The NSD way to a supreme September

3Dogs

I have a likkle tank"

candyapple_2

No spending for me today, so NSD number 7

BabyJayne

Another 3 NSD's to report for me, bringing my grand total to 8 so far

IF

Nargleblast wrote: »

Don't forget, Spoon, I have sorted the diving frog, and am now after the skipping sheep.

Sounds like secret agent's code! (the rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain....here is ze microfilm, stitched inside my undervear!)

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

GeorgieFTB

I've missed, like, 50 pages...:eek:

Well I have managed to take my total up to 5, can't remember what I've posted so will just update my siggy...

Things have moved on in the FTB household, I am three weeks away from owning my own house:eek:, well the bank would own most of it but you know what I mean, I'm a bit busy at the mo, as you can tell!

Right am just about to start a MFW diary as that will be the only way this can work, in my head at least!:D

Hope everyone is well

Gx

hoobydoobydoo

Hello - will there be a NSD October challenge somewhere that I can join? I have not officially been counting them this month but I have been much more aware of what I am spending and when. I have also been thinking about how the NSD rules would apply to me so that I ready for next month.

You seem a very supportive bunch and I'm looking forward to joining in.

Hooby

Nargleblast

Hello Hooby and welcome! Stick around here, kid, and learn something! Aunty Spoonicles (aka solventsoon) will be along at some point to say welcome. When you are ready, decide on how many NSDs you are going to aim for in October and she will put you on the list. In the meantime, just join in with the inane banter on here.

brokemedic

Another NSD for me today.. The first of this week, I think:D

That brings my total to 9 so far.

cw18

A very spendy day for me today - and I haven't dared do a complete tally yet !!! I'm going to wait until tomorrow morning to update my spreadsheet now - at which point I'm sure I'll break down and have a little sob, so please make sure you all have your dinghys and lifebelts to hand

Started off by nipping to work for the paper (pre-allocated funds), came home, cut out the DVD token, and tucked that into my purse to redeem later.

Bus fare was £4.10 - but cheaper than using the car even if the cheap car park is still only £2.50/day (which I doubt given I last used it almost 2 years ago)

First stop on arrival in town was Mr T to pick up my DVD.

Second stop was the C00p bank to pay in my dividend coupons (haven't been near a branch since they arrived in the post, having been onto their system just 2 days earlier to change to having them paid directly into my account - so the next should go in directly ), which was fortunately quite a substantial amount and covers a good chunk of todays spending......

Then running shoes - a big :eek: (more later)

Then Em-n-Es for jeans (2 pairs of black jeans in a size 10 = £24 - they've gone up £2/pair since I last bought some in Dec 2008)

I then discovered I'd picked the wrong w/end to go into town as it was the N3xt sale Not a store I often go into, but given the only pair of jeans I currently own (prior to previous purchase anyway) are from there I decided to 'have a peek' and came out £60 skinter

For that I got a nice (but casual) T-shirt, a casual-ish blouse, a pair of (impractical but lovely) white jeans, a pair of black cropped jeans, a casual (denim coloured T-shirt fabric) dress, a casual black skirt, and a 'little black number' that's a very classic design. Original prices on this lot were £130, and everything fills a hole in my wardrobe as last time I bought this size I worked in an office so a lot/most of the stuff I have suits that setting more than casual wear. The black dress was a fantastic find as it was the one thing I'd planned to try and find in the next few weeks - and this one ticks all the boxes I'd set for something suitable which were :- not too expensive (probably wouldn't have paid the original £25, but the sale price of £12 was acceptable), classic so it won't date, not overly dressy for a semi-casual outing, and able to dress up for a posher outing. I did, however, manage to resist the temptation to pick up shorts for next summer by reminding myself that if I lost the other 8.75lbs I'd like to there's a good chance I'll be down another dress size by then so it would be money wasted.

A quick browse in a cheap bookstore ended up costing me £2.99 on a '1 stock, 50 soups' recipe book which looks FAB

Had my planned visit to TK's to check for ramekins. They only had 2 like the ones I have (and at £1.99 each I'd seen much cheaper on 'the bay' last night, and in the quantities I wanted), but I picked up a dozen different ones (wider and shallower) that were £3.99 for 4 and will be great for individual cheesecake, mousses and instant whip type desserts. Also picked up 2 silicon 8" square cake tins (for making my own snack bars more than cakes), and 2 small roasting tins (the one I have is starting to rust, but is an ideal size for a single pie/kiev/piece of breaded fish along with a single portion of oven chips - and is also the only tin I have that will fit my new combi-oven). Bill here was just short of £30 (:eek:), but it's all non-consumable stuff I should get a lot of use out of so I'm not tooooooo worried about this. The roasting tins are a lot more substantial than the one I'm going to be disposing of, and at £4 each they'd better last at least as long (have had the old one about 6 years I think). Had previously checked a number of stores (Mr T and Mr A as well as a couple of kitchenware shops and several websites) without finding what I wanted, so was impressed to find these today even at that price.

I also spent about 2.5 hours (broken in the middle by the TK spend) looking for a new mobile phone..... Over the last week or so I've realised that when I go running I don't carry any identification or means of raising anyone should I get into difficulties (and since DS moved out I'm unlikely to be missed until I don't turn up at work for a shift unless one of the neighbours hears the dog kicking off due to neglect), and none of the handsets in the house (regardless of whether or not they'll take my current SIM) will fit into the back pocket of several of my pairs of running trousers. So this was a non-essential spend in so far as I own a phone that (just) works, but essential for safety reasons - the latter being the only reason I spent so long looking. Some of the stores I visited weren't interested when I said I was after a very small (and cheap) PAYG handset for this use, but others went out of their way to see if they had anything (even checking stocks to see if they had any possibles that weren't on display) - funnily enough I found it was younger staff who were more helpful and those in the high-end 30s or above who just wanted rid of me, whereas I would have anticipated it being the other way around. Ended up back in the first one I went to (which is one that belongs to the network I have my contract with) and taking a chance on one I thought just might be a tiny bit long. But at £20 (including a compulsory £10 top-up) I figured that it would be useful to have as a back-up for my main one that's showing signs of giving up the ghost anyway. Got home and tried it in a small pocket to find it fits (albeit just!)

Since getting home (eventually - I caught a bus from home at 11:05am and got back at 6:10pm) I've been to A!di for cucumber, lettuce, tomatoes and new potatoes (forgot the frozen mixed veg, but that's already pre-allocated so can be picked up tomorrow without losing another NSD )

And then (as I pass by on the way home from A!di) I called into work for final clearance and picked up a pack of 4 Banoffee muffins I intend to heat - one a day - in the micro and have with custard, two iced donuts (with injected raspberry jam), a C&M pie (a flavour I'm out of in the freezers), a crustless healthy eating quiche, a pack of 6 C&O rolls, a tub of 4 cheese pasta sauce, a pack of 6 mini lemon & poppy seed muffins (love these), and a loaf of the other featured flavour for this month to try for the first time (malted barley and dried fruit) - each and every item at Mr M was 19p, so once I figure it out I know I've made a huge saving here :T


I'm now sorted with 36 (!) of the ramekins I wanted though - or I will be by late December. DD has been asking what I wanted as a pressie, so this evening I rather cheekily asked her what her budget was (and suggested she asked both my lads to chip in as well). They come in sets of 12, and the seller only charges one lot of postage however many sets you buy at one time so made sense to order them all at one time. The lads have agreed to chip in for one set and a third of the postage each, so DD has ordered 3 sets to go to her address This will allow me to make up and freeze a months worth of puddings - and hopefully by then I'll have the freezer space to take them as well



As for the running shoes.....

The chap who got landed with me had a look at my current shoes (I'd gone to town in my running gear and road shoes, and taken my off road ones with me). Said my off road ones are 'high end', but the road shoes are basic entry level and as such don't have as much cushioning as a more expensive pair would have. I then put on a pair he brought out and had a little trot on a treadmill while he filmed my gait, and he said that I don't have a mis-match there with my current ones (which is something) so the injuries have to be down to 'lack of suspension' as DS1 had suggested. He got out several pairs (without telling me prices), and I tried them all on. One pair was ditched as they were too narrow for me to even get them on, and one pair was ditched (even having gone down a half size) due to lack of support around the ball of my foot - which even I could tell wasn't right. This left 3 pairs, one of which was the same make as I have now. Of the 3 my favourite in terms of fit (and feel of cushioning) was a make I'd never heard of - but apparently they only make running shoes, so non-runners (or those who haven't been running long) are unlikely to know the name. Turned out these were also the most expensive he'd got out for me to try !!!! Official price was £95, but at least I got a 10% discount for being a member of my running club - and he also threw in the £3.50 water bottle I wanted as a 'goodwill gesture' (according to the receipt). Still £85.50 I could have seriously done without spending (had to put it on a recently cleared but kept for emergency use c/card, but this will buy me about 6 weeks to pay for them as I've only just had a statement so won't get charged any interest if it's paid off again in that time scale - which I reckon I can manage, though it's going to mean I have to eat from stocks as much as possible next month rather than just play at trying to do this)

kerri_gt

Evening all! Firstly...apple crumble seems to be a success, although I think I will use a little more apple next time (and perhaps a little less sugar)..however I have made enough for a small army..or perhaps even a large army :rotfl:) gonna freeze some, have some tomorrow and take some into work so hopefully it will get used. I do however still have a mahusive pile of apples in my fridge to use up...

Secondly, Cheryl - I sympathise with the TK spend, sooo easy to pick up lovely stuff in there but like you say it should last you. Well done on the Mr M savings but ouch! for the running shoes. However, I think it is worth investing in a quality item for something you do on a regular basis - if you bought cheap running shoes you'd prob have spent as much if not more replacing them as you have on this one pair.

Thirdly, I am officially declaring NSD # 12 - which means I am up to my Sept target! :j:j:j Send a froggie over here please Spoony!

May get another NSD tomorrow as I'm off to do an impromptu car boot while the weather (hopefully holds) - don't really hold out too much hope for making as much as I did on the last two as I don't really have any new stuff to what I took before but it will prob be my last chance to do one this year so anything I sell is something less I have to haul back into the loft.

Jinty - any chance of that apple, date and ginger recipie? Given my glut of apples I might give it a bash (if that's not too cheeky )