185 - These were a bit of a splurge, but a pair of Rag & Bone jeans have been on my wishlist for a long time. A lot of the inseams they offer are on the shorter side for premium denim, but these are a 31" inseam, which sits on the bottom of my ankle and make them the perfect Spring/Summer jeans to have in my wardrobe. They run a little small, so I opted to get a size 30, where I normally wear a size 29 in premium denim. The 30s fit nicely and they have a bit of stretch which makes them comfy, even to wear while commuting up to NYC or during a large dinner in Midtown. 

Jon Hart Backpack #907 - $146 - My friend Catharine told me about this Texas based company back in the summer when she decided to order a backpack for herself to take to and from work (backpacks are very common work bags in audit, and we were both working as auditors for the same firm at the time). I loved her bag, it's just so chic for a backpack and unique. While I like the design of the ever prominent Hershel bags (Alex actually has one, and it's very nice) I wanted something a little more unique if I was going to get a bag. Since I've been taking the Amtrak every Friday and Monday between NYC and Philly, and I have some vacations coming up this Spring/Summer I thought getting a backpack might prove to be pretty useful for my lifestyle needs. I wanted something cute that I would wear even when I was working back in Philly full-time. The Jon Hart bag is a splurge, but I love it. It's so well-made, cute, and functional. I got mine monogramed with my initials, which adds the extra perfect touch. I wish I had this bag in high school and college, it's just so cute and comes in all different colors! I highly recommend if you think you would get use out of having a backpack!

Tory Burch T-Logo Leather Sandals, sold out, similar here and here - $175, on sale for $99 - These were a bit of an impulse purchase I made when the Tory Burch sample sale happened two weeks ago. As they're final sale I can't return them, but they do fit nicely and I think I'll get a lot of use out of them over the warmer months. The gold will match a lot of things in my wardrobe and the logo on these is more understated, which I appreciate. 

Total Purchased: $600

Less Discounts Taken: $83

Total Spent: $517

Total Left for Q1 from February and January: $358

Total Overspent: $159

Amount to carry forward to Q2: $0

Well, I went a little over this month (I blame getting excited about the warm weather). I did get some awesome investment pieces which I'm really happy about. I'm definitely going to be lowering my spending in April, and I'm going to try and underspend in Q2 to try and cover this deficit. As I've been traveling a lot for work and thus getting a stipend for food during week, I've been spending a lot less on groceries and eating out, so I'm comfortable absorbing the extra clothing spending since I majorly underspent in a lot of other areas in my life the during Q1. With that said, I have some trips coming up so I want to save money for those, my trip to L.A. is in just four weeks! I still need something to wear to a beach wedding so I'll be on the hunt for that this month, and maybe some tan shoes for work and some new business casual pieces if I find a good sale. 

How did you do this month? 

Linking up with Fran