Beware – read at your own risk.  You’re going to get a firsthand glimpse on just how much useless information I document, just because….well, I kind of like spreadsheets.  LOL. 

I was going through my finances today, trying to make everything work for my upcoming trips (bought my flight to New Zealand – October 6th, baby!), and I found a tab on my budget spreadsheet (Yes, I have one…since 2005.  Can you say anal?) that I forgot I had created.  It contained all the possible beauty products I would typically purchase, and an average cost I spend on each.  I broke it down into an average monthly cost, and, well – see for yourself below:Before you begin to judge – either at how much I spend, or how little, depending on who’s involved (lol), some of these numbers are very conservative – if I find an awesome treatment serum and it’s $95, I’m gonna buy it, not look for a $50 version to fit my budget.  On the flip side, some of these numbers are also skewed because I haven’t paid for a moisturizer with SPF in quite a while (since I just keep getting Superdefense SPF25 from my Clinique gratis).  Basically though, this is what it breaks down to, and it’s actually pretty accurate.  I track all my expenses every month (jeez, I’m sharing all my crazy with you now), and I spend between $250-270 on average a month on cosmetics.  While you might think “Wow, you’re good!” and congratulate me on sticking to a budget…unfortunately, the budget I think is more feasible – that allows me to also indulge in a pretty stellar social life as well – hovers more around the $150/month mark.  Ouch.I’ve tried and tried to make the numbers work and get them down to where I think they should be, but damn it, without giving up everything I love (namely, all high-end cosmetics), it’s just not gonna fly.  As it is, only spending $60/month on ‘fun’ makeup each month is far less than desired.  So unfair!!  Of course, we all know how to fix this problem right??

WIN THE LOTTERY!!!!!!

Perfect, solved, that should be easy, right?!  No? Ah well.  Anyway, despite the fact that I’m not staying within the budget I’d like, it IS reassuring to know that I’m not spending above and beyond a reasonable amount (my spreadsheet says so).  All I can do is try my best to adhere to some of the guidelines I’ve put in place for myself.  I’ve stumbled upon a few other bloggers who do the same (Larie from Eye Heart It has a great system – check it out!) – I find especially once you’re well immersed in the blogging world, it gets easier and easier to give in to all the beautiful things that are out there, so we need to ensure we maintain our sanity somehow

Does anyone else bother to keep a beauty budget, or is that just me?  Do you have a cosmetics purchasing ‘system’ that works for you?  Please share – I could use the ideas!