Tuesday, December 18, 2012

December goal check - more than halfway there!

As usual, things are flying by. Here's a quick status check for December, as the month is more than half way through.

Here are my goals, with progress noted.

  1. Complete 1,000 minutes of cardio, 10 strength, & 5 stretch workouts. - I'm at 580 minutes of cardio, 5 strength, & 2 stretch. Need to focus on the stretching, but on track.
  2. Finish my 12K! - Done! It was cold (35) & damp & windy, but I did it! :-)
  3. Decorate the house for the holidays, & mail all Christmas cards. - Done!
  4. Lose 5 lbs (bringing me to 142). - Ah, December is hard. I'm wavering between 145 & 146, so slightly behind. Especially with all of the festivities.
  5. Finalize 2013 goals & budget. - Done!
  6. Have one date night with M. - We're planning to have lunch on Friday.
  7. Get together with two friends. - Lots of get togethers this month. Done, done, done! :-)
  8. Update/amend our 2011 taxes based on the $16K repayment issue. - We've done our part. Waiting on M's previous employer to do theirs.
  9. Stick to our December budget. - We'll see. It will be tight with some unexpected refinance costs.
  10. Clean out my closet & both boys closets. - Yeah, not yet.
  11. Put together our will & guardianship (at least a draft).  - Yeah, not yet.
  12. Go to at least 5 holiday events with the kids! Lots of choices in our area - a parade that happens every night, a botanical garden decorated with lights, & a kids museum with a special gingerbread house exhibit. - Done! We'll likely do a few other things as well.

In accordance with my plan in December to really dissect our 2013 budget & areas for cutback, I'm posting about one category per day. So far, I've covered mortgage interest (and a potential refi), our grocery budget., dining out, kids activities, gas, utilities at our vacation house, & utilities at our primary residence.

Today's topic for discussion is . . . clothing.

I've fallen behind on posting my budget categories, so here are two for today.

  • Boys clothes/shoes/sports gear/etc - We shop sales (except for shoes - we buy one pair of high quality shoes for each kid + rain boots) for clothes, but still manage to spend more than I'd like outfitting two rough & tumble boys. Average monthly spend in 2012 was $113. I'd like to bring this down to $50/month. I think this is doable. I used to be very big on shopping one season ahead, but have discovered fits don't exactly match (I have one very skinny child, & one more average sized boy), seasons don't always align, & I tended to forget what I had in the closets & overbought. That's a bit of a good news/bad news situation, as we have a fairly substantial inventory in the next size up, which should reduce our need to spend in 2013. The $50/month will mostly go towards shoes, and any sporting equipment/uniforms.


  • My clothes/shoes - I probably spent the least EVER on my own clothes in 2012, minus running stuff. That killed my budget. I went through three pair of running shoes before I found a brand/fit that didn't make me lose all of my toenails. Lovely, eh? I now have some preferences, & think I can cut this back in 2013. I spent $138/month in 2012 & will spend $25/month in 2013. I'll likely bank this each month to replace my running shoes once/quarter or so.

How much do you spend on clothing for yourself & your kids?

9 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh, we spent so much money this year on clothes! Especially for me, since I grew a size :(. Now I want to lose those dreaded pounds again, so I will have to budget for it.

    Running outfits/shoes etc. are pricey. I have two kids in cross country and track and am going broke keeping them clothed!

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    1. Sharon - my closet is stocked with a variety of sizes, for similar reasons. Lots of postbaby up & down weight.

      Yes, running stuff is crazy expensive!

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  2. Spending only $25- a month, including running shoes is a pretty lofty goal. I don't think I could do it. I was impressed with how little you spent in 2012, given you are a professional/career woman. How did it feel in 2012 spending so little on yourself in that category? I imagine that you didn't feel deprived, given you have set an even more strict goal for 2013.
    I do like my clothes/shoes, but found a trade-off in finding a cheaper place to get my hair cut/colored.

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    1. Well, we'll see if I can pull it off. ;-) It's my goal, at least. I do have a professional job, but work in an industry with no dress code & my position is typically not customer-facing. My work "uniform" consists of jeans, boots, & sweaters in the fall & winter, & skirts/sandals/dresses in the spring & summer.

      I stopped coloring my hair about 4 years ago. It's now fully grown in & it's much darker than I expected! My hair is a dark blonde, so I don't have to worry about gray yet, but that is quickly approaching. :-) I get my hair cut about 2x/year, so that's not much of a cost. I do like to get pedicures to take care of my gnarly runners feet.

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  3. You're doing awesome so far this month!! I'm going to follow suit and post how i'm doing as well.. good idea! I definitely need to cut back our clothing budget for 2013, the money simply isn't there and we don't NEED the stuff... well the kids sometimes, but definitely NOT me. *blush*

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    1. Thanks! I'm trying to stay focused on my goals, which hasn't been easy. But, I'm pushing on.

      And yes! Sometimes the kids do actually need something (they grow so quickly & also wear out their jeans all.the.time) :-) But I rarely "need" something. . . it's more of a want. Minus running shoes. Those need to be replaced fairly regularly.

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  4. You're doing really well with your goals this month....I'm really behind with mine! Oops!

    I've done pretty well with clothes spending this year....hopefully in 2013 I'll lose so much weight, I'll need to spend a lot more!! ;)

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  5. I am at the same weight as you and just thinking this morning that I am having a pretty tough time trying to get down another 5-10. The last few are always the hardest. That is impressive where you are at with cardio! Keep it up :)

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  6. You have so much planned for this month! You are so much braver than I am. I usually try and cut back in December!

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