This is the time of year that our finances just seem to FLY out the window. Lots of presents to buy, decorations to hang, people to visit. But it’s also a time for GREAT sales. And great sales are a wonderful opportunity to stock up on your own wardrobe needs (and wishes)!

A great wardrobe is really important on so many levels – first of all, you are your best billboard. And looking gorgeous is simply an eye-catching invitation to others. (A must if you are in business, of course!) Beautiful clothes make us feel good about ourselves and when we look beautiful, we feel good about ourselves and have a happier outlook on life. A woman who doesn’t treat herself to a fun, new article of clothing here or there is probably a woman who doesn’t take care of herself in a lot of other ways too (like free time and “me” time, to mention just two).

It’s not so hard to reprioritize yourself and fill your closets and drawers either – it just takes a little commitment. A great wardrobe can be grown in two simple ways. December and January are terrific months to “gift” yourself with just a few hundred dollars to stock up on the essentials (and the extras). If you do that twice a year (in winter and summer), you will have built a great new repertoire within a year or two. Add to this two or three new “push-the-envelope” choices in spring and fall, and you’re on your way to runway material! (Push-the-envelope choices are colors or styles you might not wear very often, but really add to your closet for those special or offbeat occasions.)

The other way to build a terrific fashion statement is to simply budget yourself in. Create a monthly allowance of say $100 to spend on YOURSELF. That is enough to at least replace things that wear out or get splattered with paint or the kids’ dinner menu! Or if that’s not easy to fit into your monthly household expenses, simply treat yourself to one great sale item a month. For most busy women, they either don’t do this often enough, or they don’t round out their wardrobe with enough off-occasion choices. For instance, business women will have a great assortment of business suits and other work clothes, but will often own only two pairs of jeans. Likewise, stay-at-home moms may find themselves frantically searching for that slinky black dress from three years ago at 7pm on New Year’s Eve. (But they’re likely to own seven pairs of black sweatpants and fifteen white T-shirts in various stages of disrepair.)

The bottom line is this: Whatever your budget, whatever your means, NOT prioritizing yourself IS mean. As a woman, you are the core of your family and you need to look great (and feel great) EVERY day. So when you make your list and check it twice, remember to be NICE to yourself and pick out a few great wardrobe choices to ring in the New Year.