Happy Wednesday y’all! Another no-spend July update today as we get into the thick of the month. I feel like as the month goes on, it get’s easier to avoid the initial FOMO of spending when it comes to things like lunch, dinners, and shopping. Now that I’m on my third week in July of not spending on unnecessary items, I have a lot of feelings stirring around that I wanted to share.
Towards the end of winter/beginning of spring, I felt like I was in such a rut. I wasn’t inspired for the blog, was spending so much money taking pictures of just outfits that I didn’t see much ROI on, and didn’t know where I saw my site going in the future. I was feeling run down on everything from the city, to my social life, to my job and even relationships. A few things that have sort of “brought me back to life” in a sense have been focusing on more of a series-style post on the blog, engaging with you all/asking for feedback on the series on IG stories + taking the time to respond, and focusing more on me and where my head is at.
I started this outlet as a resume booster and I used to just post whatever the hell would make me happy that day. I wasn’t worried about linking things with affiliate links, most of my outfits were tailored to my style and not what was trendy or would make me the most commission, and I was happy with whatever would happen. Now it’s such a competition to be the best, sell the most affiliate links/get the most partnerships, have fabulous photography to be considered a content-creator and so on, but what has made me feel content with where I am has been essentially pulling myself out of that competition and focusing more on what I want to post.
Insert these random series like no-spend July, this was one of the first times I’ve had people genuinely engage and comment on joining along and say things like it’s inspiring. You all seem very receptive to more personal parts of my life, specifically posting real life struggles and such, so I’m focusing more on this route for 2019. This is why I love and keep this little corner of the internet around, and it truly has made such a difference this summer posting things more detailed as opposed to here’s another outfit post with links to buy. So THANK YOU, as always, for sticking around here. If there’s anything else you want to see, let me know! Dating series is also in the works as it’s highly requested, and yes fam I’m still single AF.
Now, back to no-spend July! I was able to go home this past weekend for a long weekend, and did head to my Mom’s spa (Oasis Salon and Medi Spa) for a root touch up, Botox, and lash extensions. My mom did take me shopping too, so I really was able to hold myself over for the remainder of summer! Love ya, mom. Sharing some additional/more specific feelings about how I feel about going out to eat, drink, and shopping while I’m at home in NYC/during these sales specifically below!
Going out to eat… Honestly, I’m an avid Seamless-er based on cravings alone. I’ll randomly crave pasta on Sunday’s or sushi every now and then so it’s easier to order in food than cook a turkey burger or Banza pasta (although I do love me some of those). Last week, I pre-made kale/arugula Caesar salads with salmon on top and I was pleasantly surprised how much I liked them! If I can block off the time to prep like that, I’m much happier during the week having everything settled. The few times I’ve eaten out have been for work related things, so it hasn’t been a cost incurred.
Going out to drink… Seriously something that should be so easy to avoid is SO hard during the summer! When you do something with a friend or a colleague after work, it’s so easy to just go grab a drink – or a few – on a weeknight. Also, I’m known to post-up at a bar when I travel, so that’s one of the hardest things to avoid especially because airports mark up alcohol so much. I did get a drink with Nikki after an event this week, and a couple glasses of wine at the airport before I went home. Whoops!
Online shopping… Not sure why I picked the worst sale time to decide to save money, but it has been really HARD y’all! One thing I try to tell myself is that if I were fully shopping these sales right now, I would be spending money just to spend money. This has been the first year with the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale where I’ve decided to exchange things I was so-so on, for things I know I want and will use (i.e. the leopard raincoat exchange to repurchase my Marc Fisher OTK boots). Since I haven’t been able to shop as much too, I’ve upped my brand outreach which has made me feel so productive and on it from a blog perspective. UPDATE: I caved last minute on the Amazon Prime sale, but like I needed it…
Necessary Expenses:
-Lyft (to/from airport): $87.37
-ConEd Electric Bill: TBD – hasn’t posted yet
-Barrys: $170 *I did buy a smaller membership this time because I’m introducing a new studio where classes are comped, but I need Barry’s for the running portion
-Credit Card Payment: Undisclosed LOL
Unnecessary Expenses:
-Southwest WiFi: $24 (total for both flights)
-Kingside (Sushi + wine at the airport): $60.71
-Penny Farthing (Drinks with Nikki after work): $20.87
-Amazon (I failed with the sale LOL): $117
Grey Area Expenses:
-Askimet Purchase (Blog plugin that blocks spam comments *I have like 6K spam comments to sift through right now): $59
Expenses I Would Have Had If I Didn’t Go Home:
-Lash Extension Touch Up: $118
-Manicure/SNS Powder Fill: $40
-Highlights/Haircut: Around $350 in NYC
-Botox: TBD – Lord knows how much it costs here
-Shopping (#NSale, Sephora, Loft): TBD *I don’t usually shop these things at-home, but my mom does like to do a little shopping when I come home 🙂
Total spent over Week 3: $538.95 *without credit card payment
Key learnings: I justified a lot of my spending this week because I knew I was going home and it was payday. I did deposit quite a few smaller amounts from Venmo, PayPal and such from friends, so I knew I had some wiggle room to get around. I made a huge payment this week towards my credit card, too, so that’s why the number was significantly higher. Now that I went home and had a ton of things taken care of while I was there, I’ll hopefully be better next week. I will say, I’ve noticed my amount in my bank account has maintained really well and I have more money than I typically would on a Wednesday right after payday.
See my first week recap HERE!
See my week two recap HERE!
Now, linking some items I’m loving right now! What do y’all think? If you’re doing a no-spend July I’d love to hear how it’s going! Have a great day and thanks for reading!