Stoptober Update - Week 2

As I come to the end of week two of Stoptober, where I'm trying to stop all unnecessary spending for the month of October, I do have to admit that this week has been slightly less successful than the last, as I did spend money on a few different non-essentials this week. 

During my day out and visit to the Knitting and Stitching Show I bought a couple of small items, as well as lunch.  The tickets for this show were bought before I decided to join in with this challenge, but rather than not enjoy the day by worrying about not spending, I decided to set myself a small budget of £20 for everything (lunch, travel, purchases) and stuck to it, so I'm not going to beat myself up too badly over it.

Unfortunately, one of my essential expenditures last week, namely an umbrella for Little Bird, was sadly wasted money, on account of it being taken by person or persons unknown on the first occasion she'd had to use it.  It was a bit disappointing to say the least.  She'd left it drying on the radiator in her classroom at school during registration and when she went to pick it up, it had mysteriously gone, so she's back to using an old black one that's seen better days.  At least it's not pretty, so no-one should want to take it.  I'll know better next time, but it's sad that I have to think like that.

On a slightly more positive note (although not in terms of stopping spending), I also spent a small amount of money this week on some leather dye to make over an old pair of boots I had.  This worked out quite well in the end and was well worth the investment, so once again I'm not feeling too guilty about this.

The only other expenditure, other than essential food and household items this week, was that Little Bird's school photos came out and for once they were very nice.  On several occasions I've refused to buy the school photos taken of her, as they were not particularly flattering, but on this occasion I was happy to pay for them.  Anyway, I sent off an order as they had to be in before the end of October anyway, or incur a £4 surcharge, so it's not something I could put off until after Stoptober.  One of the photos will be a Christmas present for her grandparents, so that is another small Christmas present bought and paid for which is an added bonus.

One other good thing was that this week it was my birthday and I received some lovely gifts and treats to help boost my morale and get me through the rest of the month.  Thank goodness for birthdays is all I can say.

Hoping to do a little better next week.