So, after not buying much for the past several weeks, this week ended up being all about juggling the numbers. At the beginning of this week, I still had $80 in graduation money that could be spent any way I wanted. I also had $75 in accumulated ban money that could be spent in thrift stores, consignment stores, on Ebay or on Etsy. I’m realizing that it’s actually better for me not to let money accumulate like this, because it makes me likely to go over (which I did). But I was waiting for my first full paycheck, so I couldn’t spend it earlier. Anyhow, it all works out, and I didn’t go over too badly. Here’s how I spent it.
While at the beach, I was getting really tired of my Crocs. I have nothing against Crocs in general, but personally they were making me feel a bit frumpy, and they just weren’t cutting it comfort wise. I was walking a ton, and I find that my feet tend to get sweaty in Crocs, leading to rubbing and blisters. My hotel just happened to be within walking distance from John’s Pass, a tourist destination which also happens to be home to a Walking Company store. I stopped in, feeling extra frumpy in my Crocs and socks (gasp!), and I found a pair of Keen sandals in the most beautiful shade of blue and on sale. And my boyfriend actually liked the colorway (we don’t often agree on colors). I decided to try them on, and they fit like a glove. They were so amazingly comfortable. So I decided to shell out my graduation money, and I don’t regret it at all. I literally walked in them all day that day, and I had no blisters when I finally crashed at the end of the evening. These sandals will be perfect for trips to the beach, Busch Gardens, the park, biking, etc.
Keen Sarasota in Aqua $73 at local Walking Company store
(Apparently this was a pretty rare colorway, because I can’t seem to find any in this color online)
So that left me with $7 of graduation money left. Rewind a few days to a jaunt I made to a new consignment store before my beach trip. I’m going to a wedding in San Diego in October, and I wanted to get a nice new dress to wear to it. I originally looked for a new dress that I could buy with graduation money, but couldn’t find anything I really loved at a good price. I decided to challenge myself to find one second-hand, for under $80. I visited a new local consignment store, My Mosh Posh, that specializes in carrying high quality designers. They actually had an authentic Chanel suit! (though at $1000+, it was a bit out of my price range). I found several dresses that were a little less expensive than that uber couture item, and I bought not only one, but two gorgeous dresses! For only $40 each, which was not bad at all, considering that they were practically new, and both good brands. The brown dress will be for the wedding, and I’ll probably wear the navy and white striped dress with a cardigan to the rehearsal dinner. Both will also be wonderful for work and play. So now for the math: $7 is left of graduation money. Putting that towards this purchase, there is $73 that will come from ban money, since the dresses were bought at a consignment shop. That leaves $2 of ban money left.
BCBG Max Azria dress $40 at My Mosh Posh
Ella Moss Dress = $40 at My Mosh Posh
So with $2 of ban money left, I didn’t go over right? Well, no, because I bought one more thing. Going in reverse order again, before I bought any of the above items, I bought a vintage sweater guard on Etsy for $5.50. This puts me at $3.50 over, so I’ll take that amount out of next week’s ban money, leaving me with $11.50 to spend next week. Overall, I don’t think that was too bad. I’m extremely happy with what I bought, and I can tell that this ban is really helping me to only buy things I really love.
Vintage Sweater Guard from Buttermilk Sky $5.50
By the way, this might be just a minor technicallity, but should tax and/or shipping be counted against ban money? In other words, those dresses were $40 before tax. Should the amount of the tax be taken out of ban money as well, or is that fussing with the details too much?
