Budgeting Bloggers: January

I'm so late to the game for January's clothes budget, but better late than never, right? Sure. This month was on point, you guys...for a minute. I was right at my $100 budget after a massive Forever 21 shopping spree with my mom and sisters at the beginning of the month. I had gone on a shopping hiatus in December to help finance my holiday gift-giving, so by the time January started I had a nice long list of basic must-haves. I knocked it all out in that one trip.

Aaaand then I realized how sartorially unprepared I was for a mid-January 5k, even if it was in South Carolina. The forecast was calling for temps in the 30s during the time of the run, so I had to run back to F21 for some inexpensive cold-weather layers. Fortunately, I managed to only get what I needed, despite seeing a ton of other pieces I really wanted. Matt was with me, which really helped me not go into shop mode. He got bored in the time it took me to find the three pieces I had pre-selected online, haha.


All items are from Forever 21 this month.

1. Basic sweater in taupe. The biggest hole in my closet was simple sweaters. I've been wearing the same few sweaters on constant repeat lately and it got sooo old. | $12.90 {exact}

2. Mustard cardigan. This has been on my shopping list ever since I accidentally shrunk my last one (from The Limited). Now if this one shrinks, I at least am not wasting a ton of money. | $8.90 {same sweater, other colors and similar}

3. Basic sweater in gray. It's kind of boring, but gray is basically my favorite color for clothes. It goes with ANYTHING. | $8.90 {exact}

4. Marbled blue sweater with lace/crochet cutouts. Need I say more? | $13.90 {exact}

5. Basic long-sleeve tee in oatmeal. Because I only had three long-sleeve tees. For shame. | $5.80 {exact}

6. Moisture-wicking athletic top. No one likes a sweaty t-shirt when you're running in the cold. | $12.80 {exact}

7. Track jacket. Also moisture-wicking, this turned out to be exactly perfect for the just-above-freezing temps. | $24.90 {exact}

8. Moisture-wicking, mesh-paneled leggings. These also were basically perfect. A little too warm for indoor runs, but great for chilly outdoor temps. | $19.90 {exact}

9. Teal v-neck sweater. Sadly, the sleeves on this one are just a *tad* short for me, but it looks cute with them bunched up to mid-arm. | $13.80 {exact}

10. Basic leggings in gray. Bought mainly for workouts, because the thin material doesn't do so well in the "not showing your underwear" department. | $3.90 {exact}

11&12. Basic leggings in black. A little better coverage than the gray, I bought the last medium and large pairs in the whole store--everything else was a small or extra-small. | $3.90 each {exact}

13. Skinny jeans. I've been losing some weight lately (hooray!) and needed new skinnies. Turns out, F21 wasn't the best place for them; the only pairs that fit my calves are still way too big in the waist. Ah, well...they're cheap. | $12.80 {exact}

14. Dark skinny jeans. See above; these are even cheaper, thankfully. | $7.90 {exact}

Grand total with tax: $165.87. Over the $100 budget for sure, so I'm not buying clothes again in February. Womp womp :( Still...worth it!

How did you do on your budget(s) last month?