Money Mondays: March 2015 Budget Verdict

March has come and gone and it's time to tally up my expenses for the month. I spent a little more this month because I did receive a check from Uncle Sam and I also got my bonus this month. In February I spent $1919.52. April may either be a super frugal month or a super spendy month so we'll see. We're either trying to save up for a trip or actually go on a trip.

Hope everyone had a great Easter!

Spring 2015 Fashion: Fringe and Trench Coats

If you watch a lot of YouTube videos, you probably know of Jenn Im of ClothesEncounters. She's got an amazing fashion sense but everything she wears is a little out of my comfort zone as well as out of my price range. She recently posted a video of her Spring 2015 Outfits and I really loved the army green trench that she was wearing from Bardot. The trench is on sale for $99 (reg. $149.95) and there's only one size left so I started my hunt for an alternative. Luckily, light trenches are SUPER in this Spring and while browsing thru my Feedly, I found Wendy from Wendy's Lookbook wearing something similar to what I want and from Forever 21 for $32.90! Here's a side by side image of the two trenches.

draper trench (item: 32120JBX) from bardot (link); draped-lapel trench (item: 2000120399) from forever 21 (link)

Obviously the Forever 21 version isn't as good quality and it looks like the Bardot version has pockets (which is definitely something I would miss) but style wise, you could style the two similarly.

Wendy also styled a sleeveless version (check out additional photos here) which I'm also eye-ing online. What I appreciate about the sleeveless version is that it has pockets!

dropped-lapel trench vest (item: 2000097194) from forever 21 (link)

I was reading an article about Kendall Jenner's stylist, Monica Rose, and her top 3 recommendations for spring. One of them happens to be fringe. I had this fringe purse that I purchased from Target and it definitely served me well during the festival season. I have since donated that purse but there are a few fringe items I'd like to add to my wardrobe. I'm not quite brave enough to wear fringe as a clothing item but I did see a few pair of shoes that I liked.

women's sam & libby hughes gladiator fringe sandals from target (link)

women's mossimo supply co. ruthie fringe bootie from target (link)

There were also a couple of purses I liked as well.

Fringed Faux Leather Backpack from Forever 21 (link)

Fringed Faux Leather Crossbody from Forever 21 (link)

I found one fringe top that wasn't too out there that I could possibly wear.

Southwestern-Embroidered Fringe Cami from Forever 21 (link)

Hope you enjoyed this fringe and trench coat edition of Spring 2015 Fashion.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Fitness Fridays: April is for ARMS

Now that March is almost done, it's time to start prepping for what we'll be doing fitness wise for April. March was a bit of a fail for me. It was an extremely busy month with work consuming most of my energy and time. For April, I picked a 21-Day Arm Sculpting Challenge that I found on Popsugar. I decided to not post this on Friday so that we could start the challenge on the first. I originally wanted to post this last Friday but life and sickness got in the way so here ya go!

The Moves:
Visit the link above to see how to perform the actual moves.

• Bicep Curl
• Upright Row
• Triceps Kickback
• Overhead Shoulder Press
• Bent-over Reverse Fly

The Plan:

I actually started this workout the end of last week just to see how if I could actually complete the challenge this time and it's very doable! I actually started off doing 10 reps of each move (3x) so I will probably modify this a bit (the dumbbells I have are probably too light). I guess my arms aren't as weak as I thought. 

Because March was such a fail and my booty isn't looking any nicer/bigger, I'll also be doing a squat challenge that I found from FitnessFashionista.com. You can actually download a whole set of exercises on the site so I would definitely check them out. 

I hope everyone's week started off well! I'm unfortunately fighting off a cold that is making me super lethargic but I'm trying my best to still get some exercise in. I'm hoping that I'll be back in full jurassic mode when April starts. Looking forward to completing this month's challenge!

Spring 2015 Fashion

Spring is here! Or if you live in Southern California, it seriously feels like summer already. I had a chance to go shopping lately for some Spring stuff (as well as some non-spring items) and I thought I'd do a little haul.

I have TJMaxx right by my work and it's a real shame that I don't go there more often. This particular TJMaxx always has really great stuff (mostly clothes, not so much for the home section though). I'm absolutely in love with Spendid shirts made from the modal material and this store usually has a bunch. This time, I was inspired to go shopping for some looks I saw from the Spring "Looks We Love" section of their site. I really love this pink ensemble from their site.

So when I went shopping, I was looking to add a bit of color to my usual white, grey, black palette that I have going on. I ended up buying this American Eagle Aerie Favorite T (similar) in the v-neck style ($6.99).  I have extremely sensitive skin to the point where there are certain clothes that I buy that I wear once and I never wear it again because it irritates my skin so much. There are certain shirts and pants that I have to cut off all the tags, otherwise I get itch-crazy. This tee is made of 60% cotton and 40% polyester and it's extremely comfortable. It does look like a shrinker so I'd be aware when washing/drying especially if you are looking for a looser fit shirt.

I'm guessing I'm really into the bright pink/coral color for spring because I ended up purchasing a second tee that looks very similar to the Aerie tee. This one isn't that "washed out" material of the Aerie one so it would be a great option for going out without that beachy/casual look.

I couldn't steer clear of the whites for long. I love all things white and the trouble I have with white pants or shorts are that they seem to always show my underwear. I haven't been able to find a pair of shorts that aren't practically see-through. While I was browsing, I picked up a pair of high-waisted scalloped shorts just for shits and giggles and I ended up loving them! They actually matched really well with the pink/coral shirts I had picked out. The great thing about solid white shorts is the versatility. If you want to look more put together, I'd go for an all-white monochromatic outfit. For a more fun look, pair the shorts with a floral/printed top.

This is all the Spring/Summer items I have bought so far. There are a few more items I'm looking to add to my wardrobe this season like some culottes (which I could also be good for work as well), fringe stuff, a maxi dress, nice sweat-proof sandles (I have a hyperhidrosis problem) and a jumpsuit. I'll keep ya'll updated! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Money Mondays: March Check-up

There's about a week left in March but it's still a good time to see how we are doing so far.

I did purchase a bit of stuff this month for myself. I splurged on some flats for work as well as a purse I'd been wanting. I've also been shopping around for some more suitable work clothes. Looks like I'm still doing ok but I should be cutting some spending, especially since next month is a rent month. Just one more week! Save save save!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Don't forget that it's tax season! Don't procrastinate! 

My Life Lately...

The last few weeks have been both stressful and rewarding. Work has been quite hectic and I haven't really gotten a chance to recharge. I took a few days off two weeks ago when my friend came from Hawaii to visit and we headed up to Disneyland. Every time I set foot into that place, I get sucked back into getting an annual pass. This time, I made the jump and got a pass. I'm definitely feeling the itch to go back now that I have a pass but now it's about finding the time to go.

March was going to be the time when I started all my changes. Maybe that was a little too ambitious of me. This year surprised me because usually January is super stressful because there are a lot of changes going on at work. However, this year, it seems like as the year progresses, the stress levels are increasing. One of my favorite YouTubers, Ingrid Nilsen, read my mind and made a video on Relaxing and Letting Go. I found her tips to be really helpful and it was like a little hug to let me know that I'm not alone when it comes being stressed and overwhelmed.



Let's take a look at a few of my goals this year and how they've been coming along.

• Finances
• My finances are actually going quite swimmingly. I've been following my budget of 50-25-25 (debt, save, fun, respectively) although I've been trying to put a bit more towards debt than 50%. I still have my goal of being debt free by 33 and I'm really close to being able to reach that goal. 
• I've been speaking with friends and just gathering information on what I should do in terms of putting money into my 401k or putting money into a Roth IRA. I looked into how much I had actually put into for 401k last year (vs. the total including my company match) and I was NOWHERE near the maximum of $17,500 in 2014 ($18,000 in 2015). In 2014, I put 5% of my pay towards my 401k. This past month, I increased it to 15%. My reasoning for this is that it will drop my taxable income down drastically since these are before-tax contributions. 

• Food
• Initially we thought that we'd be able to spend our Saturdays heading out to buy our groceries for the week at the farmer's market. However, looking at how costly some of the stuff is, we've decided against it. The prices at the market were double what we'd pay for at, for example, Sprouts. 
• We have been exploring the area quite a bit but I haven't posted any of my foodsplorations because I wanted to at least try a place out twice (to a few times) before giving it a review. 
• I actually cooked a bit more in January than February so I'll hopefully be posting some of those up soon. We've been having out of town guests and exploring the neighborhood so that usually doesn't leave much time for cooking. 

• Fitness
• Wow. This has been absolutely non-existent! I made a whole calendar for March and I haven't even done one day of booty exercises. Well, sometimes life throws some curve-balls at you but that doesn't mean the game is over. Step back up to that plate with your game face on. 

• Travel
• With all this budgeting and finance talk, a vacation seems less and less likely this year. I'll still probably plan for my annual Hawaii trip sometime in the fall when fares drop to their cheapest but as for right now, a Peru trip seems very far from fruition. I was looking at it and it would cost approximately $4,500 for the two of us to head out to Peru. Ideally, we would want to go in May and it seems very unlikely. I was researching and it seems that the best time to go to Peru is in May. I feel like saving that kind of money for a vacation in the latter part of the year would be much easier than shelling out the money up front. But as of right now, we have no plans to do any sort of traveling this year :/. 

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

I'll talk to ya'lls very soon!

Money Mondays: February 2015 Budget Verdict

March is officially here! Quite scary for me since I'm basically supposed to be starting all of my changes this month. But first, I'll reflect on how I did for February. Like I had said previously, I wanted to make sure to keep my spending low in the beginning of the month because I knew I would be spending quite a bit a money during the end of the month (take a look at my "Out of Town" expenses).

Tony and I switch off paying rent (one month I'll pay, and the next month he'll pay) so money is a bit tighter on rent months. I was still able to pay much more on my loan payment which is good. However, I was in the negatives in terms of money rolling over to next month. This isn't such a big deal since I know for March, I don't have to pay rent so I'll be able to save a bit more.

So far so good! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

I'm ready for you, March!