In 2016 I kept tabs on my spending with Elise by taking part in A Buyer's Archive.

I joined in as it seemed like a sensible way to help keep spending down. In 2015 I spent £1,250.86 (which includes £42.99 spend after issuing a spending ban) on clothes and accessories, and wanted to spend less in 2016.

I'd hoped for a total overall spend of around £400 but it became obvious that that wasn't going to happen when I passed that figure in July. So I set myself a new target - to spend under £745.00, as this would beat my lowest spend since I started keeping a tally back in 2012.

My overall spend for 2016 was £742.39. Seeing it all amassed here it looks like rather a lot, but I kept within my revised budget - by the skin of my teeth!

Do I feel like I made sensible purchases? For the most part yes, I still gave into temptation and made the odd impulse purchase, and I purchased items for occasions when I already had something suitable hanging in my wardrobe, what can I say? I love clothes, and I love shopping.

I often purchased things that I needed to complete my seasonal capsule wardrobes, so I'd say most purchases filled a gap - historically I used to buy whatever took my fancy and I'd work out how to wear it later. This often led to another purchase so I would have something to wear it with. I'd say this counts as progress.

I think that creating a capsule wardrobe every season helped me to spend less because sometimes I saw an item I really liked but I knew I didn't need it, so it stayed in the shop. This didn't always work, but it helped.

Keeping a tally of what I'd spent and on what also helped me to be more aware of my spending over the course of each month, and although some months I did buy a number of items, it did help me to curb my spending throughout the year. I remember thinking to myself 'you've spent enough' on numerous occasions.

So, I'm pleased that I joined in A Buyer's Archive (thank you Elise), and I'm pleased that I spent less than the previous four years!

You can see my yearly spending here 2012  /  2013  /  2014  / 2015. And you can see my monthly Buyer's Archive posts here.