January Budget Recap

January Budget: $75
+ Net Sales from my online store: $101
= $176 Hey-o!

In light of my self-imposed shopping ban in January, I decided to use my January budget to participate in some fun group giveaways and purchase gifts for my Cara Box exchange. I {heart} giving gifts, so it was fun to put my addiction on hold for 30 days to bless someone else. ;)

Here's how it all broke down:

$79.98 {My 100 Follower ShoeMint Giveaway}
$25 {Group Sponsor Giveaway over at The Tiny Heart}
$15 {Group Sponsor Giveaway over at The Life of the Wife}
$10 {Group Cash Giveaway coordinated by Quite the Blog}
$35 {Cara Box goodies}
$10 {Misc. Shipping Costs}
$174.98 {Grand Total}

I didn't have a doubt in my mind that I would spend the entire budget (+ some) this  month, yet I still came in $1.02 under budget. Go me!

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Now for a little story I'd like to call ShoeMint Fine Print.

I ordered a pair of shoes from ShoeMint in December. Apparently, I don't read fine print because earlier this month, I happened to be looking at my bank statement and noticed a mysterious charge from ShoeMint. Come to find out, as a ShoeMint member, within the first 5 days of each month, you have to log in to your account and 1) "Skip" or opt out of any purchases for the month, or 2) Purchase a pair of shoes (or 2 or 3). When you don't opt out, your account automatically gets charged and issued as a ShoeMint "credit" to your account. What the whaaaaaaatt?

Again, I placed myself on a shopping ban for January (and maybe February). And was determined to stick to my word/goal. As much as I would've loved a new pair of shoes, I really didn't need to buy anything.

So as I started creeping closer and closer to 100 GFC followers and considering doing a giveaway, it dawned on me...duh...a SHOEMINT giveaway! Because, afterall, what girl wouldn't want a killer pair of shoes?! Hey now!

So the moral of this story is READ THE FINE PRINT. Don't get dooped like I did, girls. But yay to the lovely lady that won a fancy new pair of shoes! 

So that's my budget, folks. I believe I mentioned being on the 'ban' in February, too. I am absolutely going to have to retract that statement. Not sure why I would want to torture myself like this for 2 months. Yeah...no.

For more deets on my 2013 clothing/shopping budget, click here.


Linking up with Miss Fran via Budgeting Bloggers link-up.