my clothing budget

i’ve mentioned before that my clothing budget is $10/week. because our family budget is really important to us, and because i want to be completely open with you, today i want to talk about money. if you’d rather see an outfit post, today i’m wearing a combination of this (top half) and this (bottom half).

my clothing budget has changed drastically since i got married, and also since we took financial peace university. if you’re interested in learning more, you can also check out our debt-free story.

the budget.

the only personal spending money i am guaranteed is $10/week. this goes on the monthly budget that husband and i prepare and agree on.

additional opportunities.

• in addition to my day job, i work from home doing freelance editing. most of this money goes to our joint account, with the exception of one client. this account usually pays me around $25/month.

• we have a category on our budget called blow money. this is extra padding so, because we zero-out our budget, we have a little fluff in case something happens. if it doesn’t, and we stick to our budget, i get an additional $5/week as a small reward. (it seems that we were really good at this during the winter, but not so much this spring.)

• for my birthday and Christmas, i typically get some gifts of money from eric and others.

• when we go on vacation, we usually budget some spending money for both of us ($60-100 each). it’s at times like this when i usually buy nicer items that will last so i can remember our trip for a long time (rather than buying traditional souvenirs). for instance, i have fond memories of my college spring break trip to san diego when i wear my boyfriend jeans, our time in okoboji (where we spend a week every summer) when i wear this sweater, our trip to south carolina when i use my puma bag, and our honeymoon when i wear this sweater and this shirt.

how i spend this money.

this money is personal spending money and can be spent on whatever i want—“no questions asked” by my husband (girls night out, movies, shopping, etc.). because i love clothes, my money is usually all spent on clothing and accessories.

GRAND TOTAL

if i add it up, i have the possibility of “earning” $21.25/week for spending money, most or all of which gets spent on clothing. this equals $520-1,105/year, not including my birthday/Christmas gifts.

$1,105? it sure adds up quick, huh?

i’m sad to say that most times this amount of money does not feel like enough. there are so many other fashion and style bloggers who get to buy more than i do, and i get jealous. i feel terrible saying this because there are some families (say, in africa) whose entire income is $10/week. i try to focus on that to keep it in perspective. i know deep down that in the long run there are other things i’d rather spend my money on (helping others, trips with my husband, etc.)…and eric definitely keeps me in check.

do you have a budget for clothing? what works for you?