A Roundup of the Nine Items I Bought In March

I’ve been leaning into minimalism lately. A couple of weeks ago I adopted a budget that I’m implementing for 2025 to spend less on discretionary items such as clothing, makeup, and shoes. I added up all of my discretionary purchases from each month in 2024 and divided the total by twelve to give myself a monthly spending budget. Then I reduced the number by almost 30% to get my new monthly budget for 2025.

As I mentioned in my last post about my desire to buy fewer new things, I’ve implemented several strategies to prevent myself from going over budget and making impulse purchases because I am prone to falling prey to all of the targeted ads that hit me anytime I pick up my phone. You can read about all of my strategies for buying fewer new things in this blog post.

So far my strategy of making a list in my notes app on my phone of anything I’m thinking of purchasing has been working. After reviewing the list several days later, I realize that some of what is on my list isn’t as desirable anymore. Writing items into my list is giving the same dopamine hit that getting to “check out” does — without spending any money. It’s also giving me the opportunity to reconsider whether the item fits my lifestyle needs. A lot of times something seems really great but it just doesn’t fit the lifestyle I’m leading right now. Because I’m being intentional about what I buy if something doesn’t seem to fit my lifestyle I take a hard pass.

I’ve also adopted another strategy I recently learned about: I put my phone on grey scale mode during the day so I’m less inclined to get sucked in or sidetracked when I’m on my phone. If you’ve never done this I urge you to give it a try and see how it impacts your phone usage. In iPhone settings scroll down to accessibility > display and text size > color filters. Toggle on color filters and check the grayscale feature.

My new strategies have been working well and I am pleased to report that for the month of March I am under budget. When I reviewed my purchases for the month I realize I did a great job of adding in things that fit my lifestyle right now. Some of the items are necessities but the rest are things that I love to wear and they are bringing me joy. Here’s what I purchased in March.

1. Evereve Geometric Print Pants. I love to wear flowy pants in the spring and summer. These are a satin version in a geometric print that can be dressed up or worn casually with a tee shirt or tank.
2. Melinda Maria Tennis Necklace. I’ve only had this necklace for ten days and already I’ve gotten so many compliments on it.
3. Nubra Bra. I’ve basically forgotten what it’s like to wear a traditional bra because I wear a Nubra sticky bra exclusively. I’ve tried other brands especially less expensive Amazon versions and they just don’t come close with the quality of the adhesive.
4. Varley Half Zip Sweater. While we are gearing up for spring it is still March and the weather in Washington, D.C. vacillates wildly. It can be cool and rainy or feel like summer! I have been eyeing Varley sweaters and sweatshirts for a while but they are pricey. They are on sale now at the end of the season and I’m so glad I snagged this one. I’ve worn it a few times and I know I will get a ton of wear next fall and winter.
5. Devon Windsor Swimsuit. This is a new swimsuit brand on my radar. I love a denim suit and I fell in love with the simplicity of the design. One of my best spring break purchases.
6. Reiss Dress Shorts. Reiss is one of my go-to brands and I love the idea of having a dressy short to wear with a tee or with a blazer if I’m dressing up.
7. Naturium Transexemic Acid. For any girlies that get dark spots or hyperpigmentation, you’ll want to try this skin-correcting serum. I read fabulous reviews online so I decided to give it a try. It t has 5% transexemic acid (instead of 3% like my old brand), it is one-tenth of the price and more effective at fading acne scars and my melasma that pops up from sun exposure. Good skincare doesn’t have to break the bank.
8. Akila.La Sunglasses. I was direct marketed this brand on Instagram so I decided to pop in their store when I was in Los Angeles last month. I had been wanting blue lens sunglasses in a tortoise frame but didn’t want to pull the trigger without trying them on in store. Akila will let you customize lens color to any frame. I love how mine turned out.
9. Bardot Liana Dress. I love the idea of having long sleeve dresses in the spring especially because it is not always as warm as you want it to be at spring special events.

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