It’s been just over two weeks since I started No Spend September, and honestly, this last week was a bit of a blur! I had a lot to catch up on at work after being sick the week before. This was probably for the best, given that boredom is a common cause of unnecessary shopping!

When originally wrote down the rules I would follow throughout this challenge, the one thing I said I would allow myself to shop for was a birthday gift for my sister. Unfortunately, this sent me down the rabbit hole that is online shopping during the past week. I started to look at gifts for her, which coincidentally overlapped quite a bit with things I want for myself, and that was dangerous territory since I’m not even supposed to be browsing for potential purchases for myself. Eventually, I did end up purchasing a gift for my sister (a necklace I found on Etsy), and nothing for myself. It’s not an experiential gift like I was hoping to get, but at least with Etsy, I can shop small and support an independent seller, rather than a large corporation. I definitely could have spend less time browsing than I did, but luckily things didn’t get too out of hand!

Over the weekend, I went to a baseball game, spent lots of time with friends, and attended a festival for Mexico’s independence day. This day (September 16th) marks the beginning of the war for independence from Spain. I love that I can learn from and celebrate other cultures like this without leaving my own city! The festival had music, dancing, and no shortage of things to buy, but instead of buying material items, I limited my purchases to tacos and margaritas. No regrets there!

And there you have it–a short and sweet recap of week two of No Spend September. Apart from a little online browsing, I was mostly successful at avoiding shopping this week. Be sure to check back to see what I get up to during week three!