We Are Decking the Halls with NSDs December Challenge

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  • The_Dragon
    The_Dragon Posts: 9,749 Forumite
    I hope you feel okay today Freeby, more hugs coming your way from me!
    Do not meddle in the affairs of Dragons, for thou art crunchy and good with catsup :D
    NSD 15/20, OS WL 21-6 (4) :(C.R.A.P R.O.L.L.Z #44 Twisted Firestarter, VSP #57 - £39.43
    :p Every Penny's a Prisoner :p
  • solventsoon
    solventsoon Posts: 17,363 Forumite
    Not a good nights sleep :( I kept going over and over it in my head. The insurance company are coming to take the car away today and it is touch and go whether it is a write-off or not :( The lady I hit was lovely, she actually couldn't have been nicer, she said she saw me coming down the hill and knew I had hit ice and couldn't stop :( She was fine :) with (to my eyes) very little damage to her car, it looked like I had just knocked a wheel trim off. Thankfully we are all okay, it could have been worse.
    Thank you rising :A

    (((hugs))) Freeby, losing control of a car on ice is really frightening. I'm pleased you're all OK albeit shaken up which is understandable. What a lovely lady though, that's quite unusual these days unfortunately.

    Hope you can take a day or two off to rest and recover, even though you're not injured physically something like that is a shock and you need to look after yourself and DD2.

    Take care (((hugs)))
    :) The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time :)
  • 2ym65q8.gif





    Some helpful suggestions and ideas to follow below from our sponsor and godmother, BigMummaF :A

    NO SPEND CHALLENGE.


    1. Have a good, long think about what YOU want to include in your Spend & Excluded categories.
    Some of us count everything from Direct Debits & school expenses, while others do not include things like essential Bills or emergency medical costs. If you plan what is or is not a Spend for you now, it will help you decide on a realistic Target.
    2. It is NOT a race!
    We all have very different demands on our time & bank balance, so please do not think you have to buy everything on 1st January & make it last till 31st December! A few of us have been following this Challenge for a long...long...LONG time so have developed plans & ploys to help us along the way wink2.gif
    3. Most important of all, WE..DO..NOT..FAIL!
    Sometimes we can't quite reach our Target, but that is fine :) Everyone knows how Life will try to trip us up, & that is when you will find us here to help you back on to your feet.

    OK, an idea of how some of us do things.
    1. What you will or will not include as a 'Spend'.
    Some people are doing other challenges too, & don't include the money spent on those for this one.
    Some will try to shop for other bits on the days their direct debits etc go out of their bank accounts; they're the real hard core of the bunch sport-smiley-003.gif & have been l-o-n-g time Nsders so don't panic :p
    Some won't count those annoying last minute demands from school & collections as you can't plan for them in advance, likewise emergency prescriptions or visits to the vet :(
    Personally speaking & providing I don't buy anything else, I don't count parking for hospital appointments.(..but then I usually do my shopping because I'm already out :whistle:)
    General thoughts on €bay sales is the buyer has paid P&P so no cost to you :D
    2. It takes Time to reach mega-numbers!
    The First suggestion is the first, because a bit of planning will work wonders on your road to your Target. Have a look at thefirst posts each month for a hefty list of other threads that may be of help. For example, there's a few giving ideas for packed lunches so you can avoid standing in the queue at the bakers for 45mins of your lunch hour! A good incentive to tweak your healthy eating & the pounds you save will show in your bank balance AND your waistline action-smiley-076.gif
    It helps to have various 'money pots' for the different costs that happen like Scouts, dinner money, yoga, window cleaner etc etc. The idea is you "spend" all that money in one hit by..:think:..
    let's say **putting the week's bus fares into the pretty coffee jar, Jo's tumble tots SIZE=2]Weds mornings[/SIZE in the cracked teapot & Ben's £1 coin for the gym locker SIZE=2]Friday lunch[/SIZE in the pocket of the changing bag, on Tuesdays every week when you've got some change from doing the food shop, so an already spendy day. At least four 'spending days' condensed into one ;) (**mine's jam jars for windows, milkman & a bit towards the bills!)
    3. Any day the money stays in your pocket is a bonus!
    If you look at it as a day you beat the system, you can't help but :j so don't fret it--ENJOY! If nothing else in here, we do manage find something to make us smile :D

    We have virtual outings to wonderful places that never cost us a bean :rotfl:New York, Edinburgh & Brighton have been a couple & Spoon usually pilots the Tardis but you can use your own transport; my personal favourite has been a sit-on lawn mower borrowed from the cricket club :D The only thing to be aware of is Hubert the donkey who is partial to anything remotely edible but is not yet house-trained :o

    And Remember;
    there are no silly questions, so don't be afraid to ask us anything!
    Don't turn a slip up into a give up:D
    *NSD Challenge Nov 0/10* *£10 a day challenge Nov £0/£300*
    No buying unnecessary toiletries challenge-in it for the long haul
    :D

  • Gosh it is snowing really heavily 'oop north today. I resisted putting the heating on until just now, my hands are numb and I'm wearing so many layers so on it goes! :rotfl:
    Freeby, I hope you are OK today, glad that it was just a little crash but so sorry to hear about how scary it must have been! Glad it was no worse. Big ((((((((HUGS))))))))) to you xxx
    Don't turn a slip up into a give up:D
    *NSD Challenge Nov 0/10* *£10 a day challenge Nov £0/£300*
    No buying unnecessary toiletries challenge-in it for the long haul
    :D

  • solventsoon
    solventsoon Posts: 17,363 Forumite
    Morning all holiday.gif


    christmas_socks_cartoon.jpg

    Brilliant, thanks If, it made me smile :D:D
    We've had a mixture of snow and rain since Sunday night in the town,so not much snow left.They've forecast more snow at the end of the week.I am glad to have my long sleeved Damart vests and woolly socks though!
    :eek:marmite, I hope you don't get too much more snow, I bet you are glad of the Damarts:D
    Thanks for the mega update!:)
    It's a pleasure:)
    Hopefully I'll nab no. 4 today.
    Fingers crossed
    :) The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time :)
  • beanielou
    beanielou Posts: 89,642
    Academoney Grad I'm a Volunteer Ambassador Mortgage-free Glee! Name Dropper
    Ambassador
    Oh freeby , so sorry to hear that.
    It gives you such a fright.
    Take care xxx
    I am a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on Mortgage Free Wannabe & Local Money Saving Scotland & Disability Money Matters. If you need any help on those boards, do let me know.Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any post you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button , or by emailing [email protected]. All views are my own & not the official line of Money Saving Expert.

    Lou~ Debt free Wanabe No 55 DF 03/14.**Credit card debt free 30/06/10~** MFW. Finally mortgage free O2/ 2021****
    "A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of" Jane Austen in Mansfield Park.

    ***Fall down seven times,stand up eight*** ~~Japanese proverb.
    ***Keep plodding*** Out of debt, out of danger. ***Be the difference.***
    One debt remaining. Home improvement loan.
  • silvasava
    silvasava Posts: 4,433
    Combo Breaker First Post First Anniversary
    Forumite
    NSD No 3 today please.
    Hoped I'd get one yesterday but the bulb went on my sewing machine (only had it about 25 years!!) & needed to get another. Looked round the local shops......but I did get a very nice LBD for a christmas function with 40pct off! Going to bling it up with what I've already got.
    Finished the doorway curtain for my utility & mended some old overalls for DH. I got him to get down my fabric stash from the loft when he did the decorations - WOW - I'm going to have to get cracking on some of that - too nice to sit in a poly bag in the loft:D

    freeby so glad you are OK- it does shake you up & I can empathise with that feeling of 'what could have happened' but it DIDN'T and you and the other lady are unhurt :grouphug:
    Small victories - sometimes they are all you can hope for but sometimes they are all you need - be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle
  • Hmmm this month is proving harder than I thought it'd be - little spends keep creeping up on me and I seem to keep losing NSDs because I run out of pet food - this time its the cat - tho I've bought some rabbit food at the same time so it should be a while before I have to buy any more! At least I've stopped buying lunch every day and all the little bits which all added up. don't mind so much if its essential things.

    Fingers crossed for tomorrow - don't think I have anything planned so I should be ok - tho thats what i thought yesterday!! :rotfl:

    Well done to everyone who is catching their NSDs! :D
    No more buying books Books in 2016 = 20.
    Target for 2018 = 7/21
    No more buying DVDs ? 2018 target 27/52

    Sealed pot challenge member #1733
  • Hello all

    Just popping in to declare NSD #4

    Freeby
    that is terrifying, very glad you are ok but such bad news about the car.
    Virtual Pot #25 £0.00/£350.00
    A black belt only covers 2 inches of your a$$ - You have to cover the rest yourself - Royce Gracie
  • young_un
    young_un Posts: 86 Forumite
    Just a quickie to report NSD #5 and now 5 in a row yay :)
    Xx
    Weight loss 0/37lb :(Vanquis £1476 Capital One £380
    Nov 2012 NSD 15/15 Dec 2012 NSD 14/15 5 in a row SPC #1874 Overdraft £800
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