Money, shopping and budgets

It’s February and  I haven’t bought any new clothes except for a maid of honour dress (that doesn’t count, does it?). This is a big deal for me because all the sales are on, tempting us to shop. After all, this is the time to stock up on basics like sweaters, tights and scarves. Or so we’re told.

But I have clothes And I’m embarrassed to admit that I have a couple items with tags on them. So, I have put myself on a budget.

A maximum of $200 every two months. Yes, first world problems. So apart from the dress for my friend’s wedding, there has been no new clothes in my closet. I’ve been remixing and pulling things out of storage to see if they still work. The ones that do, get worn. The ones that don’t (size, style, etc.) get donated or sold.

The goal is to have a wardrobe that I will wear, with no neglected pieces. That includes shoes.

What I am finding is that it forces me to keep track of what I have (a lot of black blazers) and what I don’t have (a blazer in another neutral). I’m also eyeing up my clothes to see what can be fixed or altered. I found an old swimsuit – great material but with a ripped seam. It still fit and still looks good so I dropped it off at my seamstress to be repaired. Far less traumatizing than buying a new swimsuit.

So that’s the plan for my closet sorted out. The next step in saving money is renegotiating and renewing my mortgage. I’ve written a quick 101 pieces on that for work, so keep an eye out for that.