I meant to write this post sooner, but sometime last week, I caught a nasty virus, and ever since then I’ve been either huddled under a blanket breathing miserably through my mouth, high on cold medicine, or so deeply asleep that my partner had to check to make sure I was still breathing. Alas, here we are, just over a week into No Spend September (if you don’t know what I mean by that, be sure to check out my last post). I’m happy to report that it’s gone remarkably well so far! Of course, that could be due to the fact that I was unconscious for a good chunk of the week, rather than because of my extraordinary determination, but still, I’m counting it as a win.

If you follow me on Instagram (which you totally should, by the way), you may have seen that I started out the month by traveling to Huntington Beach, California for a friend’s wedding. It felt absolutely glorious to spend some time at the beach before summer winds down, especially since the ocean is quite far from my midwestern home. I thought I would be tempted to go shopping and pick up a souvenir or two while on this mini-vacation, but honestly, I was so busy having a good time that I didn’t even think about it.

Unfortunately, the trip home was considerably less enjoyable. I had a layover in Chicago, which apparently had some pretty bad weather on Labor Day, and most flights were delayed or canceled. I got the worst of both worlds: my flight was delayed about four times, and then ultimately canceled. In the end, I spent about 24 hours stranded in Chicago by myself. Had I known I would be there so long I probably could have found something fun to do, but I kept thinking my flight would be leaving soon, so I basically just wasted a lot of time sitting in the airport. Bored, frustrated, and surrounded by a lot of duty-free shops, I couldn’t help but browse. This was definitely my weakest moment of the week. Even though I didn’t buy anything, I also committed to stop window shopping in my No Spend September rules, so this was a clear violation of that. However, I don’t feel too badly about, given the situation and the fact that I really needed to walk around the terminal to stretch my legs, more than anything.

The only other time when I really had to resist the impulse to buy something, was when I went to a concert later in the week. It was impossible not to pass by booths selling merch throughout the venue, but honestly, I almost never wear t-shirts with logos on them, so forking over $35 for a band t-shirt I know I won’t wear wasn’t terribly difficult.

After that, my sore throat and runny nose got the best of me and I spent most of the weekend comatose. It’s pretty easy to avoid shopping (even online) when you’re too tired to even watch TV.

So that’s a wrap for the first week of No Spend September! I’d say it was pretty successful, despite my airport browsing. I didn’t buy any material items, and I stayed away from online shopping. I’ll be back next week with another update!