Out with the old, in with the new: the January NSD challenge

hannah:-)_2

Just popped on to catch up on this thread - been 3 days and still no more NSDs to declare On the bright side, my spendy days are seeing less spending, so not all bad

On Weds I ordered DM (is that how you do mum on here? :think:). Thurs cost me the small fortune of 16.50 for a dentist to spend 2 mins checking my teeth (it took me longer than that to book my next appointment!!). And today I finally went to the shops for a few groceries. Managed to come home with very little tho, so all good

Just spotted that the forums are down tomorrow :eek: What will we do????

hannah:-)_2

Phew, just read the small print and seen it should all be up and running again by 6pm. :j:j:j

IF

Good evening all :hello:

Spoony and SF got my 9th NSD today, thank you :A:A


Bumping BigMamma’s and Spoon’s posts x

solventsoon wrote: »

Hi lovely NSD gang:A
As you can see there is lots of activity on this thread at the moment and it's difficult sometimes to see how many NSDs you're all declaring on posts.

Could I ask you to highlight your number of NSDs in a colour and in bold so that I can see them easily when I whizz through the posts - red would be best but I don't really mind as long as I can see the numbers easily.

Thanks everyone:A
spoon xx

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
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 & have been l-o-n-g time Nsders so don't panic
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
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 Solvent's (aka Spoon:rotfl:) first 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
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

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 The only thing to be aware of is Hubert the donkey who is partial to anything remotely edible but is not yet house-trained

And Remember;
there are no silly questions, so don't be afraid to ask us anything!

solventsoon

LadyfromVenice wrote: »

jintyb wrote: »

Men in kilts Yay!!!!

I tried to find that picture of this thread's very own men in kilts (the rugby players not the Spandau Ballet ones:eek:) but I'm at work and the pictures are restricted (TBH I'm surprised I can actually get on this forum when at work due to the restrictions)

Can anyone help me by putting them on this thread for all our newbies to enjoy?

Working my way through the last couple of days posts. DH finding things hard at the mo as he keeps opening the back door in the mornings to let the dog out. Teachers at children's schools have been great. DD's art teacher has said he will do a painting of our dog from a picture and DS2s pastor at school talked to DH and him and he drew a picture which the school are going to laminate for us. Couldn't have asked for more.

C U soon....

I'll have a look for the men in kilts, LfV, that should bring a smile to a few peoples' faces:D

Good news about the teachers, that's really thoughtful of them. Poor DH, I really sympathise, it's a horrible thing to have to do and he probably feels really guilty. Hopefully in time he'll start to see it was the best and kindest thing he could have done under the circumstances.

Take care, don't forget to look after yourself as well as everyone else. You know where we are if you need any support.

spoon xx

solventsoon

Hi lovely gang:A

Another quick update from me, just rounding up the night owls before the forum closes tomorrow:eek::eek:

Loads of NSDs rolling in today and another target tumbling:

:j:j:jilovetea - target of 10 smashed, well done. :j:j:j I've awarded you your prize now. Would you like to aim for another target as we've still got two weeks of January left, no need to leave yet:D


Well done to:

:j:j:jelfo6 - for no 7, you're doing brilliantly and your typing is fine even without your "L":D

:j:j:jsf - for no 10, yay.. you deserve a mention as well:A Happy shopping tomorrow:D

:j:j:jDecluttering - for no 6, halfway now, that's brilliant, keep going

:j:j:jbuddiebabe - for no 6, nearly there now, keep going you can do it!

:j:j:jifwishes - for no 9, well over halfway now, that's brilliant!!


And I've been a good girl today:D (that makes a change) and managed no 11:j. I may be tempted to spend some money online tomorrow while the forum is down.. and I have my tax bill to pay:eek::eek::eek:

Off to do the last update on the front page now, see you all tomorrow, fingers crossed.

'night everyone
spoon xx

chris81418

Good morning everyone!

Checking to report that yesterday was NSD number 10 for me - woohoo, double figures!

Have a good weekend everyone, and hopefully no one will have too severe withdrawal symptoms whilst the forums are down!

jintyb

beanielou wrote: »

Jinty~I still have a problem round drinking & not smoking.
Habits of a lifetime & all that.
I do smoke on holiday which a lot of people find very strange :rotfl:

I have a friend who does that - she lights up on the first day of her hols and when she somes home she doesnt smoke until her next holiday. I just couldnt do that - I'm an all or nothing kinda gal;)

catslovelycats wrote: »

I'm excited about tomorrow. Returning £149 worth of clothes to M&S £94 to Clarks and some bits to Next. Painful, but needs to be done! :rotfl: :A
I have a £44 credit note for M&S. :D:D:D:D
Challenge: to go into town without buying anything except for using my M&S credit note. :eek:
If I manage that it'll be a first! :j

Well done Cats, that takes a lot of willpower! We're all here cheering you on!:T

butdoineedit? wrote: »

Well done Cats on having the willpower to take so much stuff back, but think how many other more useful things you can do with that cash! Fingers crossed you manage to stick to your M&S budget!

Glad you're safe Teenyweenyspender x

Not an NSD for me today as did my grocery shop tonight, but also opened a new bank account which i'm chuffed with as i have been paying account fee's for far too long through nothing more than laziness.

Am planning a no spend weekend, all i need is a storage box for my bathroom bits which i have put the money to one side for today, so i can clear out the bathroom & then it's DIY SOS all over again as i get reacquainted with my sledgehammer & start taking out the wall between the bathroom & the toilet!! Am hoping this will distract me from the lack of forum tomorrow!

BDINI - sounds like you've been pretty productive - well done on the bank account and have fun with the sledgehammer


Good morning all!:)

I'm up early as it's blowing a gale here and it woke me up.
I thought I'd take a peek on here and see if the forum was open, as you can see, I managed to squeeze in a little post!
Today, OH is working a little overtime, so that's a handy boost to the finances and I am off to Water5stones to pick up some cash!;) Just before Christmas, I was in buying a gift and the dye on the carrier bag they gave me came off and stained my nice cream jacket. Anyhoo, they are reimbursing me for the cleaning of said jacket and I've to go in to pick up the money. I'm a bit cross at them though, as I've really had to push them to get this. I had to put it all in writing, then follow up with an email and now I have to physically get myself to the shop to pick it up! All for £12! Still, its better than nowt, I suppose!;)

My challenge is to get in and out of there without spending!

Have a great day everyone:)

kdenty

Yesterday became NSD number 9 for me. I hope to manage the big 10 today as plan to stay in

I got a gift of a bottle of Rose this week and drunk it last night. Boy do I feel rough.

Best of luck not spending this weekend everyone x

Amethyst68

Yesterday was a spend day for me,including my food shop. Today will be NSD Number 11,no plans to go out today.
Have a good day all.

ilovetea

Thanks for the prize Spoon. Can I up my target to 15 please?

ilovetea xx