This is a recap of everything I purchased with my clothing budget since my last update on August 9th! These posts aren't necessarily an example of what to buy per se (see * below for why my budget may look a little different), but it's a fantastic practice to follow in general. Both setting a budget, and then reflecting back on what you purchased to evaluate and hopefully improve future purchases. I always aim to make thoughtful purchases that I will want to wear for many years to come, and to pursue creative expression through fashion responsibly, but that can sometimes be a tricky balance. There's certainly always room for improvement!

Over the last 5 months I spent $184.50 per month and averaged 5.6 items, which is slightly under my $250 monthly clothing budget. At this point, I'm carrying a positive balance of $1,097, see chart below. (I treat my budget like an allowance and at the start of each month I deposit $250 into an "account" and then spend as I go.) I've considered resetting my balance to zero at the end of the year, but then I might be motivated just to buy things so I don't lose it... Or, I could donate it to charity, but we already donate way more than I spend on clothes each month, plus - I'm learning there's a huge psychological benefit of carrying a large balance. It helps me make better purchasing decisions! I used to come from a place of scarcity when I shopped. "I don't want to spend any money on this" was always in the back of my head. Shopping with a positive balance that doesn't expire feels so empowering and encourages me to buy what I really want, versus letting price dictate the decision too much. 

*Note: My clothing budget only includes things that I purchased myself, that fall into the "clothing" category of my budget, and do not include Stella & Dot items (I'm a 1099 employee and earn products and discounts), items that were returned, free items I get from working in the fashion industry (I borrow and then send back items from sponsored posts whenever possible - see Disclosure for more info. However, sometimes that's not possible, or I wind up keeping an item for future use in blog posts). My clothing budget is my "fun money" as much as it is my traditional clothing budget - which is actually considered a necessity and a line item any financial planner would recommend. See "How to Set a Clothing Budget" for more details on that.

Do you have any favorites or fails from these purchases? Recommended changes for next time?