New Place, New Mindset

I can't believe we moved out. It's still a bit surreal. Having only moved twice in my life prior, this is a huge change for me. I didn't move out of my parents house when I got married. There was enough room and I don't see a reason for spending 2x the money on rent and receiving no equity. At least when I pay rent at home, I know it's going toward paying off our mortgage.

During the move, I come to realized was how much crap we have. You don't notice all the stuff you've collected until you have to move it all and fit it into a smaller space. Even though I stop my extreme couponing, the things I purchase still haunts me. I can't bring myself to throw them way as they're still good products, but it will take me forever to use them all. I can't even cast it off to my family member because they too, have purchase more than they need and can no longer take my load. My brother refers to my couponing as "spending money to save money." Now, I feel like I've wasted money to save money. :(

On the bright side, it's an opportunity to change directions in my life and finally clean up the clutter. I listened to Marie Kondo's "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up." It was very inspiring and indeed life changing. This book isn't just about folding your clothes or getting rid of clutter, but it asks you to dig deep inside yourself to realize the life you want to live. The book encourages you to part with things from your past that's holding you back so you can move on.

I feel so much weight has been lifted now that I've gotten rid of so much stuff. Although, I'm no where near minimalism, but the things I choose to keep hold more meaning in my life. I've gotten rid of a few bags of clothes and now I'm happy to report that I'm getting rid of all these heels.


When I first got pregnant I thought  would wear them after I give birth. Now that I'm 9 months post partum, I finally realize I may never wear them again. I saved a few pumps that are appropriate for work and the occasional formal events. I was bragging to another mom that I only have about 10 pairs of shoes and she reply that she only had 3. I was blown away. I guess I still have some more work to do on downsizing.

Every time I get rid of something, I feel lighter. I breathe easier. In a world that is very much driven by consumerism, I didn't think I'd be the one who feels good owning less. I feel like I'm living a more purposeful life. I no longer am dictated by the thought of having more things will give me fulfillment. Fulfillment is a state of mind. I still enjoy buying things, but I've become more selective of what I bring home. Once you bring something home, it becomes your problem. So choose wisely :P 

My experience with ThredUP

I finally did it. I shopped second hand. I always thought the idea of wearing other people's clothes as icky. You don't know who they are and where they come from. That mystery has me thinking the worst. I eventually got over my irrational worries because there are so many people out there shopping second hand and there were no incidents reported. I think I'm safe.
My goal for 2016 was to consume less and to live a more conscious lifestyle. For anything I need, I'll try to buy second hand. Not only is this better for the environment but better for my wallet too.

ThredUP is thrift/consignment shopping for millennial. I'm so used to getting everything I need on the internet. I like how the "stores" online are open 24/7. I don't have time to go out and shop during the day. I only get some down time after I put my baby to bed at night.

I paid $85 for all 7 items and saved 74% ( according to ThredUP's calculation from the each item's original price). It's a bit inflated because I don't believe these items were purchased a full prices by the sellers.
As a Buyer:
What I love <3 <3<3
1. They carry my favorite petite friendly brands: Ann Taylor and Banana Republic.
2. New items are added every day.
3. 40% off for the first purchase up to $50. 
4. FREE RETURNS- for store credit- this is what finally led me to buy, I would hate to buy something that doesn't fit and I can't return it. 

What I don't love: 
1. There are only two views for the clothes you're purchasing- the front and the back 
2. Shipping starts at $70. It would make me happier if they lower it to $50. 
3. They don't carry anything for men, my husband was interested in buying second hand seeing how happy I was with my purchases. 
4. If you want refunds to the original form of payment, then the free shipping offer is void. 

I bought a total of 7 items and here are the 6 I'm keeping.

Everything fit me perfectly except for the blue jeans. I'm going to have them hemmed. 

This dress is so cute. It ends right at the knee; it's the perfect length. 

I like how they come neatly and tightly packed to avoid excess material. The same box is used to make returns.


This site can be addicting as they have new stuff posted everyday. To keep your budget and closet space in check, always ask "Do I need this?" "Does it make me happy?" "Will I wear this often?" "Does it match what I have in my closet?" If the answer is yes x4 then you close the site and go on about your day~didn't think I was going to say that, did you? If you still want it after a few days, then you should buy it. But what if someone else snatch it up? Oh well, you can live without it, because you've been living without it... make sense? To keep things from piling up in my closet, I got rid of 6 items that I no longer wear or is old. These items will go into the donation bin; they're still wearable, I just don't love them anymore.

Quick Tip: H&M will take your old clothes, wearable or not, and recycle them. In return, you'll get a 15% of coupon that is good for about a month.

As a Seller:
 I did not sell to their site, but I was contemplating. They will send you a bag upon request, it came rather quickly. But their condition for items received made me iffy. They don't tell you approximately how much you're going to get. I guess it's hard to tell if they haven't seen your clothes. However, they decided they're nothing taking your clothes/bags etc, they're going to donated it. If you want you unsold items back there is a hefty shipping fee about $12. I've read reviews that they pay pennies for stuff you sent in. I guess, if you want to make more money, then just have a yard sale or try other method of selling your clothes. But if you don't have the time and just wanted to get rid of your stuff, and seeing the few bucks you might get back as a bonus then this would be your place.

If you want to help a sister out and also get $10 to spent, here is my referral link to ThredUP.

February's expenses

Has it been a month already? I feel like it just flew by. February is a special month. This month, we celebrated my birthday, Lunar New Year, Valentine's Day and it's also a leap year so we get an extra day this month. Growing up, we didn't have a lot of money, and allowances were not given. I always look forward to Lunar New Year the only time I can get some spending money.
This month, we also did something really brave. WE'RE MOVING OUT! My mother in law takes care of my baby, but she lives 33 miles away. That's a 66 miles commute for my little baby everyday That's just too much, so we're moving to be closer to her. Now, I'll be commuting instead of her. Even after moving to a different office, my daily commute will be 48 miles total. I'm so not looking forward to that. But, you gotta do what you gotta do. We're also paying more in rent, now we really need to find a way to stick to a budget. 

We're using our credit card to pay for pretty much everything except gas at Costco and our shared utilities. 

FIXED
Rent	600	current, new rent will be 1200 :(. Paying rent hurts.
Life ins	253
Car note	200	I really want to pay off this car
baby care	500
SEMI FIXED
Gas	328
Groceries	248
Utilities	28
Trash	140	Paying for tenent's left over bill and I'm covering trash for the new tenet
Dinning out	64
TARGET	356	100 of that was paid giftcards
CLOTHES
Thredup	84
HEALTH
Dr copay	15
optometrist	158
SPECIAL EXPENSES
Bday cake	30
New Year	750	My parents were generous, so we pretty much even out on this one.
deposit for apt	1200
Mammoth	407	but we should be getting something back
Disney pass	1700
BABYGEAR	133	95 of that was paid with gift cards.
TOTAL	7194
subtract gift cards	195
	6999	Holy S**t this is a lot of money.

I can't believe we spent that much money in just one month. We barely bring home half of that. This goes to show when you start writing things down, little things here and there really adds up. Luckily, the money spent in SPECIAL EXPENSES are just a one time thing. Although it's a pain the butt to write everything down, I'm going to keep doing it, or try to anyways. I feel like once I see the bigger number, I'll be less incline to spend. 

**** My uncle finally paid us for the car we sold him. $4000. We're using that to pay my MIL-$500, March's $1200 rent, $2000 will be used to pay off some of the car loan, and $800 will go toward the credit card bill.  

March isn't going to be a lean month neither. We're moving into our new places and it's going to incur some expenses.