It's been a while...

I was going to drop this blog completely when my life went crazy. Crazy in a good way and crazy in a bad way. Mainly work took over my life, there were a lot of deadlines to hit and a lot of late nights at the office (while pigging out on Indian food.) 


I was a city coordinator for the UNICEF Tap Project in D.C. On top working 15 hours a day at the office, I was spending another 10-12 hours a week coordinating volunteers, planning events, publicizing the cause and recruiting restaurants. Very rewarding and a great success. I'll post pictures later.


And on top of all that, staying connected with friends, maintaining my relationship, visiting my parents (to let them know I'm alive,) trying to NOT have my health go to hell and I joined a new group called SCYPS. 


SCYPS stands for Supply Chain Young Professionals Society. Check us out here 


I've had some time to think about what I was doing and what I was trying to accomplish here.


Not shopping for a whole year sounded good on paper, it also sounded kinda gimmicky. 


That did not happen. In fact, I shopped a lot. I like shopping, I like clothes. Cutting myself cold turkey is like being on a diet and not having one nibble of chocolate. Simply, I did not have the discipline. There I admitted it.


What did I buy? Everything. Shoes, purses, scarves, hats, chunky necklaces, dresses, silky tops, creamy wool jackets...etc... AND IT WAS HEAVENLY.


But lately, I've been shopping less. A lot less. And being a lot more frugal in general. And it dawned on me, there aren't a lot of personal financial role models out there fore women. There are a lot of career role models ( I am heavily inspired by the women in my own family) and fashion role models like Carrie Bradshaw, Alexa Chung, Heidi Klum and Gwyneth Paltrow. But have you noticed, we're not all multi-millionaire celebrities who could drop 5 figures on a piece of clothing but probably get tons of free samples from designers anyway?!


Why do we mere mortal everyday women do you not spend more time talking about our finances?! We work so hard for our money, isn't it about time we respect our paychecks and do us a favor by saving first, investing smart and spending carefully? Maybe because it's a faux pas to talk about dollars and sense with your girlfriends, you may look cheap or greedy or insensitive. 


It's also a little dry. Talking about your favorite stock tips and mutual funds isn't as fun as talking about Lindsey Lohan's jail sentence or what new French bistro place everyone has to try. 


There is also the impression that today's modern successful woman has to have it all. Yes, life is hard but we can handle it and then we reward ourselves with Louis Vuitton bags, luxurious vacations and piles of shoes. There's a recesion but it's a fundamental belief we invest in. We support each other in it. When we go shopping and our girlfriend asks us if she should get that BCBG black cutout cocktail dress, do we go "yes it looks so  cute on you, you should totally get it" OR do we go  "can you afford it?" Awkward. 


But let's not kid ourselves any longer. Wardrobe Rework is now my journey on becoming a personal finance guru. It's a new mentality. It's forming a new lifestyle that's not just a quick response to the recession but a series of changes where I come out as a happier, healthier and wealthier person :-D