Black Chandelier

For as long as I can remember, it was always a tradition between me and
my mum to go shopping for a whole new outfit to wear on Christmas day.
I’ll admit I always spent most of the morning in my pj’s (who doesn’t?!)
but there was always something really lovely about getting into a new
dress before dinner, to then head off to visit my gran and the rest of
the family later in the day. At the age of 23 this is something I still
look forward to doing.

Me rocking more style at the age of 3 than I do now at 23.

  But of course the price of a full outfit for
me costs considerably more than what it did for my mum when I was 6
years old. So when Money Supermarket set me the challenge for finding a
whole christmas outfit, down to shoes and accessories, for under £100 I
was excited to take part. (They posted a shorter version of this blog, over at their Festive Fashion Finds page) NOW: Pensions have also approached me asking for any thrifty tips I could share at this time of year. So I thought this was the perfect chance to show how I would put a whole outfit together on the cheap.

The accessories:

Belt – £12.00 @ Topshop
Bracelet – £5.00 @ Topshop
Shoes – £10.00 (reduced from £40.00) @ Republic
Bag – £16.99 @ New Look

For
this outfit, my first find was actually the shoes – which I could not
resist because they were such a bargain. I was nervous at the thought of
then building the rest of the outfit around a pair of heels (but I was
such a sucker for the gorgeous deep red and leopard print) Luckily when I
headed along to Topshop, I found a beautiful playsuit to go with them.
It looks quite plain from the front, but it was the back that I fell in
love with…

Playsuit £48.00 @ Topshop

Off to a
good start at the price of my shoes, I then felt a bit guilty at
spending almost half my budget on the playsuit! I absolutely love it
though, and have nothing else like this in my wardrobe at all.

Tights £3.50 @ Clothing at Tesco

On
these cold winter nights there is no way I could brave my pale legs to
the world! But neither did I want to look like I was wearing an all in
one black bodysuit with my usual 120 denier black tights. So I thought
these ones from Tesco were a nice delicate in between option.

I think the collar of the playsuit its
self makes enough of a statement, so I didn’t want to interfere with
that using any unnecessary jewellery. This little band with my gold
initial caught my eye, and I thought it was a nice way to tie in the
gold on my belt and the bag also.

So there you have it! All in all, my outfit total came to £95.49

I
am hardly the biggest fashionista when it comes to keeping up with the
latest trends, but I think my playsuit find from Topshop is a great wee
investment. Even though the cut is so simple – I think this style is a
classic that doesn’t age as quickly as a lot of other party dresses
might. It’s not a seasonal obsession or fad. I for one love studs, dip
dye and disco pants but I have seen enough of them all to last me a life
time. Even if this time next year, the accessories and shoes I bought
for this outfit are no longer on trend, I will be able to swap in other
options very easily.

You shouldn’t be afraid to invest in a statement piece of clothing
or shoes, because if you have found a piece that is adaptable and open
to interchangable options for accessories then you’re onto a winner!
That in its self has much more value than buying something once and
never wearing it again. I think my outfit is great value for money and
perfect for the party season. But not only that, because even when
christmas and new year are over and done with I will be able to wear
each component of this outfit again. Dressed up or even dressed down.

As I mentioned at the very start of the post, NOW: Pensions are wanting to encourage bloggers to think more about saving money for the future, but especially at Christmas. I have been self employed for nearly 3 years now, and I really need to start thinking about starting my own pension (as I don’t have an employer to do it for me!) But to be honest, at the moment as I go from job to job I am too busy thinking about the present moment and very very near future – where my next wage is coming from and if I have enough money in the bank to keep me going until it does. The joys of being freelance eh. I wouldn’t change it for the world as I love what I do for a living, but it really has got me on top of my money and in control like a woman possessed. I have to think way ahead for anything, holidays, birthdays, and especially christmas. Here is a very simplified of how I keep on top of my pennies:

 Online Banking & multiple accounts: I have a current account, ISA and an online saver, which I can access online and transfer money between at the touch of a button. I don’t have any ‘savings’ as such, but what I do is use each account for a different purpose. At the moment my online saver has my living expenses (rent & bills) saved up for a couple of months in advance, as a backup if work dries up. My ISA has some funds in it that I don’t plan to move for the long term (in order to try earn some interest on them) So I normally keep money aside for my tax bill in this account. Being self employed I need to do my own tax return every year, so to avoid being stung come april I save up a little bit as I go along. The last 2 years I have saved up too much so ended up getting a nice wee amount in return. Better safe than sorry. And last but not least, my current account has what I class as ‘my’ money in it. Money for fun, spending, and day to day adventures and necessities. I know that sounds silly because it is all my money – but having a few accounts really does seem to help me maintain the mentality that only a certain amount of it is actually available to me. It is a lot harder to separate it all in your head when it sits in the one account.

Lists, lists and more lists:  Do not underestimate the simple task of keeping tabs of your money and where it is going, and when. Checking regularly what is going in and out will also help you identify any unauthorised transactions as quickly as possible (Despite how careful I am, I have been a victim of fraud and it is not nice) It is so easy to loose track of your money when you can pay by debit card for almost anything these days too. I’m not saying carry about a large amount of cash with you, because that would be plain silly, but if you know what you have planned for the week then lift yourself a reasonable budget in cash and try to stick to it. Cold hard cash can stretch further than you think. I have a list written out for what needs to exit my account every month. The serious things like rent, bills, food shopping, council tax, phone bill etc. Things that would see me in a bit of bother if I didn’t have the funds to pay for them. Once I work out my average cost of living (which should be about the same each month) I can determine where the money coming in needs to go, and how much of it I can pop into my current account (as mentioned above) for personal spending. I write lists before I go shopping to make sure I don’t go off the beaten track unnecessarily, and I write lists in my diary of events coming up where I know I will have a considerable amount of money going out for. Things like big nights out, peoples birthdays, holidays, events I need an outfit for etc. Things I don’t want to forget about and realise a few days before that I am too skint to go. Obviously you cant predict every lunch date you will have for the rest of your life but that’s not what I’m saying. If you have time to think ahead regarding a purchase you’d hoped to make, or social event you wanted to attend, then write it down so you have a note to keep some money by for it. Being organised with your money will make sure you pay all the grown up things on time, and still do all the things you enjoy in life. Win win situation 🙂

Do your research: Due to the nature of my job, I am used to sitting down and doing a bit of investigating before I make a purchase or source an item. I love Money Saving Expert for advice, vouchers, and information on everthing from car insurance to the best bank account to have. They also have fun sections and tools like a budget planner, student loan calculator, and the Demotivator (which as you can imagine, tries to stop you spending money when you don’t need to) So yes, use the internet to your advantage!

This is just how I handle my money on a day to day basis, but I’m sure there are lots of christmas related articles and tips out there for this time of year when our bank balances get a bit more shook up than usual. Do you have any tips or websites you can share?

Ayden x