spending smartly.

I'm forcing myself to go on a little bit of a spending freeze. Nothing serious, but I've gotten into some pretty bad habits that need correcting. My spending problems are pretty easy to pinpoint. 

There's the clothing: I'm a girl, and I'm a blogger, and I like to shop. After reading countless fashion blogs, and walking past every possible store front on the way to and from work, it's really easy to convince myself that not only do I need a new dress for each and every event in my life, but also that I would work out better with some new lululemon gear, and that I'd be so much cooler with a few more pops of color in my wardrobe and that girls night would be that much more fun if I were sporting some new summer sandals. Sure it's nice to feel cute, and the instant gratification of some new Kate Spade earrings is awesome - but sometimes I just need to say "no". 

There's the home decor: I'm a huge home body. I spend a lot of time in my living room, almost every evening in the kitchen cooking, and I love to entertain. I'm a tad obsessed with keeping our home picture perfect, which leads to unnecessary fresh flower purchases and expensive candles for every room. Then there's the throw pillows that must compliment the walls, that must also match the vases that the unnecessary fresh flowers are in. You get the picture. It's one thing to have a nice home, it's another to spend too much time and money trying to make it look like the floor model at Crate and Barrel. 

Theres the food: Yes, I like to cook. But I also dream about dining out. I have a list of about 1,000 restaurants I want to try in Chicago and then another list of 1,000 I'd like to return to. I went from bringing my lunch to work daily, to eating out almost every day {hello whole foods salad bar, sandwich shops, and afternoon trips to pinkberry}, and not only is my wallet hurting, but so is my waist line. 

Here's my plan: I am surely not suggesting that any of the above are not okay - they all are, but in moderation. I'm giving myself a four week spending "freeze" to get back on track and remind myself that new fall clothes, the finishing touches on our apartment, and eating out are wants and not needs. So  no new clothing purchases, no more flowers or pieces of decor for the home, and only eating out ONCE a week until after labor day. Ready, set, wish me luck :)