While on this blog and on my social media I share lots of picture of the things I buy and share my excitement in these items I thought it would be fun to start giving y’all a recap of the items I purchased over the past month. I’ve talked at lot about budgeting lately so I think it’s important to state that I currently have a $250 monthly discretionary budget. When I polled y’all on instagram it looks like on average that’s a little more but pretty close to what y’all spend monthly on yourselves as well – some of you lucky ducks have a bigger budget – color me jealous! I spent years just buying what I wanted when I wanted and while I had lots of stuff I loved I also had lots of stuff that after one or two uses I because meh on and so while there are times when I REALLY want something and it’s just not in my budget I found that sticking to a budget each month has made me happier with the items I purchase. I hope seeing what I spend on can give you some inspiration on your own budget.
I actually started my May purchases in April as I was in Nashville the very last weekend and stopped by the Draper James store. Both of my purchases are not only still available but they are on sale! I paid full price for the dress and received an extra 25% off the sale price of the tote due to a special weekend promotion.
The Howdy tote has become my current work bag because it’s sturdy and large enough to hold my laptop in addition to my regular daily items.
I’m in LOVE with this cotton dress and have already worn it three different times even though I’ve only had it for a few weeks. Because it’s a tad short for my taste right now – especially to wear to work I love wearing it tucked in with an appropriate length skirt. When buying dresses I really try to get pieces that I can wear multiple ways so being able to wear a dress as a top really appeals to me.
I did however wear it as an actual dress when having tea at the Peabody with my fellow blogger girls, this is obviously a more dressed up look but when I bought it I envisioned it with some capri leggings and flats for a more casual dress.
May took me to Atlanta for work where the department store Belk is available. Despite having a Belk an hour away in Oxford, MS or and hour and a half away in Jackson, TN which is also where my Dad lives I never seem to remember to check them out and my last visit reminded me what a mistake that has been.
This fun tropical floral print dress has been very popular on my instagram – not only is it super cute and comfortable but I got it on sale for $27.50! It’s not available online however so here’s my picks for similar cute dresses:
I’m always on the lookout to add a cute top to my wardrobe so I couldn’t resist this peplum plaid top – it also has bows in the back just in case it’s not feminine enough. This top just screams summer to me so be prepared to see me where it all season long. When I purchased I was able to get 50% off the retail price – I love a good sale!
Both the dress and top are from the Crown & Ivy brand at Belk, which I simply adore! I already have several Crown & Ivy pieces and I always find them to be cute, affordable and good quality. The brand reminds me of Lilly Pulitzer only toned down, at a better price point, and available in plus sizes.
My final fashion purchase for the month was these super cute tassel sandals. While they are $22.99 I had some target gift cards so my final price was around $12. Every now and then Target will have deals like buy 3 beauty products and get a $5 gift card, if I’m in the store and buying those types of items anyway or would need them soon anyway I’ll go ahead and purchase and save the card for later.
Because I also have a love for planning in addition to fashion I typically have a planning related purchase each month. Lately my only planner purchase has been the monthly Mommy Lhey Little Bits Kit – it comes with so much such that I find using it with what I already have is plenty to keep me creative for the month. If purchased separately the kit items have a retail value of $100 so it’s quite the good deal to get the kit which can be purchased through subscribing or just buying a single kit; for example each kit comes with a traveler’s notebook which Mommy Lhey will sell at planner events for $15 on it’s own.
May Spending Breakdown:
Draper James Dress – $96.14 (it’s now on sale for $66)
Draper James Tote – $40.96 (sale price with no additional discounts is $50)
Crown and Ivy Dress $29.43
Crown and Ivy Top $27.02
Target Tassel Sandals – $12 (retail price $22.99)
Mommy Lhey Kit w/ shipping – $44.99
As you can see I utilize a lot of sales and deals to stretch my $250 budget to the max and I hope this helps you think of the kind of steals and deals you can be looking for.
***This is not a sponsored post, everything here is something purchased with my own money and I’m sharing because it is a brand that I love***
