Bridge the gap with the February NSD challenge

Brown_suga

1 NSD for me yesterday, so 5 in total now!!

Am going for a curry with friends tonight and have a £10.00 pamper eve at the gym tommorow so a spendy next couple of days... but no major plans for the weekend. I'm doing so much better this month!

IF

Good morning all :hello:


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!

kerri_gt

Just popping in to declare #4 for yesterday, and 3 in a row. Already a spendy day today as I had to pay for a dress on eBay that I bought last night (gone midnight though so it counts as a today spend)

Trinny

Hi Spoon

NSD 5 declared for yesterday

Today is a spendy day! running out of too many things and have to go to the post office.

Back soon

Trin

SuziQ1962

Morning all-popping in to say NSD 5 as got two off school so don't see me getting near any shops to spend money!

d3mon4ngel

Yesterday and Monday were both NSD's and nothing to spend money on today so declaring new total of 5 NSD's

AlwaysHappy

Hello there! Managed another NSD so thats 5 in total - yippee! Its really amazing how rewarding it is each time I can go 24 hours without handing over my card or cash. Tomorrow is my sons youth club so will have to pay his fee for that and friday is my weekly shop day so thats definitely out of the equation. So, the next chance of adding to my total will be the weekend (yikes ) - no pressure there then.

Tropicalmoments

Woohoo:j Managed 5 NSDs in a row. I had to get fuel this morning but just put enough in to use the few vouchers I had. Tomorrow will be a spendy day so I'm trying to plan all my spends for then.

SarahNeedle1872

No NSD for me today, DS has now got chicken pox, so some Piriton was required!

Sx

SOT2011

Hi All,

Pleased to be able to declare Monday, Tuesday and today as NSD's taking me to 7 NSDs so far in Feb - still on target.

Tomorrow will be spendy though as have to buy some food to contribute to a lunchtime buffet at work as a friend is leaving, but thinking it might be worth going out of my usual way to visit Mr M and take advantage of the fab loo roll offer there at the same time.

Will have to see if I can get printer back up and running tonight, or I might not manage the voucher, but still sounds like a good deal even so.