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

SeasideEm · 10 January 2011 at 1:18PM

Hi,

I had another NSD on Saturday so that takes me to 6/15. Hopefully should be able to have a couple more this week.

Hope everyone has a good week

Em

HeadAbove_2 · 10 January 2011 at 1:46PM

solventsoon wrote: »

Will do, HeadAbove, I'll update you (if you'll excuse the expression:D) when I do the next roundup. I know what you mean about the number of posts ......

Well done for the 3 so far, you're doing brilliantly!:T

spoon x
PS: Please call me spoon, everyone else does and it's a lot quicker to type...

Thanks for this Spoon (:p), I'll make sure any future figures updates are in red so they're clearly marked for you too.

BigMummaF · 10 January 2011 at 2:19PM

hannah:-) wrote: »

Doh! Another spendy day for me

Needed to get some paint for decorating, so not a splurge tho. And while in the shop managed to get wallpaper for the next room on the list with 60% off, so not all bad

Will be another spendy day tomorrow as I'm catching up with friends. Nothing too extravagant, but am starting to wonder if I'll fit enought NSDs in this month

Hey Hannah, just a thought, but some folk will put some money by on an already spendy day when they know they'll need some later in the week. Say for example, you have the light lunch deal in your local cafe which costs £5:99 & you need two hours parking when you meet up with your pals today. Yesterday, while getting your wallpaper etc (& well done on the bargains :T] you could have put a tenner in the back of your purse to pay for it all, making an assumption the prices may have gone up with the dratted Valueless Atrocious Tax :mad: Providing you don't go over your budget, you can still legitimately claim an nsd IF YOU wanted to.

moneypenny2k wrote: »

....I wonder how many people would sign up to a giving up diet coke or maybe a giving up caffeine thread.:question:

Start one up & see how you get on! Or--I'm sure none of us would mind but I bow to general consensus--run a Challenge inside this one for a while to see how it goes? You could have your own League & update it however you wish. Again, just a thought...

Hello Cats; glad you've joined the throng

The whole point of this particular Challenge is to set your own rules & guidelines, so if you want to exclude groceries then fine. Some others are doing it that way so not at all an issue, while others are counting every penny in & out of their bank/ sock/ butter dish

As in the words of some famous quiz show host..The Choice Is Yours!

BigMummaF · 10 January 2011 at 2:20PM

Bumppitt! Bumppitt!

solventsoon wrote: »

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
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 · 10 January 2011 at 2:23PM

catslovelycats wrote: »

This is an interesting idea which really appeals. I'm terrible for online browsing. Can I just ask, though, on the whole do people count food shopping as a 'spend day'? I tend to buy little and often, so would only ever manage a couple of days if I counted food. If I don;t count food, is that a bit of a cop out??

before I commit to joining I'd quite like your thoughts please!

catslovelycats wrote: »

Ah I misunderstood. I can go for total NSDs in a month (I think :cool:).
Please 'enlist' me! :j

Seeing as it's already 10th Jan and there are 21 days left, I'm going to start gently-ish and ask to start with a Jan target of 12 please. It's going to mean no more impromptu visits to supers on the way home. Goodness knows how many of them I do a month... And I shall count anything that requires handing over my card (literally or online).

EDIT: Yikes. Just thought. This will be hard. Currently off work recovering form illness. When I'm back, it means I 'can't' buy food and drink when it's coffee break time...

:hello:Hi catslovelycats and welcome
Hope you're OK now and know what you're letting yourself in for:D

Seriously, BigMumma has a post which is bumped fairly regularly and should give you some ideas on how to run this challenge for yourself. We all have our own rules and decide which areas we need to work on to help us keep our hard-earned cash for ourselves. If you need any advice or help please just ask, we're a friendly bunch. Feel free to join in with the chat as well.

Will add you on the next roundup but, in the meantime, welcome to the gang:D

spoon x

EDIT: BM's post is above, she beat me to it

solventsoon · 10 January 2011 at 2:25PM

HeadAbove wrote: »

Thanks for this Spoon (:p), I'll make sure any future figures updates are in red so they're clearly marked for you too.

Thanks HeadAbove :T:T

solventsoon · 10 January 2011 at 2:26PM

PerfectPeaches wrote: »

Afternoon all

Just returned from a fab week in the sun hence why I haven't posted so far in January!

Spoon can you put me down for 16 days please? I've done 4 so far and hopefully I will meet my target.

Peaches xx

Welcome back Peaches, hope you had a lovely holiday:j:j

Will add you to the list on the next roundup, well done for your 4 NSDs:j:j:j

LadyfromVenice · 10 January 2011 at 2:32PM

Well notched up another 2 NSDs over the weekend and won't be going anywhere to spend today so I'm now up to NSD 7/20.

Was wondering where our Cheryl had gone. I miss her whoopsie updates and running exploits. Hope all is well with her. She made a real difference to my freezer usage last year, I was cramming things in all over the place. I never realised you could freeze so much! I was also thinking of joining Couch to 5K as her running had inspired me so much (note to self - stop thinking and do it!).

Have now got a very poorly dobey. She hasn't eaten for a week, all she does eat is coming back up (hence hubby taking duvet to the cleaners today) and she has a very swollen tummy due to the extra water she is taking on. She couldn't even be tempted by a custard cream or bacon joint which are her favourites. Thought we were going to lose her yesterday as she had four fits in two hours, one lasting for over 5 minutes. Hubby is a mess, he's currently in the "don't come near me, everything I touch dies" state.......but then that has been going on since FIL died in September

Anyhoo.......probably be back tomorrow now. Please don't chat too much, I really have a hard time keeping up!