Okay friends, this is the last Thursday of the month, so I am sharing my recap of how my no buy year has been going for the month of April! I will say right up front that I have continued to have success! Although I will mention again this month that I wonder if I made this too easy for myself.

So the big test this month was going thrift shopping with my son in Portland. There was a skirt that I saw in one of the thrift stores that I was tempted to try on, but I bypassed it! I did buy several things for my son while we were out shopping while I was there. I even bought some things for his cat too cuz I have a grandcat after all! And her new collar and harness look adorable on her! At one point I was processing with him and I said, you know I wonder if buying you things is giving me that same dopamine hit feeling I get when I buy something for myself. I said it in a joking way, laughing, but there might be more truth to that than I would like to admit. Although it is okay to buy gifts for others within my rules, I’m still wondering about what I was processing last month – where it is still a heart issue for me. Even though I am staying within my rules, I still have this desire to purchase stuff.

I will say though, in addition to the skirt I saw at the thrift shop, I have seen other things online that I was interested in purchasing but I refrained and scrolled past! Clothes are definitely still my biggest temptation! But I really want to learn to keep the spending to a minimum after my no buy year is over because I am still trying to figure out a way to minimize my wardrobe!

And speaking of my wardrobe, I did want to share about my minimalist closet challenge that I was doing in the month of April. I honestly feel like I could have removed even more from my closet for this challenge in hindsight! My plan is to go through the items that I put in my husband’s office closet and see if there is anything I can declutter, then I am going to remove even more from my main closet for the month of May. One thing I did notice is that packing for my trip to Portland seemed much easier than packing had in the past. It might be in part because I have traveled quite a bit over the last couple of years so I am getting to be a pro at packing, but I think it really was also just not having as much to choose from. Which just makes sense!

Honestly this month I didn’t really have any big revelations. I think I am just continuing to see the value in spending money on experiences over stuff. Like I mentioned, I have traveled quite a bit over the last couple of years and it just makes me appreciate those travel experiences. Not only are those life-long memories but I have no physical thing to manage and take care of and one day make a decision about decluttering. For my son’s birthday we went out for a really nice steak dinner at this restaurant in Portland, Portland City Grill. Not only was the food fantastic, but it is located on the 30th floor of a building downtown with beautiful 360 views. I would much rather spend money on an experience and food like that than to have something tangible.

That is all I have to share for the month of April with regards to my no buy year! I am considering reevaluating my rules as I do feel like maybe I was not strict enough with myself. I see to be having no problems with refraining from spending within the rules I had set up for myself! I will keep you posted! Stay tuned for next month’s recap!