budget allocation

[miraclegirl90]

my first post..lol..

i discovered this site long time ago..but i just signed up recently..
im addicted to mac for sometime already..
everytime i set a budget on how much money i spent per mth on mac..i always exceed. =(

i was wondering how much budget u guys leave for make up every mth??

my budget is 300 bucks for makeup per mth. but i sometimes exceed but im trying to resist now esp when i lose money in casino a wk ago.stupid me. heart broken.

 

[TISH1124]

I don't really have a budget I just kinda buy what I really like....Some months that may be $50 some it may be $200...Some -zero- ....I only buy what I really like and I don't buy makeup anymore just to buy...Bad habit....So some months little to nothing...some a little more....If I set a $300 budget I would spend $300 a month unnecessarily and buy just because I have set a budget for it. But I don't think I would ever need to spend $300 every month because my collection is pretty large now so I just add a few pieces per collection and spend more on replacements like foundation etc.

 

[Skin*Deep]

yeah I agree that if you set money aside for it then you sill spend it whether you want to or not.Unless you view it as kind of a cap not to be gone over. That being said - I work around all the beautiful makeup counters all day and very rarely do I leave work without a bag in my hand. When my girls get something new in, I'm the first one they show it to, because they know I will buy it hahaha!! I stick mainly to Clarins, Chanel, and Shiseido for skincare, most months I spend around 700 or 800, BUT if we are just talking makeup then its probably more like 200 or 300. And of course there are the rare months that I just get a few things...like if I've been sick and not at work =).I guess that is just my spending habits more than an actual budget.

 

[pink_lily82]

I don't really stick to a budget so much as I try to stick to a list. I'll write down what I want and go buy just those items. It works well since I'll already have an idea of how much I'll spend. Sometimes I'll spot something that's not on the list and get it. I can't help it... I'll see something and go "ooh, pretty" and my eyes glaze over.

 

[Curly1908]

I don't have a set budget for makeup, but a good rule to live by is to never purchase makeup on a credit card. If you don't have the cash for it, then you can't afford it.

 

[snowflakelashes]

I don't have a budget exactly but I'm lately trying to talk myself down from spending so much, I am spending on books now too so I Have to re-evaluate and be careful.

Ideally I'd spend less than $100.00 a month... in reality , I end up spending a bit more than that.

 

[coachkitten]

I used to buget for makeup but like Tish said I ended up spending that just to spend it. Now I carefully pick out things that add to my collection not just clutter it. I have found that if I get the things that I REALLY want from a collection the more I enjoy it.

 

[User38]

I agree with Tish. I only buy what I like and what I need. Some months it will be quite high - especially since I have to buy for my work too. Some months, I feel saturated and do not find anything novel or interesting and don't buy a thing except cotton puffs, lol. I don't mean to sound flippant but you should budget annually and then break this down by month -- you will then see that you can afford some things only some times and that there are other things which you need on a monthly basis

 

[HustleRose]

as a lot of the gals here said - i don't have a set budget either. if i know a collection is coming out that i want a few items i usually decide how much is the most i want to spend on that collection and figure out which items i have to have. for example i'm going to the style warriors preview party on tuesday night and i already have the money put aside for the four items i know i want.

as far as perm items goes- i have a little (not that little!) mac wishlist i have saved on my phone. whenever i have extra money or i happen to be near a mac store i will go in and grab something i want. and there are also times my dad treats me, but that doesn't happen that often lately with money being tight with the economy.

lately i've been spending more money at the new CCO that opened up in my area then at actual mac stores.

 

[SmokeSignal16]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skin*Deep yeah I agree that if you set money aside for it then you sill spend it whether you want to or not.Unless you view it as kind of a cap not to be gone over. That being said - I work around all the beautiful makeup counters all day and very rarely do I leave work without a bag in my hand. When my girls get something new in, I'm the first one they show it to, because they know I will buy it hahaha!! I stick mainly to Clarins, Chanel, and Shiseido for skincare, most months I spend around 700 or 800, BUT if we are just talking makeup then its probably more like 200 or 300. And of course there are the rare months that I just get a few things...like if I've been sick and not at work =).I guess that is just my spending habits more than an actual budget.

That's so funny I do the EXACT same thing lol!! Whenever we get stock and I'm there I always did through not only my stuff but other line's stock too to see what is new, and yeah I would usually buy it. But now this year I have stuck to my resolution and have not bought as much as I normally would do. I only buy something when we have extra discount, a GWP, and if I will actually use the product lol. So far I have been a good girl!

 

[gildedangel]

I don't budget makeup, I just buy what I like. What keeps me in check is I ask myself before I buy it, "Will I finish this within a year or two?". If the answer is no, then I don't buy it. I love collecting makeup; but I mostly enjoy using the makeup on myself and my friends when they ask for me to do their makeup. Although my eyes completely glaze over and my head thinks, "ooh, shiny!" when I see something, I always try to keep myself in check to save money! I hope this helped!

 

[ginger9]

I will set a budget or write my purchases down if I feel like I am starting to get out of control with my spending on certain things. When I first started getting into MAC I was burning a hole in my wallet (I had to build the basics and of course, get all the "must haves"). Eventually I decided that I needed to take a break so I would give myself a budget and track my purchases. Now I don't need to because I don't spend much on makeup any more. I am moving on to clothes, handbags and food these days

LOL

 

[LMD84]

i usually end up spending about £60- £80 a month on mac items. be it from the limited edition collections or from the perm line. i also try and bag a bargain on the clearence bin too

generally i always say that i'll never spend over £100 a month on make up. and usually i stick to it. i went over on hello kitty (by £10!) and for colour craft i have already put £100 away so that if i go over i have the extra there.

guess i'm breaking the trend! i never spend it for the need of spending it! just because i can spend £100 a month doesn't mean i must spend it. i usually let the extra roll onto next month or put it towards my facials.

 

[geeko]

I set myself a budget each month but i ALWAYS exceed it.

I give up on setting myself a budget. Darn!

But i have to be self disciplined...otherwise i will be broke very month. LOL

 

[pumpkincat210]

I always pay in cash. My parents worked themselves into 100,000 dollars worth of cc debt somehow and now are paying it off miserably.

Another rule for me is just buy things that truly look good on me. The color maybe gorgeous in the container, but it might make me look horrible.. a reason to pass.
I'm also dearly faithful to the permanent line. There are some great products, like eyeshadows and lipsticks that often get forgotten in the hype of new releases that are le.
I also limit myself on buying a ton of lipsticks and lipglasses... and mascara's, liquid lineres etc... because often if i have too many they go bad before i can even near to finish them.
Dupes...try not to buy colors that are too similar unless they are items that you use alot and may need a backup. I was really bad about this.. and sold a lot of my collection because i had so many similar colors.
$300 is alot a month, but if you follow these general rules you'll come out looking fab with a wide selection of products!!

 

[AudreyNicole]

I really don't have a budget either. I try to keep the amount I spend per collection under $100, but there are alot of collections that I skip all together. Some months, I don't buy anything more than replacement foundation. I always pay cash, and if I don't have the cash, I don't buy the makeup. If there is a product that I am unsure about, I pass on it, and think about it, and 9 times out of 10, I never go back for it because I realize I don't really need it, wouldn't use it or have something similar. I have reached my saturation point in my collection, even after selling alot of it off. Now, I only buy what I will wear enough to justify the cost. If I have NOTHING else like it, I will buy. Slight differences in colors/finishes won't get me to buy anymore. I know now what I like, and what flatters me, and that's where my money goes.

 

[rbella]

I buy whenever I have the cash. Like others have said. Never use a credit card (unless online ordering and then pay back in full). I have a set budget per month for all my "extras". This includes dining out, drive-thrus, starbucks, clothes, mani/pedi, makeup, stationary, magazines, etc. It is very low and if I don't spend the whole amount, I put it in savings and never touch it.

 

[pianohno]

ALL my money seems to go on food and/or make-up. Not the most practical budget but it sure is fun!

 

[Okami08]

My fiance and I each have a set amount each month that I call "free money." If there's a question about whether something comes out of regular shared funds or "free money," we talk about it, but other than that, whatever you don't spend gets rolled into holding for you, to save up for something expensive. My fiance's pattern is to not buy much for a long time, and then buy something expensive, whereas I spend mine in smaller amounts on books, makeup, mp3s, and other things fairly evenly throughout the year, although I do save up for important things (like huge GBNF hauls

).

 

[winkietoe]

Theres no real amount I set for myself when it comes to makeup. I just try to not go overboard and buy things I dont need, or things that wouldnt look good on me. Ive made mistakes before where I had bought lots of things I didnt need or just bought because they were cute and ended up wasting a lot of money.. So now I try to choose wisely.