An update on my New Years Resolutions - 1 month in

Just a quick update on my 2013 goals:

1) To pack work lunches more often:  So far not bad.  I would say that I've done this about 85% of the time.  My birthday week was especially difficult as I went out twice in that week, so 60%.  Other weeks have been pretty good - often I'd pack 5/5 days.  Yah me!

2)  Take time out for myself:  I honestly think that I was going to have issues with this one, but I'm actually doing pretty good with this.  To help with this goal, what I did late December/early January was sign up for a couple beauty box subscriptions and since then I've always managed to take time out for myself.  I'm currently subscribed to Ipsy, Topbox & Julep (nail polish).  I have yet to receive a Topbox, but the other two have been great so far.  I now have a new obsession, my nails!  There was one week that I did my nails 4 times... just so I could try new nail polish colours.

Oh and just in case you want to help feed my polish addiction, you can sign up to be a Maven & get monthly deliveries of polish. Use my referral link below, the first box is a penny. You get a preview of the colours every month & can opt to skip any month that you don't like the colour and/or don't want to spend the cash. Code to use is "penny"   You can sign up here

For December/January I bought 12 new colours and for February I upgraded to their full collection!  How awesome is that.  I am now patiently waiting for that delivery.

3)  Be conscious of my spending habits:  Okay so this one is a bit more tricky.  I tend to not spend much on days that I'm working.  My office is located in an industrial area so if my lunch is packed, then there is no reason for me to leave the office.  Also in the whole month of January, I only made one coffee run to Tim Hortons, plus I used a gift card (that I got for my birthday) so essentially I didn't spend any of my own money - it was a birthday gift :o)

What I do need to get a hold of is my online spending.  I started this after my daughter was born... mostly because it is easier to order online & have it arrive to my doorstep then have to bundle her up, drive to the store and hope that she doesn't throw a tantrum... January was especially bad.  I will chalk this up to the fact that January is my birthday month so there were a couple of online purchases that I splurged on and considered it "birthday presents" for myself.  Here's a brief summary & justification of what I have bought online since January:

• a leather Coach purse (always wanted one & it's my birthday present to myself... definitely a splurge!)
• 12 new nail polish colours & then another 12 more to come in February (over $100 just on nail polish, somewhat shameful but I'm just starting my collection so it was necessary.  Also if you want to help feed this addiction see referral link above, lol)
• a creme colour scarf (I needed one & it was only $4 with free shipping.  Plus it's cold in Canada! and definitely came in handy on those -42 degree days)
• an Ipsy subscription (It's only $14.95 & helps with #2 of my goal, so it's allowed)
• a Topbox subscription (This is only $12.60 and it helps with my #2 goal, so it's also allowed)
• 3 pairs of new prescription glasses (I got a really good deal & the cost of these will be covered by our health insurance plans, so I can't really say that it's costing me anything)

Because I can charge everything & have it delivered, it is just too darn easy to spend.  Going forward, what I will have to do is decide on just a couple beauty box subscriptions and see what works best for me... I know I'm going to hang onto the Julep one, mostly because I can "skip" a month when I feel like it.  But the other two, I will have to make a decision on - that will save me a bit of money.  The other online purchases were "birthday" presents to myself so it's highly unlikely that I will be doing that in the coming months...

How do you think I'm doing?