So it’s that time of the month again–time for a check-in on my yearlong limited spending challenge.

For those who may be new to the blog, here is a brief recap–I decided at the end of 2020 that instead of trying to do ‘no-spend’ months (and end up splurging), I would ‘limit’ the spending and items would fall into one of two categories: needed and splurges.

I did really well in January on the challenge, and then slowly started slipping since then and the plan was that I’ll start ‘rebounding’ and honoring the challenge again starting in June.

So, while I didn’t do as well as I did in January–I did better than I had for the past two or three months. THere were still some purchases and minor splurging–but nothing like I had done from March through May.

I did buy numerous books (I think I had mentioned it sometime in either 2020 or 2019 on a book review–I’m an impulsive book buyer), and those books were:

Chasing Her Trust by Danielle Pays

Rancher Bears Complete Series by Candace Ayers

Cocker Brothers (1st six book box set) by Faleena Hopkins

The Universe Always has a Plan by Matt Kahn

Awakening your inner shaman by Marcela Lobos

Mesopotamia ‘box set’ by Captivating History

Mesoamerican History ‘box set’ by Captivating History

Grumpy Single Dad by Melinda Minx

Classical mythology A to Z: an encyclopedia of gods & goddesses, heroes & heroines, nymphs, spirits, monsters and places by Annette Giesecke

Cellular and Molecular Immunology

United Nations: A History by Stanley Meisler

The Complete Book of Amulets & talismans by Migene Gonzales-Wippler

The Ancestral power of amulets, talismans, and mascots: folk magic in witchcraft and religion by Nigel Pennick

The compendium of magical beasts: an anatomical study of cryptozoology’s most elusive beings by Dr. Veronica Wigberht-Blackwater

Superstitions: A handbook of folklore, myths, and legends from around the world by D.R. McElroy

Creatures of the deep: in search of the sea’s monsters and the world they live in by Erich Hoyt

Dictionary of witches, wizards, and warlocks: the spells, charms, potions and magic of wizardology by Michael Freze

The door to witchcraft: A New Witch’s guide to history, traditions and modern day spells by Tonya Brown

Secrets of Egyptian spellcasting: amulets, talismans, and magical lifeforms by M.A. Budge & E.A. Wallis

The last set of books (from Classical Mythology through Secrets of Egyptian Spellcasting) are going to be ‘reference books’ for a couple of story ideas that I have bouncing around in my head, in addition to other things–the immunology book is because I’m interested in the topic and thinking of writing a blog post or two on the subject–but didn’t have any ‘reference books’ within reach.

In addition there was another large free sale of e-books, so I managed to get another 58 romance books in a variety of different sub-genera.

I did talk myself out of the one pricey e-course, and instead bought another ‘cheaper’ one that will also be shorter than the other. The additional e-course I bought is: ’15 errors in scientific writing and how to fix them’ on Udemy. It is roughly an hour and a half long, and I’m hoping to work through the course sometime in July (and hopefully not later than August).

So, yes I still ‘splurged’ on books this month–but in terms of the e-books it wasn’t that much (in comparison to earlier months). The physical books were pricey–but since they weren’t trade size paperbacks, the price wasn’t a surprise. I know that people will say that I could have just checked out books from the library-and my response is yes, I could have checked out books–but I prefer to have the ‘reference’ book. I never know when I may want to revisit the topic, and this way I know that the book will always be available.

I’m going to try to stick with the same goal for July, and hopefully ‘be on par’ with January in terms of spending of money. I am slowly learning to curb the impulsive spending, as I realized this wasn’t something I was going to be able to change overnight, and that it would be something to focus on daily.

What are some of your favorite subjects???