Friday, April 15, 2011

Full Disclosure

It's April 15th, and I'm already over $100 over my clothing allowance for the month. I actually doubled my budget because I knew I wouldn't be able to resist new spring clothes, but I've still blown that to hell. I'm alternating between feeling guilty, and being dismissive, but mostly leaning toward guilt.

Right now, I have two large bags of clothes that I'm going to donate to the Salvation Army, and I need to do another pass through my closet. How can I justify spending so much on clothes when I'm getting rid of so many too? Is it that the clothes I buy are poorly made? That my style keeps changing? I'm just fickle?

Maybe I was unrealistic when I set my clothing budget in the first place, but I just really feel like I either buy a lot of clothes, or I buy the wrong clothes, or something's just generally amiss. It's too perplexing.

Does anyone else have a budget category where you consistently overspend? Any suggestions on how to deal with it? The obvious one is to just stop buying so much stuff, but I can't seem to do that.

Most of the clothing that I'm getting rid of either doesn't fit properly, or is a bit worn, but I feel (like in the case of the brown pants) that I should have known better than to buy them in the first place.

Sigh, grumble.

3 comments:

  1. I spend too much on eating out. When I look at my statement, I am disgusted. Instead of inhaling calories, I should be burning them at the gym and saving the cash. And yet I bought a delicious beet burger today for $12.

    My solution has been a either to leave all my spending options at home (but that makes me feel naked) or I give myself a reward for not spending. It's still a work in progress, but I have to get this under control!

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  2. I probably need some kind of reward system, but my reward for not buying clothes would most likely be buying clothes. Conundrum.

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  3. I spend a lot of money on clothes too. I have noticed lately, though, that I don't always wear everything in my closet. I go through phases where I wear the same 5 or 6 outfits all mixed up over and over again and then at the end of the season they are all rather worn out from going through the wash so many times.

    I've replaced both my black cardigans this spring and thrown out a lot of shirts that are either in poor condition or I haven't worn it in a while. I think that as long as you are wearing what you've bought, getting rid of the stuff you don't wear, and not buying duplicates of items (unless it's staples like black pants or sweaters you wear all the time), then it's probably not a waste of money.

    We are all entitled to a vice, and clothes can be yours. :)

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