When you’re on a budget, sometimes it’s hard to decide what to spend your money on. Do you buy the latest and greatest BB Cream that you just can’t live without (or maybe the worlds greatest bronzer brush)? Or do you get that great lace top you’ve been drooling over for 2 weeks?

If you ever figure out the answers to these questions will you private message me? Ha. Just kidding.

Here’s the thought process I go through to determine where my dollars are going to be spent…

Let’s say I’ve got $30 left in my budget for the month. If there is a top that costs about that much, I consider the store (do they often run sales?), the amount of tops left in my size (if there’s only one then I need to scoop it up), and how much I truly love it (would I throw my favorite jean jacket in front of a train to save this thing?).

If the store does frequently run sales, and if there are plenty of tops left in my size, then I roll the dice and wait on it. Chances are high that I’ll get it for a better price if I do that. If they don’t frequently run sales, yet there are plenty left in my size, I buy it depending on the kind of hole it will fill in my closet and how much I like it.

A top that’s everything I’ve been looking for in clothing that covers my upper half, is worth buying over a bronzer brush. If it’s going to stretch what I’ve got and save me the stress of what to wear to an event in the very near future, again totally worth it. If it will do none of those things, wait on it.

Beauty products (including bronzer brushes) don’t typically run out of stock as often as clothes do. That’s why they start the game a couple points behind. However, if you’re not going to feel good in that new top because your makeup looks terrible, then it’s worth it to go for the beauty product.

Something else I do, is make a list of the beauty products I need. That way when I have clothes money left over, I can pick up something off my list and produce a win/win.