Lean Budget Month: March Goals and Tips
Last week, I enjoyed reading KellyAnn’s post entitled Closet Confessions. I have been wanting to do something similar for myself this year to help me get an idea of what I am buying, whether I am wearing it and if it was a good buy and also to help me decide when I should have what I can a lean month. A lean month is when I halt my clothes shopping for the month and work on preparing more budget friendly meals. Before sharing my tips for this month, I wanted to share my clothes spending for January and February. Please remember that everyone’s budget is different, what one might feel excessive may not be for another and my rule is not to go into debt and wear what I have. If I see myself wear my clothes and if I know that it will last in my closet, then it is a good buy.
January
$12 dress at Revive Consigment
$0 White Winter Jacket at TjMaxx (used gift card)
$18 fleece lined leggings (Target) for my cold early morning runs
$0 Amazon dress (Christmas gift card -$25)
Total: $30
February
$16 fleece line leggings (Target). Those 27 degrees mornings runs are cold!
$49 Kyla Seo embroidered shirt (for Spring) and $56 Kyla Seo shirt + jacket (Poshmark) – $30 gift card: $75
$50 embroidered blouse and one dress (Target)
$15 XCVI white pants for spring and summer (used gift card for difference) – Ebay
$25 Zella grey joggers (Poshmark)
Total: $181: that is more than I want to spend in one month therefore a spending freeze for 5 weeks! However I do not regret any of these purchases as I have worn all of the non spring pieces at least once, some 2 to 3 times already. My other Zella joggers are a staple in my closet and I have had them about 3 to 4 years (they are starting to fall apart), the Kyla pieces are favorites of mine and even the Target blouse and dress are timeless.
My Tips for a successful No Buy Month
Planning!! If you plan ahead you are less likely to be tempted to buy something new. None of my purchases in February were impulse buys but they still added to more than I would like to spend in a month. So to help me shop my closet and create new and creative outfits, I am going to have some loose themes to inspire me!
- skirt challenge: I have worn my dresses a lot lately but not my skirts so they are like new to me this season!
- joggers week: comfy, casual wear for a week
- one scarf a day: the weather is warming enough but still cool enough to wear all of my pretty spring scarves.
- print mixing: I probably won’t be super creative but camo, florals and stripes will be making lots of appearances.
- patterned pants: my Old Navy pants will be fun to wear!
These themes will take me all the way to spring break which start April 2nd.
Here are some tips for shopping my closet and wearing what I have:
- put away heavy sweaters first week of March (this won’t work for all of my Northern buddies but down here, these are becoming to warm for the cool days).
- mid March: switch out winter clothes for spring clothes (I have a few flat tubs in my closet for those seasonal clothes)
- some things stay in my closet year round: cardigans, jackets, most pants and dresses
- planning (which I have already mentioned)
- I may skip certains stories on Instagram (thankfully I have not shopped Amazon for clothes these past 2 months which has been a goal) and I will not browse Poshmark nor Ebay which is where my shopping has been.
- make a list of possible things I may want to add or not add as I switch my wardrobe for the seasons.
Budget Meal Planning
While our grocery bill was not excessive by our standards for the month of February (which included a birthday and a really nice steak dinner at home) at about $200 a week, I would like to cut that total by at least 10% for March. March is Great Lent for us so we will be eating vegan (the boys will most likely still have eggs and yogurt) so I plan to create some kid friendly meals. My tips for this month for me:
- make more snacks
- add rice/potatoes or pasta to stretch out meals (I seldom cook those)
- plan my menu well
Snacks for myself will include granola, nuts and fruit. For the boys, muffins, peanut butter and crackers, apples and peanut butter will be added to those snacks. I’ve started a list of dinners I think everyone will like.
March Health Goals for Myself
- run T, Th, F and Sat (Saturdays are our long runs)
- walk 2-3 times a week
- hike once a week
- add my weights and ab roller occasionally during the week (I haven’t in the last month!)
- increase water to 60oz a day
- watch my snacks
- Intermittent fasting: I’ve done little bouts before usually 2 to 3 weeks: my goal is to stick to it for 4 weeks starting March 6. My plan is 7ish PM to 11 AM
Lofty goals! I already do the first 3 so it will be working on the last 4! I will have a review of my month first week of April hopefully.
Any tips I have not mentioned to have a successful no buy month?
A bientôt!
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29 Comments
Joanne
I have been doing great about cutting out unnessisary spending this past month but our grocy bill is getting outrageous. I am trying to only grocery shop every 7 days even if we run out of fresh fruits and veggies before then but I am definitely noticing those prices creeping up and up each week. Great planning for your no spend month! I love your themes for dressing each week.
Mary
I agree! I’ve tracked our food budget spending much more closely since January. Although I’ve incorporated more meatless meals and relying more on pasta, rice and soups, our food budget is still climbing. So appreciate the suggestions in this blog and knowing that we’re all dealing with these issues.
mimifce
I will try to revisit this again in a bit. I have a few posts about some of my favorite ways to cut on groceries but I agree, the grocery bill is climbing up!
Nancy
Wel I only bought one dress on sale, nothing else. And I never save on my groceries. I just buy what we want to eat and we eat only fresh and organic. Great goals though.
mimifce
Well done, Nancy! Your meals always look delicious!
Michelle
Since fashion has become a new hobby (much less expensive when I was just into utilitarian clothing, I’ve begun keeping a spread sheet. Ha! And yes, when I’m trying not to be tempted, I stay away from all of my favorite shopping sites. You have some great goals, Mireille!
Michelle
https://mybijoulifeonline.com
mimifce
It adds up pretty quickly! That’s why I like to take a month or more off shopping every so often.
Jodie Filogomo
You are such a good planner Mireille. My problem with the purchasing new clothes is more when we all go out for blog photos, and my mom wants to go shopping. We are such enablers when we are together, haha. At least they are always sales or thrifted things, I guess!!!
XOOX
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
mimifce
That is funny! Well is is a fun way to spend time together!
Bojana
You are so good at planning and setting accountable goals for yourself. I took a no shopping January and most of febraury because I knew I wanted to add some key pieces for Spring when we went shopping last week on our trip. There is still a cople of things that I want add to my closet for spring and just update in general. This year I actually really want to purge fall/winter clothing before putting it away for next year. It’s time to update for next fall/winter when the time comes.
I absoultely love that white embrodery blouse. Its stunning and unique. Have a great weekend.
bosbodaciousblog.blogspot.ca
mimifce
I know I will want a couple printed tops this spring, short sleeves so this will give me time to see what’s out there and save a litle money.
Rosemary Davis
Great post!
You are so good at organizing. I enjoy reading and learning from your insights.
I having been purging my closet for several months. On the surface it looks great… once I started the purge, so many things were too big or I wonder why did I ever wear this? Why am I keeping this?
My goal is to stream line my wardrobe to only things that I like, are in good condition, and that I want.
Quality over quantity is my current motto. No more shopping just to shop.
Rosemary
http://www.Distinctlysouthernstyle.com
mimifce
Definitely am trying to do much better with buying quality items and more special pieces since I have some good basics.
Leslie Clingan
Really enjoyed this post. The clothes you scored are all very unique so I think that helps justify the money you spent. That thrift dress is so cute. Those sleeves!! Love the embroidered pieces, too. And that orange dress with the scarf has a great southwest vibe. I am finding that I really like southwest/cowboy/girl prints and styling right now.
I went through my closet with the intention of doing a massive purge but wound up putting almost everything back in. I did arrange things by color and looked at some of the pieces that had gotten buried in the back of the closet. Have too many clothes but they are all paid for and I am going to make a real effort to dress every day in something that hasn’t been out of the closet in awhile.
Good luck on your lean March.
mimifce
I am trying to be more particular about what I have since I have so many basics to work with. Reorganizing does make you look at things in a new way.
Marsha+Banks
Congratulations on your low spending! I remember the days of having to make meals spread for a family of five! But, I only had two boys. I can’t imagine having four!!! We were lucky because my mom always bought us a quarter of a beef (almost filled our freezer) each year for Christmas so I didn’t have to buy meat. It took me a long time to buy meat in a grocery store!!! Now, I cook about three times a week and we eat leftovers the other days. I’m not a good cook, but Nigel doesn’t care!
Good luck on your shopping freeze!
mimifce
We’ve talked about get part of a cow to do the same: it would be much cheaper!
Grace
So many great tips here!! I think it’s really smart for you to lay out some themes/challenges to explore your own closet more. I think I will start doing that once I get home! I always forget about my scarves, but making it a goal to wear one every day a week is such a good idea to get creative in my closet and excited by those pieces. Best of luck with your goals, I think you will do great!
Miles of smiles,
Grace
gracefulrags.com
mimifce
It helps me wear some things I haven’t pulled out much and the themes are broad enough I doesn’t feeel forced.
Amy+Scott
I think you did really well! I love your plan for now- April. I would add that you could write down things you wish you had when you are creating outfits this month and then see if you still “need” those items on April 2. Also, use Pinterest for inspiration instead. If you have a red skirt, look up “red skirt outfit” and see what they have.
I would join you, but I have changed sizes so I am trying to thoughtfully rebuild a spring wardrobe. Luckily many of my things were stretchy or flowy so I’m not that bad off!
Last week I baked a few baked potatoes and hard boiled eggs and I loved having these on hand at meal times. This week I want to prep salad stuff. Groceries are really high right now!
You are doing great and this is a great post!
mimifce
Amy, I love the idea of using pinterest in that way: for example, I was probably going to recreate an exact outfit with my green maxi skirt but I may boudn something much more interesting to put together. I am starting a little list which I think is to get a couple floral tops next month, going to screenshot the ones I like so i will be able to refer back to them. Meal prep like that is so helpful and makes a big difference!
Mica+-+Away+From+The+Blue
I love that orange dress you bought! I often have a splurge month that makes me reign in my spending a bit for future months, happens to us all no matter how much we plan!
Your tips for avoiding fashion spend seem like good ones! When I did my 6 months no shop challenge I unsubscribed from emails and I found other things to do with my time so I wasn’t “just browsing” online stores as that often leads to just buying, haha! I let all my friends and family know too so we avoided browsing stores when we caught up and that helped too! 🙂
Hope that you are having a great weekend! Was a hot and sunny one here 🙂
mimifce
It’s a beautiful weekend here too. Busy with church and it will be nice to do nothing this Sunday afternoon.
Jennifer
I have faith in you to accomplish all of your goals!!
Jennifer
Curated by Jennifer
mimifce
So far I am doing well!
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jess jannenga
Hi Mirielle!
Great job on your budget and buying clothes! I haven’t been interested in buying much lately as it is in between seasons, but I have bought a few blouses on Poshmark. Just trying to do more secondhand this year .
You seemed to be very organized with your goals!
thanks for linking!
jess xx
http://www.elegantlydressedandstylish.com
mimifce
I definitely think that helps me: the in between weather is a perfect time to shop my closet.
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