Bridge the gap with the February NSD challenge

IF

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


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!

Keiss_21

solventsoon wrote: »

Keiss - I can see Elegant Lady is making an appearance again;)

Not this week unfortunately!! Must try to get a bit done tomorrow...just seem to have been out and about every day this week!

beanielou wrote: »

Anyone want a Kevin the Teenager??

Oh I know how you feel...have had two in the house at the same time :eek:...thankfully DS1 is 21, @ Uni and out of this phase. DS2 only "does a Kevin" once in a while these days (18 at the end of this month)...yes, there is life after Kevin!!! It took a while for the boys to appreciate Harry Enfield and Kevin though...thay have an older cousin called Kevin and took umbridge at the protrayal!!!!


Declaring today as NSD no 2...could be spendy day tomorrow, but not sure. May have to get more veg get as DS is going through LOADS atm!! I will have a look through what we have and work out if we can manage until Monday, which will be a spendy day for sure!!

Spoon and SF, could I also set a target of 5-in-a-row please? Not sure if I have ever managed that ...got 4-in-a-row at the end of last month...shock horror!! Now I have got used to having two regular spend-days a week...just wondering if I can get that down to one?! We'll see.

Hope you are all warm and cozy indoors, sheltered from the wind that's howling around out there.

Money_Fritter

Hi folks,

I managed my first NSD yesterday for Feb, so 1/16

Money Fritter

AlwaysHappy

Hello there can I join this thread pleeeeeease? would like to aim for at least 10 nsds, have started writing all my spends down in a shiny new notebook so will hopefully stick with the plan, am becoming strangely addicted to sorting our finances out - what a great feeling.

solventsoon

thrifty_fifty wrote: »

Good Morning!!!!:j

I'm cruising in for NSD number 2 today. Purse left at home-check, no money in bag-check, switch card left at home-check. Right, that's me sorted then. See you all later, and have a brill day.

Oooh and yesterday was my one year anniversary of being on my debt free journey, and 12 months since I've used a credit card. Wahoo.

Yay!!! Well done TF - that's fantastic:j:j:j:j:j:j

solventsoon

Hi lovely NSD gang:A
A wet and windy Thursday but loads of NSDs rolling in. Brilliant start to the month, well done everyone! Some more newbies joining up today as well, our numbers are increasing every month!!:j

A warm welcome to all of our newbies joining up this month - and there are lots of you. It’s great to have you on board, if you’re not sure about anything please ask, we’re very friendly and there’s usually someone around to help. Feel free to join in with the chat and general nonsense on here, we’re fairly tame (well, most of the time). Good luck with your first NSD challenge.:D

So a big welcome to:

:hello:Cmdr_Bond - all signed up for 7 now. Good luck, you can do it

:hello:fillyfop - all signed up for 18 now, good luck with keeping track of your numbers. Well done for no 3 so far, keep going, you can do it!:j:j:j

:hello:AlwaysHappy - yes, of course you may join, you’re very welcome. All signed up no for 10, good luck you can do it. Oooh a shiny new notebook.. love them!!


Welcome back to:

:hello:martafdz - welcome back, you found us! All signed up for 10 for this month, good luck, you can do it!


Lots of NSDs rolling in today, so well done to:

:j:j:jjintyb - for no 2 - yay!! Great news about the drug therapy and Occ Health at work, let’s hope both start to have a good effect before much longer. Take care x

:j:j:jwit40iwtwan - for no 2, well done. Hope you didn’t break the bank at the sale today

:j:j:jdonna dynamo - for no 3, you’re definitely leading the field this month, well done. Sorry you’re not feeling well now.. oh dear!

:j:j:jBrown_suga - for no 1, woop woop indeed, off the starting blocks now!

:j:j:jSuziQ1962 - for no 2, yay!!!

:j:j:jnjo86 - for no 1, fingers crossed for no 2 today

:j:j:jLittleMissHappy - for no 1, yay.. off the starting blocks now, well done!
More sunshine and blue skies.......

:j:j:jchris81418- for no 2, woohoo indeed. Yep, this thread is taking on a life of its own!!
And more sunshine and blue skies.. would any of you like some wind and rain?

:j:j:jjaffacakegal - for no 2, yay!!
Hope you enjoy the evening out

:j:j:jemiliah - for no 2, yay!!!

:j:j:jebayqueen - for no 2, yay!!! Good decision about the coffee, if it gets too bad maybe you could mix it half and half with one you like?

:j:j:jfedupandskint - for no 2, yay!!!

:j:j:jslowlyfading - for no 2, hope things are a little better today? X

:j:j:jlotti379 - for no 1, off the starting blocks now! Good luck with your new rules, they make perfect sense to me

:j:j:jWee Pilsbury - for no 2, yay!!!! Glad you’re still on the mini roll!!

:j:j:jlilylass - for nos 1 and 2, yay!!! Glad you’re back, we missed you

:j:j:jbeanielou - for no 2, yay!!! Windy and stormy here as well, horrible..... Oh dear to Kevin the teenager, are you having some problems with DS?

:j:j:jilovetea - for nos 1 and 2, yay!!! Fingers crossed for no 3 tomorrow

:j:j:jcatslovelycats - for no 1, off the starting blocks now, yay!!

:j:j:jrunnerbean17 - yay to your first NSD, well done!!! Fingers crossed for tomorrow as well

:j:j:jkatholicos - for no 1, off the starting blocks now, yay!!

:j:j:jBDINI - for no 2, yay!!!! Sometimes howling gales and driving rain do have an advantage!

:j:j:jboultdj - for no 2, yay!!! Keep going, you can do it!

:j:j:jRock_Cakes - fingers crossed for no 2 today. Thanks, really appreciate that. I do have some help though, so we mustn’t forget my lovely assistant, sf....
Sunshine, blue skies ... where are you.. I’m there.. now!!
And you made it, well done!! Hope you have a lovely weekend

:j:j:jjulytex - for no 1, off the starting blocks now, yay!!

:j:j:jmoneypenny - for no 1, off the starting blocks now, yay!!

:j:j:jSarahNeedle1872 - for no 2, you’re doing great, keep going!

:j:j:jhannah:-) - for no 1, off the starting blocks now, yay!! Good luck with getting lots more

:j:j:jCheryl - for no 2, yay!!!! Oooh..... a visitor this weekend again....

:j:j:jKeiss 21 - for no 2, yay!!! I’ve added your 5 in a row target as well now, good luck with that.
Elegant Lady will make it eventually!

:j:j:jMoney Fritter - for no 1, off the starting blocks now, yay!!


And hello to:

elf06 - oooh.. more whoopsies.. that piece of beef was a bargain, well done!!:T

Tropicalmoments - (((((hugs)))))) it must be a big moment when the youngest leaves home. Hope dd had a good flight and arrived safely - she can always join us on here you know, we have one Aussie already as part of the gang

flyingember - re milk and bread - I buy a stock, freeze both and defrost as needed. It saves me many a trip to the local shop, would that help?:)

kerri gt - glad you enjoyed your evening out. Fingers crossed for no 1 on Friday:)

loveGSDs - “NSD nutters”, that’s not very nice!:rotfl:.. true though!!
Hope you enjoyed your evening out

angelflower - don’t forget your phone credit!;)

Decluttering - glad the creme egg found a lovely new home!!:D


No NSD for me today, I'm being a very naughty spoon at the moment:o

Front page all updated so see you all tomorrow

‘night everyone
spoon x

jintyb

Good morning everyone !

Well, it's still a bit wild weatherwise here, but not as bad as yesterday where I nearly got swept off my feet ( and not in a romantic way!)
Got through the funeral yesterday ok, as well as can be expected as they say.
TBH, I'm glad it's over and we can start trying to get some normality back into our lives.
It was NSD # 3 - not a nice way to get it though.:(

Today I will be spending - I need some groceries and I am meeting my pal for lunch. This is well overdue as we have had to postpone a couple of times, so there will be loads to catch up on!;) Really looking forward seeing her!

Have a lovely day everyone:)

LittleMissHappy_2

Even though it is only 9 am I a declaring NSD 2 for me today I have no plans on going out apart from to pick up littlies from school and have my sister over with my nieces for dinner,which I am making. Obviously if my plans go wrong I will update, but am determined that I will not spend anything!

Happy NSD-ing

chris81418

Good morning everyone!

Clocking in to report that yesterday was NSD number 3 for me! Woohoo!

Have a good weekend with your visitor Cheryl ! And enjoy that Friday feeling everyone!

postingalwaysposting

NSD number 2 for me today I am home all day today and am only planning to take the dog for a walk, once motiavted