Yesterday, after not spending any money the entire day, I decided that I would try to put a ban on my shopping for this entire month. The rules for spending are as follows:
1. No new clothes, shoes, or accessories
2. No new home goods, even things for my new desk
3. No new beauty products (except to replace things I've run out of)
4. No books or magazines
5. No electronics
6. No eating out, unless it's with someone else ($100 limit for the month)
I decided to do this because I'm not going to be receiving a paycheck for most of the month, and I want to save up for September which will be particularly spendy since I'm probably taking 3 separate trips to Michigan to see my boyfriend.
The ban will only be 30 days, and at the end I'm planning to reward myself with two pieces of clothing that I've wanted for a few months for the fall. That'll count towards my clothing spending for September, of course, which I'm planning to limit to $200 a month (for now). I just started a new job, but luckily I work for a company that has a pretty casual dress code, which makes shopping for clothes way easier. I don't have to worry about having separate clothes for work and for my days off.
For this month, I'm trying to focus on appreciating what I already have. I don't need anything right now, which is what makes this the perfect month for me to attempt this challenge.
Anyways, I'm hoping that will teach me to think twice before spending money. A large part of me is doing this just to prove to myself that I can. What I want the most is to come out of this is for me to be more mindful of my spending. Last night I was told about this really incredible sale, but ended up not buying anything because I've done this a hundred times - where I buy something because it's cheap, and because I think it's "good enough", only to want the original version of what I wanted later on. I'd rather make a very specific list of what I want, and then buy it when I find it at the best price.
One of my favorite recent purchases from the past few months was a Delsey suitcase. I decided I wanted it last fall, but I didn't want to spend $250 on it. For my birthday, I was tempted to ask for a $80 alternative which was (according to reviews) of much worse quality. Instead, I waited a while until I found it for only $130. It looks amazing, is made really well, and I couldn't be happier with it. I want to approach all of my purchases this way. I don't mind SPENDING money, but I really hate WASTING money. And I don't like filling my apartment with cheap crap.
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Sunday, July 10, 2016
Weekly Favorites
This week was really nice. Coming off a holiday weekend can sometimes result in a less-than-stellar week, but it definitely had a few highs:
1. Chipotle Chiptopia - Chipotle has finally come out with a rewards program. I went to get a burrito bowl and a margarita there this past Wednesday. (In case you're wondering, I get salad dressing on the side, white rice, drained black beans, fajitas, chicken, pico, lots of corn, a tiny bit of sour cream, and cheese!) It was my first Chipotle margarita as well and I went for the Patron version. I liked it way more than I expected to. If I get another one I don't think I'd shell out for the Patron again, but overall it was yummy.
2. Yoga - I took my first-ever CorePower yoga classes this week and I've been really liking them. I always feel better after a yoga class and CorePower allows you to sample their classes for a week for free. Depending on my next job (and the amount of travel involved) I'm seriously considering springing for their black tag program.
3. Target pajamas - I picked up the cutest pajama set in black from Target when I was in Ann Arbor last weekend. I'm a huge sucker for matching PJ sets. They make me feel like I have my life together and it's just a matter of putting on different loungewear. They're on sale right now for only $13.99 so you should definitely pick them up! I'm thinking of also getting the blue version when it comes back in stock in my size.
4. Delsey Chatelet - I had been lusting over this suitcase in white ever since reading a review on The Golden Girl, and finding an amazing deal on Luggage Factory's website. Honestly, I had never heard of them before but they had awesome customer service and I got my suitcase right away. It's definitely the nicest piece of luggage I've owned and I took it on my trip over the 4th last weekend.
1. Chipotle Chiptopia - Chipotle has finally come out with a rewards program. I went to get a burrito bowl and a margarita there this past Wednesday. (In case you're wondering, I get salad dressing on the side, white rice, drained black beans, fajitas, chicken, pico, lots of corn, a tiny bit of sour cream, and cheese!) It was my first Chipotle margarita as well and I went for the Patron version. I liked it way more than I expected to. If I get another one I don't think I'd shell out for the Patron again, but overall it was yummy.
2. Yoga - I took my first-ever CorePower yoga classes this week and I've been really liking them. I always feel better after a yoga class and CorePower allows you to sample their classes for a week for free. Depending on my next job (and the amount of travel involved) I'm seriously considering springing for their black tag program.
3. Target pajamas - I picked up the cutest pajama set in black from Target when I was in Ann Arbor last weekend. I'm a huge sucker for matching PJ sets. They make me feel like I have my life together and it's just a matter of putting on different loungewear. They're on sale right now for only $13.99 so you should definitely pick them up! I'm thinking of also getting the blue version when it comes back in stock in my size.
4. Delsey Chatelet - I had been lusting over this suitcase in white ever since reading a review on The Golden Girl, and finding an amazing deal on Luggage Factory's website. Honestly, I had never heard of them before but they had awesome customer service and I got my suitcase right away. It's definitely the nicest piece of luggage I've owned and I took it on my trip over the 4th last weekend.
Thursday, July 7, 2016
5 Lessons from my First Month in Chicago
So I moved to Chicago in the beginning of June. It's my first time living in a city, and honestly, I'm loving it. In honor of being here for a month, I thought I'd round up a few things I've learned:
1. Public transportation is actually pretty great. I like being able to go to different parts of the city without having to figure out where to park my car. Plus it can be so empowering the first few times you get where you need to go without looking it up on Google Maps each time. The bus system here is pretty clean, and the L train system is nice and reliable. I live closest to the Brown and Purple lines, and one of my best friends lives on the Blue line, though, which isn't ideal (which is where Uber Pool comes in!)
2. The numbering system is actually pretty logical once you learn it. A kind Uber driver explained it to me, that many of the more major roads are numbered kind of like in NYC, where the road's coordinating number is associated with a particular block. So, let's take Armitage for example. Armitage is 2000 North, and Fullerton is 2400 North. If for example, a building is on a road that intersects both of those streets, and its street number is between 2000 N and 2400 N, you know it's somewhere north of Armitage and south of Fullerton. Got it?
3. Sales tax here is shockingly high. This may come as no surprise to you, but I've paid over 10% sales tax on items in certain parts of the city. I've never lived anywhere that sales tax is over 6%, so this came as a big shock to me. Also, taxes can be confusing because there's a lot of variation between items. I still don't have this one figured out quite yet, but we'll get there.
4. The people here really are as friendly as they say. No matter how tough of a day I'm having, I feel like the people in this city are really genuine. Like, last week I was carrying a bunch of heavy packages and a random man on the street held my door open for me. Just today I had a conversation with some random people in my elevator about Trader Joe's peanut butter cups. I'm overwhelmed to say the least, living in a big city for the first time, but I love that I have encountered so many genuinely kind people. And that's why I love the midwest.
5. You need to check the forecast before you leave your apartment. The weather's totally crazy sometimes, and it can go from stormy and in the 60's to sunny and in the 80's and back again within a few hours, which can make getting around really unpleasant if you're unprepared. So make sure to know when you'll need an umbrella and when to wear pants instead of shorts!
1. Public transportation is actually pretty great. I like being able to go to different parts of the city without having to figure out where to park my car. Plus it can be so empowering the first few times you get where you need to go without looking it up on Google Maps each time. The bus system here is pretty clean, and the L train system is nice and reliable. I live closest to the Brown and Purple lines, and one of my best friends lives on the Blue line, though, which isn't ideal (which is where Uber Pool comes in!)
2. The numbering system is actually pretty logical once you learn it. A kind Uber driver explained it to me, that many of the more major roads are numbered kind of like in NYC, where the road's coordinating number is associated with a particular block. So, let's take Armitage for example. Armitage is 2000 North, and Fullerton is 2400 North. If for example, a building is on a road that intersects both of those streets, and its street number is between 2000 N and 2400 N, you know it's somewhere north of Armitage and south of Fullerton. Got it?
3. Sales tax here is shockingly high. This may come as no surprise to you, but I've paid over 10% sales tax on items in certain parts of the city. I've never lived anywhere that sales tax is over 6%, so this came as a big shock to me. Also, taxes can be confusing because there's a lot of variation between items. I still don't have this one figured out quite yet, but we'll get there.
4. The people here really are as friendly as they say. No matter how tough of a day I'm having, I feel like the people in this city are really genuine. Like, last week I was carrying a bunch of heavy packages and a random man on the street held my door open for me. Just today I had a conversation with some random people in my elevator about Trader Joe's peanut butter cups. I'm overwhelmed to say the least, living in a big city for the first time, but I love that I have encountered so many genuinely kind people. And that's why I love the midwest.
5. You need to check the forecast before you leave your apartment. The weather's totally crazy sometimes, and it can go from stormy and in the 60's to sunny and in the 80's and back again within a few hours, which can make getting around really unpleasant if you're unprepared. So make sure to know when you'll need an umbrella and when to wear pants instead of shorts!
First CorePower Yoga Experience
I had heard about CorePower yoga a while ago and was intrigued, but since they didn't have any studios near me when I lived in Ann Arbor, I put it in the back of my mind.
That changed today when I went to a CorePower studio near me. CorePower offers a free week of classes so I decided today to go for the first time. I chose a C1 class, which is a beginner's class. The class was challenging for sure, and I love that they included the core section in the middle so that I could work out my abs a little bit right in the middle of class.
I've done yoga at a few different studios but was unable to relate to them. At a lot of yoga studios I kind of felt disconnected with the instructors - that is, I didn't really feel that I was enough of a yogi to fit in. Being so immersed in a yoga practice appeals to me a lot. I admire people who become dedicated enough to develop the necessary balance to be successful with yoga over time. Tomorrow I'm planning on taking a Yoga Sculpt class which is focused even more on incorporating strengthening moves throughout the practice, which I'm really excited for.
For a summer I was regularly going to Pure Barre classes almost every day, and CorePower reminded me a lot of that studio for all of the best reasons. The studio was clean and bright, and the instructor (who also happened to be a studio manager!) was really friendly.
I'm definitely impressed. I'm setting a goal for myself to go to a class for each of the 7 days of the free trial. I feel like yoga is exactly what I need right now. My life feels so uncertain right now (being between jobs, transitioning a relationship into a long-distance stage, moving to a new city... the list is endless) and yoga is all about balance and groundedness. So basically, just what the doctor ordered.
That changed today when I went to a CorePower studio near me. CorePower offers a free week of classes so I decided today to go for the first time. I chose a C1 class, which is a beginner's class. The class was challenging for sure, and I love that they included the core section in the middle so that I could work out my abs a little bit right in the middle of class.
I've done yoga at a few different studios but was unable to relate to them. At a lot of yoga studios I kind of felt disconnected with the instructors - that is, I didn't really feel that I was enough of a yogi to fit in. Being so immersed in a yoga practice appeals to me a lot. I admire people who become dedicated enough to develop the necessary balance to be successful with yoga over time. Tomorrow I'm planning on taking a Yoga Sculpt class which is focused even more on incorporating strengthening moves throughout the practice, which I'm really excited for.
For a summer I was regularly going to Pure Barre classes almost every day, and CorePower reminded me a lot of that studio for all of the best reasons. The studio was clean and bright, and the instructor (who also happened to be a studio manager!) was really friendly.
I'm definitely impressed. I'm setting a goal for myself to go to a class for each of the 7 days of the free trial. I feel like yoga is exactly what I need right now. My life feels so uncertain right now (being between jobs, transitioning a relationship into a long-distance stage, moving to a new city... the list is endless) and yoga is all about balance and groundedness. So basically, just what the doctor ordered.
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