The 2017 Budget

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Aaaaaaand it' time for my budget recap for 2017! For the past four years, I've set a monthly clothing budget for myself. In 2017 I gave myself $350 a month, but previously I've set a budget of $300. (Also, I definitely typed "$350 a week" instead of "a month" - ha! That would certainly be impressive.) I'm not super strict on myself when it comes to hitting that number each month though - if I go over one month, I'll try to shop less the next. My budget includes everything I wear except for undergarments, pajamas, and workout clothes, and usually includes bigger ticket items like shoes, coats, and special occasion dresses.

This year, I'm actually a little mad at myself because I definitely was looking for ways to sneak around my rules, like buying tons of sweatshirts that are technically pajamas / loungewear / workout clothes and then not counting them. Besides that though, I feel like I did pretty well.

Here's the breakdown on how much I spent per month:

January: $258.49
February: $479.78
March: $274.90
April: $125.50
May: $315.29
June: $357.42
July: $267.02
August: $301.04
September: $333.32
October: $361.00
November: $326.71
December: $269.30

Total Spent: $3,669.77
Average Monthly Spend: $305.81

Wow that looks like a whole lot of money when you add it all up! I'm under budget for the year though (and somehow only spent $250 more than last year despite giving myself a raise) so big ups to me.

Now is when I usually share my "misses" for the year, i.e., my terrible, terrible purchases. But really? I think there was truly just one! The striped tee I bought waaaaaay back in January was final sale and just not a perfect fit. But besides that, in looking through everything I bought this year, I really love all of the items I got this year. This whole budgeting thing has made me much more conscious of my purchasing, so while I haven't really slowed the amount of shopping I do, I've really stepped up the returns when things aren't perfect or don't quite work for my lifestyle.

I also had so many favorites I couldn't narrow it down, because like I said, I really loved all of my purchases this year! Here are a few that are still available (a lot on great sale!):

I said this in my top outfits of 2017 post, but I've realized while going through all of my outfits and everything I bought this year that spring and summer clothes really are my favorite. It might be the zero degree temperatures talking, but I cannot wait to bring out all of the color and dresses and crazy earrings again this year! I might need to take a beach vacation...

For 2018, I'm planning on sticking to the $350/month budget again, but am going to try to pull back on the number of extras outside of the budget I purchase. Because really, I don't need another pair of pajamas ;)

P.S. Check out my budget recaps from 2016, 2015, and 2014.

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