Bridge the gap with the February NSD challenge

IF

Good evening all x


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!

teenyweenyspender

Plodding along with the NSDs this month - up to No. 8 .

...10 more to go .....

jintyb

Nargleblast wrote: »

Succumbed to the temptation of the ginger snaps in the Ringtons tea man's basket, I'm afraid, and tomorrow I'll have parking fees to pay, but Thursday is looking like a possibility......,maybe Friday, most definitely Saturday and perhaps Sunday too....oh the suspense is gripping! Will Nargleblast hit the magic 14? (NSD target, not mental age or IQ you cheeky beggars!) Or will she have a fateful rendezvous with a kipper of dubious reputation? For this and the answers to the meaning of life, the universe and everything, tune in next time!

Gawd! I really should get a life.

No! Get a blog! Your posts always make me giggle! :T
I agree, the Ringtons Gingers are yum!

jintyb

Good morning all!

#8 for yesterday - I'm really trying, honest, guv!:j
First off - Happy Birthday :bdaycake: Sunnylooloo, sorry it's a bit belated. Hope you had a good day . Did you and Mr LooLoo have a little :kisses2: in the Dungeon?;)

Had a good chat with my supervisor yesterday re my workload and she agreed they've given me a bit more than is doable in 3 days and agreed to take a bit off me. I'm really pleased as I was starting to feel as if it was me that wasnt coping ! Its all about communication and getting the balance right,eh?
Anyhoo, I meant to tell you all that my skin has improved dramatically since starting the medication. It's fantastic and that has really helped my demeanour!;)

I'll pop back later to catch up with you all,
Have a lovely day everyone:):)

elf06

Morning lovelies and a belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY Looloo

Well I managed to make yesterday number 9 so I am pleased with that. Not sure about today - I need milk but I'm wondering if I can make it to tomorrow for it. If I decide to get it today I will be taking money out for our 'after cinema' chips tomorrow so that at least one of the days will be a NSD. It seems ages ago I booked the cinema but DS still doesnt know we're going so I am excited about it!! Decided to make it a bit more special and get chips after so we can walk home munching them (film starts at 5.30 and there no snacks available). Right best off and get showered need to take DS out in 15 mins eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!!

beanielou

Great news jinty on your skin & on your workload balance :j :j

Rock_Cakes

Morning all :wave:

Yesterday was my spend day, but bought just my bus pass. So hoping that I might be able to get a few more NSDs. Aiming for another one today. . . .

Happy Hump Day everyone :j
xx

lornz23

Afternoon all!

Today is day number 8 NSD - it is really helping not having a tuck shop at work any more, although I do miss it my wallet doesn't :-)

Enjoy the rest of your day everyone x

LittleMissHappy_2

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Hello everyone - Little Miss Happy - get well soon.

Still way behind on the posts so hope I've not missed too much!


Well, No 5 today (2nd in a row!) but need to collect/pay for a prescription tomorrow so no more in easy sight - running out of days to meet my target!

Have a good evening everyone.:)

butdoineedit? wrote: »

Number 8 today :j
& day 1 in an attempt to get 4 in a row....

Not much to report today, baked a cake for my pregnant friend & washed my hair..... all rock n roll in my life :rotfl::rotfl:

Hope you feel better soon LittleMissHappy

Well done on your month end Jinty & glad you got a good nights sleep, hopefully you're right & next month will be much easier....

holidayaholic wrote: »

Happy birthday sunnylooloo - hope you had a good time at the Tower!

Hope you feel better soon little miss happy.

Well, I'm going to try to put the birthday present saga behind me - what's done is done & I'll make sure we don't end up in that situation again!

A few more spendy days for me, so no change to my NSD total.

Yesterday I needed to get a valentine's card for DH (we'd already agreed no presents) and found myself parked outside £shop, so went for a peep to see if anything suitable for gifts for daughter's party next week.

Found a nice valentine husband card, which didn't look at all cheap, so that was a bonus. Decided as I was in there :whistle: I'd get him a medium galaxy bar as a little pressie, plus a 3-pack of rolos for me as a treat to last the week (the remainder of which will be NSDs!).

Then I spotted a plant section, so picked up a pack of 75 mixed bulbs - bargain!! - and 2 shrubs. £3 on the plants that I had been planning ordering a batch of bulbs online, which would have cost much more, so I am really happy with that!

Today I needed petrol (5p off a litre, thanks Mr T:)) then on the way home I passed Mr A & decided to treat my car to a top of the range car wash (a massive £3.75 :rotfl:and in desperate need as you couldn't read the number plate) plus a new set of rubber mats for just £10 - these again were very much needed as my stillettos have made a hole in the floor under the gas pedal:eek:

So now that I've had a mini spending spree (bargains though they were) I'm now set for a run of NSDs up to the end of the week, so could get an extra 5 days at a push!

Daughter's birthday next week :bdaycake:- party on one day & want to spend some quality time with her on the other days as I'm off work, so could be some spendy days there. But if I try hard the rest of this week, I may still hit target...:cool:

Thank you, every one I am feeling much better today

Got some good news financially today re DH bonus, so went all wild and bought me and sis a creme egg :rotfl: You can't say I don't know how to treat myself

Also got a few whoopsies and some shopping that we really needed, so no NSD, but I'm just happy to be better x

LittleMissHappy_2

ifwisheswerehorses... wrote: »

Hope you feel a bit better tomorrow Little Miss x

And thank you, too, if - I couldn't fit all the quotes in one post x