May Budget

1. Shea Moisturizing Conditioner and Moisture Spray -$10 each at Target
2. Forever 20 - $15  (seen here)
3. Target - $20
4. Rocket Dog via DSW - $30
5. Forever 21 - $30
6. Stila Stay All Day Eye liner - $20, bought with giftcard
7. Forever 21  - $15 (seen here)
8. Forever 21 - $10 (seen here)
9. Essie Midnight Cami - $8 (seen here)

= $148

Since starting my budget spreadsheet, I have been more aware of where my money is going. I think I did pretty well this month! Its more important than ever for me to keep track of my purchases since I just bought a new car (yay for the new car, boo for the car payments). Did you stick to your budget this month?


Edit: I ended up making 2 more purchases in the last 24 hours of May. I purchased these super cute sandals from Target for $15, and this dress from Old Navy for $17 making the grand spending total $175. Not bad for a girl who used to spend at least that much in a single trip to the mall. 

Budgeting.

I graduated from college exactly (give or take a few days) a year ago. Going from being a pretty broke college student to having a full time paying job was crazy for me - money just shows up in my bank account every 2 weeks? Awesome, lets go shopping!

And shopping I went. At least once a week I would be at the mall/Target/online buying something I just needed to have. But I have a job now! I can afford to do this.

Wrong. Although I put a bit into my savings account every month to have a safety net, I always needed it for something. It had started getting to the point where the last few days before pay day I had a pit in my stomach because of the low number in my bank account.

No more. As much as I love shopping, I don't need to get ALL THE THINGS. And at 24.75 years old, its time I start to take responsibility for my financial situation. So I made a budget spreadsheet, and allowing myself $150 a month to go shopping. That includes everything not necessary - random Walgreen runs, quick pop ins to Sephora, and especially the "I saw this online, so I need to go to the mall RIGHT NOW" trips. It may seem like a lot of money, but it is less than I spent month to month on things I didn't always need. Having a spreadsheet hold me accountable for my shopping actions means that pit of anxiety will hopefully go away over time.

Unfortunately for me, I hadn't planned on having a budget at the beginning of the month, so now I have $40 left for the month. I don't need anything, but I can live with buying things within reason. Like this beauty I found last night:

Forever 21

How are you budgeting your spending habits? Do you need a strict guideline like I do, or do you play it by ear?