Saving Money

So my husband and I are in the process of house hunting.  Ultimately, we would like to build a house but knowing that means we need to figure out now what we like and don't like and what we can and cannot afford.  This has been an interesting experience to say the least because we both see ourselves in different kind of "forever" homes.  While we both love open floor plans and generous upgrades, I have found myself fawning over smaller homes (2700 - 3000 square feet).  There is a new community being built in the area that capitalizes on "urban living."  This means homes are closer together and property is much smaller.  My husband, on the other hand, thinks bigger is better.  Eventually, we will meet somewhere in the middle.  But for the time being, we are trying to save money for our down payment.  We are lucky we both make good money so it won't be too difficult but obviously if we can save extra money along the way, all the more better.

So here we are on the money saving plan.  I put together an estimate of how much I can contribute per month into my savings sparing any major disasters (like more HVAC problems at my condo) and part of this plan includes nixing lunches out with coworkers and friends, nixing shopping sprees, and trying to stick more to my grocery budgets (food is so freaking expensive, especially with my food allergy).  Granted, I am not giving up everything (dear boot camp I can't give you up, I won't let you down) but I am trying to be more cautious.  So far I am doing remarkably well.  I think because I have a rough number in my head of how much I could potentially save, I haven't felt the need to say, "F this" and go on a major shopping spree.

Plus, I spent so much money on clothes in the last year that I am actually trying to be more creative with what I own (kind of like those 30 by 30 challenges a lot of bloggers do).  I went from a size 12 in 2010 to a size 2 in early 2012.  And at this point, I haven't really lost anymore weight so I think it's safe to assume I do not need anymore clothes.  I actually still have a lot of nice stuff that I bought when I got to a size 6 and didn't think I would lose more weight (whoops) that I wore maybe 1-2 times.  So part of this saving money/being creative goal is to also get rid of stuff I don't actually wear so I can better visualize the stuff I should be wearing.

Another thing to note is that work attire is so ridiculously casual at my company it should be a crime.  We can wear jeans and t-shirts every day if we so please and since I work from about 7 to 3, this makes my life a million times easier.  It also makes it easier for me to dress schlumpy so I have been trying really hard to put together cute outfits that still look nice.  I draw a lot of inspiration from Pinterest.  I don't try to replicate the outfit entirely, but rather study the picture and see what kind of similar items I own and could pair together.  This has helped me put together two outfits that I would have never thought of pairing.  Exciting!

I forgot to take a picture yesterday but feast your eyes on today's outfit.

Cardigan: Banana Republic

Belt: Tart

Blouse: The Limited

Jeans: Citizens of Humanity

Shoes: Belle

PS - I am just noticing how dirty the mirror is that I took these pictures from.  My apologies.  Also, I think the mirror is propped to make me looking slightly bigger than I am.  Yeah, this will be fixed ASAP.

I also might or might have not bought $30 worth of scratch off tickets for my husband and I to try to win some money.  I think we won $8 but we had fun and it's not often that we do something like that.

Anyways, I will be back, probably tomorrow, with another update.  Did I mention that I sliced my finger open on Sunday which required some liquid stitches and part of the deal I made with the MD at Urgent Care was that I wouldn't work out for 5 days so my finger could heal.  Yeah, part of me is regretting that deal but it's okay I guess.  This week is forcing me to be strict about my diet, something I have not been recently because I would then make the excuse "well it's okay I worked out."  Because you know eating something with sulfites will somehow balance out by running that extra mile.  Who am I kidding?