To compliment my debt diary I think it would be cool to do a what I bought this month to document my seemingly out of control spending (HELP). As much as I try to be frugal, I find that this quarantine has really aggravated my past poor shopping habits. I have shopped more during the lockdown (as I am writing this, malls are now open but with social distancing and capacity rules, etc.) than I ever have. Not sure why this is. I used to love going to the mall and trying things on and often I would leave with nothing.
Now I am just ordering and returning things from the comfort of my own home.
I will be going through my statements and emails to recount what I spent my coins on this month, so lets have a look at July:
- We redid our bathroom. Yes, this is something we’ve been planning for some time now and we’ve finally taken the plunge. We had someone paint the bathroom, remove an old vanity and mirror and install a new mirror and vanity along with the plumbing work and paint the bathroom. I am really happy about the result and was so excited that this was done all in one day. The change is certainly drastic. The bathroom looks a lot brighter and more open. We had already purchased the vanity and mirror beforehand so the cost was just for the work to be done.
- Banana republic. I made an order for some clothes, they were having a 40% off sale so I got a couple of cardigans, joggers and some reusable face masks. I am kind of annoyed that as I’m writing this I still have not received my package due to shipment delays. I rarely purchased anything from Banana Republic full price because they will always have these types of sales regularly so I will usually only make a purchase when they have this sale going on. – **update I have received my items and I returned everything but the masks
- Amazon. I make random purchases on Amazon pretty much every month. I bought a bathmat that I will be returning (the ivory colour does not go with our bathroom) and a new ipad case that I desperately needed. My old one has been dropped so many times the button covers had all chipped off. I think for a clumsy person like me a rubber case is best (rather than the hard plastic ones). We also got a no touch door opener which we’ve been using to press elevator buttons in the building and open door handles, it is truly handy especially if you take the subway to work as not all doors are automatic.
- Lululemon. They had a huge sale earlier this month and of course by the time I was ready to process my order things in my size had already sold out. I got a fanny pack (who am I!?) which I’ve already used once and that I love, I also got a couple of sports bras, tights and a pair of workout shorts. I find that my workout clothes are something that I use over and over again and tend to keep for a long time so I’d rather spend more on something that is great quality and from a store that is pretty good with returns.
- Nordstrom. I also bought a bunch of underwear. I don’t know what it is but maybe about once every year or two I discover that all my underwear either goes missing or is all raggedy from washing and drying. I’ve also been on the hunt for some good quality underwear that can sustain many washes and does stretch out easily but is also comfortable and doesn’t show with most clothes (no offense VS). I’ve been testing out a few brands from Nordstrom. I have tried lace underwear from Victoria secret and the quality is not the best, the fit isn’t great and the lace tends to stretch out over time.
This was a pretty hefty July in terms of spending. Thankfully it was a three-paycheck month but I am going to try to do better in August.
