Money, It's a Drag

I am not the best at saving money. I've never had much of it, and when I do manage to scrape an income, my spending inflates. I've been trying to make a point of having positive cash flow over the past two months. This has allowed me to pay off $700.00 in credit card debt that I accrued from three months of unemployment and about $300.00 or so dollars in-store credit card debt. I also have saved over $500.00. I did this in two months while paying bills on time and well... living.

I'm also working for under $10 an hour at a job with part-time hours.

My big goal is $2500.00 by late March. I figure that if I don't allow myself to shop for new stuff, sell my old stuff and work weekends, then I will be golden.

This is a lot harder than it sounds. I love shopping, and temptation is everywhere. And, by everywhere, I mean on my lap with a wireless connection.

Holley's plan to save for her move:
1. Freeze my Younkers Card. In ice.
2. Tape an adorable photo of a Corgi to my credit card over the numbers. This way I'll have to stare into it's adorable face, reminding me what I'm postponing for that humorous t-shirt, shiny tennis shoe or cute gingerbread earrings.
3. Watch my bank account like a HAWK.
4. Put my entire paycheck into my savings account, then move money into my checking account only as I need to pay bills.
5. Never step foot into Dubuque or Madison.
6. Develop a love of penny pinching. Maybe I can trade the thrill of shopping for the thrill of saving. Pause for the laugh.

Here are some great links on frugality, money saving and DIY, respectively:
http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/
http://www.freeby50.com/
http://www.lifehacker.com/

Personal Style

Here is a small confession:

I didn't pick out or buy my own clothes until I was 16.

Over the past 6 years I've found out several things about myself and my personal style.

1. There is really one pair of jeans that I like, so I now buy the same style in different colors. I also do this with underwear and tank tops.

2. I like black, but not enough to wear multiple pieces in the somber tone. Plus in winter my skin washes out, and I look really dowdy.

3. No matter how many cute scarves I buy... I will never wear them as much as the scarf Gram gave me 5 years ago.

4. I don't like glitter... or glam... or large jewelry. Shiny is good for shoes not faces.

5. I buy way too many hoodies and fleeces. I wear all of them and like all of them. This makes downsizing my closet really difficult.

6. Everything I try on is tolerable... sometimes everything is cute. These are not good reasons to buy clothes.

7. I love dresses. I did not wear dresses in high school. It wasn't until summer of freshman year where I lived in a place that had no A/C that I started wearing dresses to survive.

8. I do agree with one thing that my mother's boyfriend outlined in the house dress code... logos are awful. I could go on a rant about The Man using your body for product placement... but really I don't like having wording across my chest. 

9. Cardigans go with everything. Everything.

10. Lastly, I don't need to wear makeup. I'm way too young to look like a raccoon, clown or cougar.

Personally, I'm into a hipster/granny/librarian style. Humor t-shirts, cardigans, knee length skirts and excellent lapel pins. My basic 15 minute shopping quick trip involves looking through purse sale racks for Fossil handbags and skimming the very on sale racks for looking at fabric first, fit second and utility last. I do this based on what is fastest to judge. This way I'm not trying on a 100% wool size 0 romper. (Also, I hate rompers.)

Which leads me to the point I intend to make. The best way to avoid accumulating tons of clothing is a two step process.

Step 1: Figure out the following:

What you wear most often and if you really need more of that.

What you never wear but continue to buy for the wrong reasons: obligation, trend following, hoping for a tomorrow that might never come.

Step 2: Stop buying stuff.