2010 is half way over and June has definitely been one of reflection. I've been trying to figure out what is working in my life, what isn't working and what things I need to try out. Ever since I did the financial fast, I've been monitoring my spending and although I don't have many vices, spending money on clothing continues to be my Achilles heel. You may have to click on the below image to see it in better detail.

The image is a breakdown of my variable expenses for the first six months of the year. For the most part I'm usually under budget in most areas except clothing and utilities. In terms of utilities, my natural gas provider charges whatever they want in the winter time. I have a programmable thermostat, and I'm locked in on which provider I can use, but I was told that I could find a new gas supplier (because the company that provides my gas can get it from multiple suppliers). In terms of the clothing category (highlighted in yellow), I've been over my $200 limit three out of the six months in 2010. In January alone, I was over $900 over. I know... OUCH! I can't even blame it on mindless shopping because I remember what I spent the money on that month (cashmere coat, leather dress, faux fur vest, bandage skirt, tops, scarf, etc) and am happy with my purchases. I just need to re-prioritize things a little right now. I'm one of those bottom line people, and although I have no credit card debt, this is affecting my bottom line.

I would be lying if I said that I wasn't going to buy anymore clothes, and truthfully I don't want to set myself up to fail. The plan is to buy a few things this weekend and just pick up necessities the rest of the summer. I also plan to stop paying for clothes with my debit/credit card and use cash. The thought is that I'll be less inclined to hand over $100+  for a dress if it's in cash. I've also signed up to be a brand ambassador for the dress shop where I rented the Herve Leger dress I wore in November. I will earn free dress rentals for my efforts, so I think this could be a win-win situation! We shall see the outcome in December when I look at the end of year numbers.

Another area of concern is my hair. I haven't worn it straight since the first of the year, and sometimes it's hard to see what is really happening with curly hair. I was hoping to be at arm pit length by the July 4th weekend and judging from this picture, I'm very close.


But I also need a trim badly. It's been six months since my last trim and although I have done some cleanup on my own, the ends in my longest layer have been rubbing against my shirt like crazy, and I can see some split ends. My hair appointment is tomorrow, so we shall see where the length falls at.

I think I will do more protective styles this half of the year. In the last week, I've been doing braidouts daily to force myself to moisturize and if I don't like the results, I put my hair into two low buns. I think that may be my during the week hairstyle with twistouts being my weekend hairstyle.

Everything else is in a holding pattern at the moment. How did you the first six months of 2010 stack up for you?