No Buy Year: The Weekend That Brought April All Crashing Down

It's that time of the month again where I discuss my purchases for the month. 

April, what I bought, and what I regret.

> What I Bought:

I start writing these at the beginning of the month and change them as I need to. And I had written down that "I found myself being really intentional about my purchases which is not something I can say truly for past months, so there's growth there. I didn't purchase anything..." but I did. 

It always happens at the end of the month for me. It's like my brain just snaps and I feel the need to buy something. So, let's get started on what I wrote up until the weekend of last...

I spoke about my skincare last month, but I did end up running out of my drmtlgy daily moisturizer, so I ended up replacing it for $37.69 including fees and shipping - which, for drmtlgy, is a bargain! It came with free samples of the Barrier Repair Mask, Advanced Neck Cream, Microdermabrasion Scrub and Vitamin C5 too. 

As a mini review: the Barrier Repair Mask had a weird smell to it which I didn't like and was thick, but I did like it overall. I have some light (laugh?) lines on my forehead, and I did feel like they faded. The Advanced Neck Cream was nice, unnecessary to my routine, but a little goes a long way. I found the Microdermabrasion Scrub too rough, but it left my skin tingly and smooth. The Vitamin C5 made me itchy but with a glow, the itchiness faded but I guess it was due to the fragrance (which all vitamin c products have). 

I also purchased a plate for my lobster for $18 (which is something I've been on the lookout for and thought this one would be perfect), and a reuseable straw for $10 (which, funny enough, I'd been wanting a retractable one for four years now and finally found one!) As well as some plates purchased at Savers which falls into my discontinued items allowance rule (or #3) as stated in January because they don't make them anymore, so I jumped. It cost me $3.99 for four dinner plates =)

Total: $69.68 (or $18 for items removed within the rules)

As for the cinema and theatre, I didn't go to either, so I saved some money there =)

So far, I've made $1025 from selling my used items in March's declutter. Note the total spending this year has been $816.83 (or $509.86 with items removed within the rules) so I've made my money back.

> The Weekend That Brought April All Crashing Down:

On April 27, I went to a market. It's a permanent everyday market but I had gone there earlier in the month and seen an incredible cardigan. I had tried it on, and it made me feel happy, but I walked away from it knowing to give myself some time to think about it... but then I couldn't stop thinking about it. 

So that Saturday I returned to the market to try it on once more - and you know what? It was NOTHING like I remembered. I thought it was cream with multi-coloured diamonds, but it was actually all pink and green. I still liked it but didn't feel that same love for it, so, once again, I walked away, so waiting had been the right thing to do. However, I did walk out with a book for my nephew which cost me $10. Ironically it was one that I had thought about getting him for his birthday back in January, but it cost too much with shipping. Life is funny like that, how you can find something later for the right price.  

After spending more on food than I care to admit, I was feeling restless, so I once again hopped in my car and went to Savers. I didn't intentionally go to buy anything. I like browsing and to see if I can find the items I want/need to replace (as allowed in my rules, or discontinued items, as above). 

I always end in the shoe section and while looking, I saw a girl taking a photo of a pair of sneakers. I never look in the sneaker section so hadn't seen them, but it intrigued me - what was this item that she felt so compelled to take a photo of? From afar, it looked like sneakers with Matthew Morrison or Mr. Schuester from Glee's face on them. But all over them was Bruce Campbell's face - and it was down to $5 something so I jumped. They're by Spread Shoes here, as seen on my Instagram here. Amazingly, I don't regret that purchase. 

Total: $15ish (or $5ish for items removed within the rules) 

Grand Total: $84.68 (or $23 with items removed)

> What I Learnt This Month:

I really have no excuses for this month. I failed but every fail is a learning opportunity to do better. It was a large slip from last month and I'm not proud of that. I can't even remember now what I was tempted by (apart from the cardigan) so once again, my instincts are right.

I'm going to Savers later today and it will test me once more. I'm hopeful this month goes smoothly!

x