Give Me Back My Five Bucks a quest for financial independence
Monday 4th
$76.15 hard drive
Tuesday 5th
No Spend Day!
Wednesday 6th
No Spend Day!
Thursday 7th
+ $39.47 Ebates cashback
$6.71 breakfast
$28.54 dinner
Friday 8th
- $74.48 Banana Republic
$7 lunch
$9.32 dinner
Saturday 9th
$20.11 groceries
$60.29 London Drugs (household)
Sunday 10th
No Spend Day!
Freelance Income: $0 (+ $113.95)
Expenses: - $208.12
TOTAL: - $94.17
Well after my little shopping spree at Banana Republic last week, I started to feel guilty about how much I spent. I ended up spending $300 last week on a suit (blazer, pants, skirt) for work. I’ve never owned a suit before, and I know I’ll need one for the job that I have. But… even though I got everything 30% off, and I don’t need to get anything altered, I still couldn’t stomach spending $300. So I decided to return the skirt, and now I feel a lot better. :)
I’ve also started using Ebates to earn cash back rewards when shopping online. It’s very similar to Great Canadian Rebates, except they offer a lot more American stores.
I wouldn’t worry too much about the cost of the suit. 300 dollars is (was) a fair price. Your professional appearance could help you “climb the ladder” and result in salary increases, etc. I think there is truth to the adage ‘dress for the job you want’, generally speaking.
Consider yourself fortunate that you only need one suit – as a person in business development regularly working with C-level executives, I need several. I don’t spend thousands on each suit or anything, put quality does count for something. Finding a good tailor is the most important part, I think. If you can find good quality material /construction off the rack, a skilled tailor can do wonders. I suggest to friends that they speak with one about what to look for, if buying off-the-rack, ahead of time.
Yeah, I know $300 isn’t that bad for a nice quality suit. But it still hurts my wallet just a little bit. :) And I definitely agree with you about dressing for the job you want. I always keep a business dress code at work – not only because I want to be taken seriously, but because dressing up makes me look older. With my braces, most people think I’m a new graduate.
Maybe in a few years I’ll invest in another suit, but I think this will be good for now. Thankfully with the Banana Republic petite section, I don’t need any alterations. The sizing fits me perfectly off-the-rack.