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

Catslovelycats

katenut wrote: »

NSD number 12 for me today - I even went into a farm shop with my friend and resisted the cheese!! xx

my
well done :T
I'm a right sucker for all that kind of stuff

hannah:-)_2

Congrats Jane :beer:

Not a NSD for me today, but I knew it wouldn't be. It's my nephew's bd, so we've all been rollerskating. Am thoroughly shattered!! :rotfl:

Had a great time and barely spent anything so a low spend day and great fun to boot!!!

belfast_girl

Got another NSD on Saturday, but did not manage one today as had to buy food!! That's me up to number 9 now

solventsoon

janeawej wrote: »

Thanks everyone, yes congratulations are in order I am to be a granny! Though its early days yet so not counting our chickens so to speak, I am going to make the most of it all, Id love another baby myself but at nearly 43 with 4 teenage children still at home and 2 stepchildren both left home and a disabled OH I am a bit past having one myself! So this little one will be very special, I think we need a thread for Grannys somewhere here so we can share our worries, trials and tribulations!

Congratulations, jane, that's brilliant news, delighted for you.

Hope everything goes well for mum and baby (and granny, of course:D).

Lots of babies arriving on the NSD thread, maybe it's something in the air:):)

Don't forget to keep us updated, we're not nosey, just like to know what's going on:D

Take care
spoon xx

sofababe

NSD #8 today, tho technically it shouldn't be. Next door's manky cat came in our catflap and demolished the chicken I was thawing for today's dinner :eek: He had a leg and a breast, including the bones and the T*sco shrinkwrap. I love cats but I hope it made him sick!!! So DS went off to get another one and came back with one that somehow cost £7.30 :eek: He hasn't asked for the money back yet but he will, I'm keeping quiet :cool:

Jane- I became a granny at 37, and though I say it myself, I don't look it (I'm now 40), and people do assume I'm Ella's mum when its just me and her. I don't correct them Grandchildren are awesome! I have 2 step-grandkids too, aged 11 and 7 1/2, I get very odd looks when the 11 yo calls me Nanny in public :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

solventsoon

butdoineedit? wrote: »

Well today has been a tester, a DIY weekend has always involved not stopping to eat & instead smoking loads of cigs, so it has been a real struggle not to just pop out for 10 but i managed it :j

Well done, BDINI, you should be proud of yourself....

butdoineedit? wrote: »

:mad::mad::mad: to the fact that i totally forgot that the belt in the hoover broke last week & so cleaning up when i finished was a nightmare & there are still slivers of tile everywhere!!! Still didn't dare go out for the belt as i knew i'd pass a cig shop & actually quite glad i left it for tomorrow as it's due to be a spendy day anyway.

and especially proud for not using the hoover belt as an excuse to go out and be tempted:j:j:j

butdoineedit? wrote: »

no cigs & (after de-tiling the toilet) no skin left on my hands :rotfl:
(think you may have to add plasters to the builders brew & biscuits if i'm coming your way spoon!! :eek:)

I have loads of plasters, don't worry:D:D:D
x

cw18 wrote: »

Can't believe the number of posts I've had to catch up on from while I've been out (again!) But I managed another NSD (taking me up to #5), as I took over food from here to cook over there (he should have been coming this way, but wasn't really well enough to be driving)......

Bit of an 'experience' though as he doesn't currently have an oven/grill/hob, which meant I only had use of a (pretty naff) mini oven I've lent him (makes toast reasonably well) and his bog-standard microwave. Jacket spuds and salmon I can do in a micro OK, but it's a loooooong time since I've used one to cook fresh carrots and brocolli !! Turned out OK though

The chicken I'd bought to cook here today will now go into my slow-cooker when I come home for lunch tomorrow, and will then do me for tea and sandwiches for a few days (it's only a 1.4kg one, so I reckon from lunch will be more than long enough given I'll have to walk the dog between getting home and starting to cook the veg anyway)

Yep, chatty lot here, Cheryl.

I hope he realises what a treasure you are and that things work out well for you both.
x

solventsoon

InaPickle wrote: »

BUSTED! :rotfl:

And well done on all your hard work here, spoony, :T

Hope you are catching some zzzzzs in bed right now. :A

Ahh.. thanks Pickle, much appreciated... and, yes, I was:D:D

spoon xx

solventsoon

jintyb wrote: »

Good morning everyone,

Very blustery here today.

I've decided NOT to claim a NSD for yesterday as I felt I was cheating a bit after the spends.
You're so right though Spoon, in the old days I would have quite happily brandished the CC and slapped not only the moisturiser on but also a few other things ( probably to get the "free gift" which I would never use).

You're sooo right, jinty, I've lost count of the number of "free gifts" I've thrown away after spending a fortune to get them.. oh well, at least we've finally learnt a lesson, eh:o

jintyb wrote: »

At least my attitude has changed, in that if I want something a little more expensive, something else has to go - in this case a pile of DVDs on Amazon marketplace;)
DVD's make rubbish moisturiser anyway:rotfl:

They certainly do:D

jintyb wrote: »

Good luck with the tax return - you have my sympathies, I do OH's for him, but I have a financial background so it's not too much of a chore for me.
Today SHOULD be a NSD as I am going to do a bit of housework, then we are off to visit MIL this afternoon. I am not parting with any cash........NO I AM NOT (repeat!)

Have a lovely day everyone!:)

Thank you, it wasn't too painful actually, I had all the receipts, etc sorted out so just had to make sure I put everything in the right place. I'm sure HMRC will let me know if something's wrong:(

Fingers crossed you got your NSD:D
xx

IF

Helloooo, Spoony and SF got my 10th NSD today, thank you both :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!

InaPickle

Count me in for a 5th NSD today, please!

In fact, on top of going to work to earn some pennies, I made some on Ebay, too! :j

That makes today an overall net gain.