Bridge the gap with the February NSD challenge

IF

Evening all, no NSD for me I bought Chocolate!! :o


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

Hi lovely NSD gang:A
Hope you’re all having a lovely Saturday, despite the slightly mixed weather... what on earth is going on this year....


And welcome back to:

:hello:muffin man 7 - good to see you again, we’ve missed you. All signed up for 18 now and well done for the 11 you’ve nabbed so far, that’s brilliant! :j:j:j


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

:j:j:jchris81418 - for no 15, nearly there now, keep going. I know what you mean about not wanting to spend.. I’m getting the same and I never thought I’d be like that in a million years... Love the kipper smiley - where do you get your smileys, they’re brilliant:D

:j:j:jDansMum - for no 8, over halfway now, that’s brilliant and fingers crossed for another couple over the weekend

:j:j:jsuzie wong - for no 11, only one more to get now, you can do it! Sorry you’re still not feeling brilliant, sending you a big ((((((((((hug)))))))))). Take care x

:j:j:jbeanie - great news about DS, that’s brilliant!
And yay to no 14, you’re doing great, nearly at target no 2!! :eek:to snow though!

:j:j:jfillyfop - for no 10, into double figures now. Keep going, you can do it!

:j:j:jholidayaholic - for no 12, nearly there now, that’s brilliant!
Love your spring cleaning smileys:D

:j:j:jkdenty - for no 12, one more to get now, you can do it!

:j:j:jCheryl - oh dear, sorry about your visitor, that’s a shame:(...
But yay!! to no 10, double figures indeed!!


:j:j:jLittleMissHappy - for no 11, nearly there now, keep going! Love the sound of your day:T

:j:j:jKeiss - for no 13, nearly there now, keep going! Love the soup recipe, I’m definitely going to try that one.:A

:j:j:jDecluttering - for no 9, one more to get now, keep going!

:j:j:jcannp123165 - for no 7, nearly there now, keep going!


Hello to:

jinty - I like the sound of OH’s present even more now, not surprised he was delighted with it, what a bargain!:T
Hope his lordship is pleased with his new haircut, oh dear to the kitchen tiles and hope you’re pleased with the sideboard - busy day today chez Jinty:)

tattooed_lady - well done for keeping the grocery spends down:T

kerri - glad you’re pleased with your hair, that’d definitely a bonus. No, you definitely cannot feed a cat every couple of days.. well, you could try it but you’d probably be ambushed at every corner by a ravenous moggie - either that or have half-dead mice in the house. Nope, not cheeky at all to ask for $15 back, try again definitely:)

BDINI - “bathroomless” is definitely a word. Good news about the toilet, that’s something at least, progress is being made! Really pleased you enjoyed being a plumber’s mate, I’m sure you did learn a lot as well:)

sf - like everyone else has said, you’re not doing badly, 10 NSDs is brilliant!:)

ifwishes - hope you enjoyed the chocolate though, sometimes it’s the only thing that will work:D


And no 15 for me today, only 3 more to get now... yay!!!!:j:j


Front page all updated now, see you all tomorrow.

‘night everyone
spoon xx

thrifty_fifty

Hi everyone

Last week was a bit spendy, as I was stocking up on essentials, and there have been lots of offers in the shops. I've managed to clock up 2 NSDs over the weekend though, taking me up to a total of 7 NSDs, and just 3 away from my target.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

xx

Catslovelycats

NSD 11 for yesterday
Very nearly spent money because my clock radio decided to die. But I resisted.
Groceries to get today and when I've found a decent-enough replacement I'll try to fit buying that into a spend day - if I remember!

jintyb

solventsoon wrote: »

jinty - I like the sound of OH’s present even more now, not surprised he was delighted with it, what a bargain!:T
Hope his lordship is pleased with his new haircut, oh dear to the kitchen tiles and hope you’re pleased with the sideboard - busy day today chez Jinty:)
spoon xx

Good morning all!
Yes, yesterday was very busy and today is shaping up to be the same.
Was let down yesterday by my niece and BF - they didnt turn up with the van, so no sideboard:mad: However, OH got on with laying the tiles on the kitchen floor and he's nearly finished. Just the grout to do and it's looking lovely.
Soooooo, today BIL has hired a van and me and OH are going to sis's to move her furniture, bring the bleepin sideboard here and take a load of gear to the recycle furniture dump. Then we have to move all the kitchen stuff from the living room back. I'm typing this from a squat-type situation ATM! The upside is that SIS is making the bacon rolls for @ 11am so we will be fed:T
Should be a NSD today, have to pay sis for tkts for her Am Dram show, but I took the money out yest ( Spend) day.
Catch you all later

Have a lovely day everyone:)

skaps

Up to 11 nsds now. 5 more to go.

donna_dynamo

Hi all NSD NO 11. Sundays are the cooking cleaning days. DD1 at childminders so have got to pay her i enjoy it when she is at childminders as my mornings aren't so rushed. Hoping to fit in alot more NSD's this week.

Nargleblast

Tee hee hee! Nargleblast has done a sneaky --- crept up and netted another 2 NSDs! So that makes


6 NSDs in the bag for February!

elfen

Going to do an early declaration on the NSD front and tot in no 11

muffin_man_7

solventsoon wrote: »

hi lovely nsd gang:a
hope you’re all having a lovely saturday, despite the slightly mixed weather... What on earth is going on this year....


and welcome back to:

:hello:muffin man 7 - good to see you again, we’ve missed you. All signed up for 18 now and well done for the 11 you’ve nabbed so far, that’s brilliant! :j:j:j

spoon xx

thanks spoon it feels good to be back its been a lousy few weeks not being able to get on here made it even worse but hopefully i will be back on track soon hope ive not missed too much will try and catch up when i can and as long as no problems with my little mini (still getting used to smaller screen and keypad ) i will be back here every day even if its for a quick update talking of which another nsd for me today