This week on Instagram, some of us (*ahem* me *ahem*) realized that we have spent entirely too much money over the last few weeks while we’ve been sitting at home and I laid out my plan to reduce my spending to ensure that I don’t go broke for real.

After having a come-to-Jesus moment with my bank account, I also came up with a three-part plan to recoup some of the money that I’ve already spent (and offset what I will inevitably spend in the future… God’s still working on me, okay?).

Instead of making 5,000 word posts on Instagram, I figured that now would be a good time to kick off the blog that I’ve been talking about starting for YEARS with a fun theme – Money May! Now, even though I’m an accountant and I deal with money on a daily basis – I’m no personal finance guru. All I know is what works for me.

Each week this month I’ll be sharing with you what *I* am doing help *myself* work toward my personal financial goals. Take notes and follow along, pick up what works and leave what doesn’t – or just shake your head at me and say that what I’m doing won’t work for you. It’s all good sis, everybody’s money habits are different.

So if you’re into me talking way too much about money… walk with me, talk with me.⁣⁣

As I mentioned, I realized this week that I’ve spent a lot of money in the last few months. If you aren’t following me on Instagram, here’s a recap of the three things I’ve decided to do to curb my spending from here on out:

– Easing up on food delivery – including groceries. (#byeInstacart)

– Resisting the urge to redecorate my entire house with things from Amazon.

– Scrolling past my favorite style/wig influencers and brands on Instagram.

In addition to curbing my spending, I plan to rectify the situation with my bank account by recouping some of the money I’ve spent by implementing my three-part plan to personal finance redemption.

Return what I can.

Many companies have extended their returns window, so items that I purchased back in March that I’m *REALLY* not actually going to wear or use (if I’m honest with myself) may still be returnable. I’m going to try EVERYTHING that I’m not actually going to use – or didn’t already eat. So far, I’ve returned over $800 worth of (mostly) clothes. You read that right sis, $800 so far. I’m still going through my “stash” of clothes to see what else I can bear to let go of. Like a true accountant, I have a spreadsheet to track my returns and refunds (including which account the money will be deposited into). My plan is to take all the money from the returns and use it to pay on my credit card that I’m not even supposed to be using (insert eyeroll).

Pro-Tip #1: Because I buy A LOT of stuff online, I had to find a simple way to keep track of my purchases. I created a separate folder in my email just for order confirmations (and subfolders for order confirmations related to my businesses). Order confirmations and shipping notifications go in that folder. That way, if I need to quickly pull up an electronic receipt to remember what I purchased or how much I paid for it I don’t have to scroll through thousands of marketing emails to find it.

Pro-Tip #2: I usually make returns to “the store” because paying for shipping is a top pet peeve of mine. However, with many stores still closed or just way too far from my home, I’m having to actual mail returns back. Because of the pandemic, some companies may be waiving return shipping fees in addition to extending the return window. I’ve called every single company that I have a return for that charges for return shipping and asked if they’re able to offer a free return. Some have said no, some have said yes. My mama always said a closed mouth don’t get fed. The worst they can do is say no.

Sell what I can’t return.

I’m terrible about returning things, okay? I have things still in my closet now that I’ve never worn because it never fit and I missed the return window. If it wasn’t for the pandemic, some of the things I just returned this week would have been no longer returnable. In this case, the next step is to try to sell the items online. Poshmark, Facebook marketplace, eBay (do people still shop on eBay?), and other sites that allow reselling will help me recoup *some* of the money. Of course I will end up losing some of the money I actually spent, but every little bit will help.⁣

Sell what is no longer useful to me.

I’m not talking about selling junk/trash. I’m talking about selling clothes that I bought eons ago and can’t fit anymore (or could never fit but never got around to returning – remember, I’m terrible at that). Kitchen appliances that I bought and have never even plugged in – like my quesadilla maker, breakfast sandwich maker, portable grill, etc – are gonna get the boot. I’m getting sad thinking about selling them but I’ve seriously never used them, I can use the cabinet space, and oh yeah I need to recoup the billions of dollars I’ve spent on food in the last two months.⁣

Outfit Deets

One of the packages that I sent back this week was headed to BooHoo, but I couldn’t bring myself to throw this shirt in the box. Sometime within the last year I became obsessed with leopard print so I kinda feel like I need to keep all of my leopard print things. That includes all million pair of my leopard print shoes. I could have gone with any shade of brown leopard to complement this look but I thought I’d spice things up by adding red leopard print from Shoedazzle in the mix. I’m all here for the pop of color!

Shirt (Similar) | Jeans | Wig | Earrings

Let me know in the comments how you plan to recoup some of the money you’ve spent over the last couple of months! Let’s be friends! Connect with me on Instagram and Facebook!