2019 resolution - shopping my own bag and wallet collection. Any one else?

[Sparkletastic]

You know, I think you are just done with this bag. Trying to figure out why, and how to make it work, is taking up an enormous amount of psychic energy. At this point, I don’t think it matters why. The more you talk about it, the more I’m convinced it’s time to just let it go.

I agree and plan to list it this week.

 

[msd_bags]

I don’t have the one-in, one-out rule for shoes, but for me, if neglected, shoes will deteriorate just so much faster in the cabinet and I don’t need many. What I have fits me for every occasions so that’s why I only have what I have. Yes... DH has more shoes than I do. He has more than 10 just for running shoes alone. [emoji37][emoji37][emoji37] I can never do that. Even at my most into-shoes moment, I think perhaps I’d have one more pair of sneakers and a pair of boots and that’s all. IMHO, shoes worn out fast and if kept in cabinet, they’ll just deteriorate anyway. I don’t see the point of having too many pairs. Unlike bags. [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

I learned my lesson on this a few years ago. I had a pair of Naturalizer sneakers that I use only when I traveled to the US. About 1 1/2 years after last use, I brought the pair on my trip to Japan. Lo and behold, as I was walking on our educational tour of a facility (work related), I could feel something dragging on my shoe. It's the sole!!! What a tough time that was as well as embarrassing!

 

[msd_bags]

Sparking of shoes, I took @ipsum ‘s advice and started hunting designer shoes that are preowned but new (or very lightly worn). And, I just bought these cute Alexander McQueens!

They were $635 and I got them for only $105 new in box! View attachment 4292714
I’m super excited. Unlike my bag collection which is curated and as complete as it will ever be (since I always expect to add a bag or two each year), my shoe “collection” needs help. Lol! I gutted it earlier this year and donated approx. 60 pair.

Rebuilding my shoe collection properly is one of my goals for this year. I love pretty shoes but finding the mix of stylish and comfortable is the barrier. I just can’t tolerate my feet hurting even a teeny bit. Also, I think it’s a little bit of work to have the right shoe in the right color / heel height / style for every occasion and not end up with a mountain of shoes. But, I needed some cute navy shoes so these are a win!

I like this pair a lot!

 

[ipsum]

@Sparkletastic
Congrats on finding this treasure! It will look great with your navy clothes.

@ipsum
Do you mean that you haven’t started saving for retirement, or that you’re trying to save more besides the current pension pot?

I’m in the UK and it’s not the same as the US, but there are lots of options.

I live in Europe so I belive we have more similarities in regulation till Brexit takes place. In brief, my main goal is increase my wealth. I'm looking for investment targets with moderate risk but profit rate goal is 3-10 % in 5-10 years. Do you have something in your mind or suggest longer term investments or more profitable targets? Love to hear your thoughts!

Longer version: unfortunately, our pension system is pretty fixed. Certain % will be detucted directly from the salary and put aside to pension pot. % is set in law and cannot be changed but detucted amount will increase as you age so basicly if you end up getting laid off or has health problems/cannot work before official retirement age, you'll get a quite hit that's why it's good not to rely solely on the pension system. I cannot know what will happen four decades from now on when I retire. Of course, there is various insurance packages for this kind of situation but the fees are quite high for such uncertainty.

 

[Sparkletastic]

Given that I’ve been gifted 3 bags in the last 2 months and a total of 4 this year, I’m adjusting my bag goals for next year. I want to enjoy what I have so, I’m cutting my bag allocation down from 4 to 1.

2019 Goals

Handbags
1. 100% success rate on purchases
2. Sell 2 bags
3. Buy no more than 1 bag and 2 SLG’s

Shoes
1. Buy 2 pair each month - at least one of which cannot be “date night” style heels (my weakness)
2. Donate 5 pair

Clothing (I have the reverse issue that I have with bags. I have to force myself to buy clothes b/c I hate trying things on.)
1. Buy 2 pair of jeans
2. Buy 3 new clothing items each month focusing on tops and dresses
3. Donate at least 10 items

Other
1. Buy 2 pair diamond earrings
2. Zero purchases - sunglasses, gloves, or other accessories.

 

[LVintage_LVoe]

Just a quick hello! HAPPY NEW YEAR DEAR POCKET FRIENDS! More blessings to all of us and may we achieve all our goals this 2019! [emoji322][emoji323][emoji120][emoji173]️[emoji4]

 

[catsinthebag]

I don't think you're an odd duck at all--appreciating pretty bags is what we do here! I love the idea of refurbishing, and if I had the skill. I'd want to do it too, but it's not something I have a natural inclination for. And $250 in 1997 was a lot of money! On another thread, a member said an LV speedy 25 was only $325 in 1998, so that's a pretty comparable cost. Value is all relative, and being able to get bargains doesn't reduce what an item's worth to you.

Coach makes beautiful bags, and I'm glad some of them are finding new life with you.




This is so interesting! Thanks for the insight/explanation. I'll have to remember that.



Congrats! So exciting!


Thanks for this. What a great reminder to start off 2019.







All of these underdressed stories are so horrifying. Leggings! To an opera!
I don't get it. I'm another who doesn't mind being overdressed--I think dressing up is a sign of respect. And while I like to dress up, I am not sure why other people dislike it so much that they'd rather be rude than appropriate.

And I think dressing down diminishes special occasions for other people. One of the better restaurants in my city is a tiny Italian place with dim lighting, candles on the table, nice linens, extensive wine list, etc. But a lot of times when I go there, the clientele are in shorts and flip-flops. It really makes the place feel less fancy, which is a shame, because it should be a nice experience.





The lumpiness would bother me, but from the photo, it's a beautiful bag.


Gorgeous bag! What a nice gift!

I totally agree with your comment that dressing down diminishes an occasion for others. Many years ago, friends of ours hosted a New Year’s Eve party. The wife made it clear that she wanted everyone to be in Black Tie. Very hard to do on short notice, but most people made an effort to dress up — at the very least, jackets on the men and dresses or sparlky jackets on the women. Except for one woman, who was a friend of the husband, who told him in advance there was no way she was dressing up for a party at someone’s house on NYE. She showed up in corduroy pants and a Christmas sweater. And was completely unapologetic. I thought it was incredibly rude. It also pretty much wrecked the friendship she had with the husband, because there was no way his wife was ever going to speak to her again!

 

[ElainePG]

Ok. No more grumpy. Mr. S gave me my last (I think) holiday prezzie!!!

Fendi silver calfskin wallet on chain !



Most of our furniture is light colored so I put it on one of my coats to show the color. LOL!

ME LOVE!!!!View attachment 4292421I have a pretty red gown for NYE and can’t wait to wear this with it. Yay!!!

Wow, @Sparkletastic , this is absolutely GORGEOUS! You must be dancing with delight. (And will you and Mr. S be dancing tonight???) This should go with absolutely anything you own, from red to black to anything sparkle-y. Wear it in good health!

 

[ElainePG]

Ooh so pretty! Love how the flower petals are hearts! Will you show us your red gown?
P.S. yes yes go look at the Lady Diors ( you too @cookiefiend @whateve @ElainePG) there are some interesting iterations but I’d stick with the classic cannage...check out the dove grey lambskin..Le sigh.. but no more for me

I did go to the Dior wesite to check out Lady Dior bags in the mini size, but all they showed were black (which I do NOT need!) and a very light pink (rose poudre, perhaps?) which I don't think would be very useful. Where did you see the dove grey? That sounds lovely!

Don't need it. Don't need it. Don't need it.

 

[ElainePG]

[USER=465452]@ElainePG are studs really over?? Cuz I’m still out there looking for the perfect studded bag or shoes for myself [emoji33]
[/USER]

I honestly don't know whether studs are over or not! Nordstrom is still selling Valentino Rockstud bags and shoes, if that's any indication, including "my" bag (which is the Vitello Hobo style). Neiman Marcus and a few other department stores also sell rockstuds, and of course so does the Valentino web site.

I'd say if you like the look, go for it. I don't worry about what's "in" or "out." When I was in my teens, things like hem length really mattered. I mean, to a really silly extent, like whether a skirt was half an inch above or below the knee. Heaven forfend you'd show up at school with the "wrong" length skirt! :panic: Fortunately, things are more relaxed now. Or else it's that I'm a lot older, so I no longer care. Maybe the current crop of teens still pays attention, only now it's that the rip in your jeans is in exactly the right place?

 

[ElainePG]

Mailed two bags out today. So expensive and such a pain. And still waiting for a Prada return and I need to relist it. Boring!
27 bags right now in my walk-in closet, and it's only slightly too full. So close to the right amount. Two dozen would be perfect for the allotted space. But instead of losing 3 I have 5 purchased & on the way! Wrong direction!

Oh well. I'm off to a new year's party with my Massaccesi aura which is small but did fit all my essentials plus Cards Against Humanity for the adults to play at the party! View attachment 4292673

Great bag and outfit. Have fun at the party!

 

[whateve]

Then it's easy decision to put her up for sale.


Thanks for the tip! Which mutual funds are good choices to be considered if I can let it sit and grow 5-10 years? Low administration fee is a must because I'm afraid high costs will eat up all my profits...

My son is an an attorney and was a finance major. He suggests most people use a no load index fund. He says just by the law of averages, 99% of advisors do not beat the average year after year, so paying a premium for them gets you nothing in the long run. An index fund gives you the market average. Buy the average, hold it, and you yield the average return. Long term, the market has yielded about 8%. Some years up, some years down. But an average of 8.

And if you are still working, buy through your company 401k. If not, go someplace like Fidelity and open an account. They charge low fees for many of their products. And as you can see, many of their product offerings are best in class: https://clark.com/personal-finance-credit/best-investment-companies-for-your-money/

@whateve investments are a good idea. I’m considered a low to medium risk investor and have a financial advisor - do you have one? It took me a while to find a good one and honestly it came with a bit of luck that my previous advisors left the firm and my account trickled down to my current advisor. Thankful for that cuz he’s helped me a lot. If you don’t have one, maybe ask friends to recommend one. The administrative process was really painless (maybe depends on where you live though). I think if your low risk, but plan to leave your funds in for a while, I don’t see the harm, unless you will be getting better return by spending your money elsewhere.

@ElainePG are studs really over?? Cuz I’m still out there looking for the perfect studded bag or shoes for myself [emoji33]

@TLeela congrats on your upcoming new addition to your family!

One additional thing to please keep in mind is that some mutual funds have a minimum amount you must invest to get started, so it will be good to keep that in mind as you research. I second others here who have said to look into what your work might offer. That is a really great place to start and some companies will even do matching on the amount you put into your 401k.

@vink
Hush pupipes! If I don't have "one in, one out" rule I'd have already catched several Hush puppies.










Thank you all for great advice! I've no work tomorrow so I've no reason to put off investing any longer. I'll start with browsing both no load and regular index funds and open an account on Fidelity if they allow me to do it overseas. I live in Europe so, unfortunately, here's no 401k, IRA, 529 plans... Tax policy in America seems very favourable for small investors. It'd be very rewarding to buy my first designer handbag with my profits after a decade or two. The major benefit is definitely putting myself into stricter low buy.

Do you guys mind me posting investing related questions here or should I go to other forums like Reddit?

I think you should talk to someone who is operating in your tax/retirement environment!

I don't think you should rely on strangers on the internet for investment advice. You can ask but then you should do your own research. There is information about all the funds available on the Internet. It seems overwhelming at first. We both have our IRAs split among 4 funds each. Each fund has a different portfolio so it balances out. Don't just look at stock funds. Consider bond funds too.

We were with Fidelity for a very long time. Most investment companies give you special service, including a dedicated advisor, if you have enough money with them. We left when they asked my husband to get a power of attorney to manage his money. They were implying he wasn't competent to manage his own money! DH didn't do the research before he jumped from Fidelity because he was so mad, that we went to Wells Fargo, which was a huge mistake. Now we are at Schwab. We make our own decisions, the fees are low, and we can move things around and take withdrawals online without talking to anyone.

 

[ElainePG]

I really like this bag, but then, I’m a sucker for cognac-colored bags! And if studs are “over,” that’s news to me. But if it looks lumpy on, that’s a problem. I would think the shape would make it look pretty sleek, but I also have a problem with north-south bags. Functionally, they don’t work for me because I feel like I’m always digging for my stuff because whatever I need has fallen to the bottom.

I had to laugh at the fact that it’s your only brown bag is both a positive and a negative! That alone makes it a good “love it or leave it,” bag!

That's probably what's making this bag feel lumpy to me. I'm used to an east-west bag, where my stuff is distributed crosswise. I carry very little, but still, in this bag it all falls down to the bottom. Thank you for the insight!

 

[ElainePG]

I totally agree with your comment that dressing down diminishes an occasion for others. Many years ago, friends of ours hosted a New Year’s Eve party. The wife made it clear that she wanted everyone to be in Black Tie. Very hard to do on short notice, but most people made an effort to dress up — at the very least, jackets on the men and dresses or sparlky jackets on the women. Except for one woman, who was a friend of the husband, who told him in advance there was no way she was dressing up for a party at someone’s house on NYE. She showed up in corduroy pants and a Christmas sweater. And was completely unapologetic. I thought it was incredibly rude. It also pretty much wrecked the friendship she had with the husband, because there was no way his wife was ever going to speak to her again!

Oh, that IS rude. Also kinda passive-aggressive, I think. Towards the wife, since you say this woman was mostly the husband's friend. Seems to me she was sending a message... which the wife received loud and clear!

 

[whateve]

Please share. Do you actually mean that you only have 4 pairs of shoes?? WOW!! That is a ton of money saved and used on other things, if so!

I've never counted how many shoes I have but it is a lot more than 4. There are some I don't wear that I should get rid of, but I wear most of them. I haven't noticed them falling apart from sitting in the closet.