Marching on in March - The NSD Challenge

IF

Good afternoon all :hello:


Bumping for any Newbies joining us xx

butdoineedit? wrote: »

Hi lovely NSD gang:A
As you can see there is lots of activity on this challenge 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.

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!

beanielou

Hope all works out on Thur mm.

beanielou

No 19 today.

lotti379

solventsoon wrote: »

Feel free to have a rant if you need to, Lotti, better out than in.
Take care
spoon xx

Beware, I may just take you at your word!

I am a bit ranty now as one trip to T*sco has ruined chances of making both the Grocery Challenge and the NSD Challenge!

B****y men and their b****y meat! The only thing he considers ok without meat in it is soup! And that is only occasionally!

The rant I was going to have then is about my mother... she has occasional cheerful days but mostly it swings between "a bit miserable" and just infuriating. I know she's had a rough time the last couple of years (my parents divorced, it got dragged out over rather a long time) but she seems to feel I am responsible for her happiness. Which as I live 300 miles away is a little tricky! I'm supposed to be going back for a few weeks over easter (I'm a full-time postgrad student) and I'm dreading it, as she says she wants me back there but then doesn't like me when I am there! I have some shifts at work and that will cause a disaster if it is anything like last time "you're only here because of your work" when I only get a few hours a week, and try to do family activities and she "doesn't want to"/"doesn't feel up to it"/"it's too much hassle", or starts and then just wanders off... And then gets cross with me for "abandoning her". HUMPH. (Don't get me started on if I visit my boyfriend at his parents' house... that causes a whole new level of problems).

She just seems determined to be miserable, and in her view every action is planned and designed to upset or inconvenience her.

She was supposed to see the doctor but decided she didn't want to, which, while I would never want to push her into a situation where she might be given prozac and other awful things again, I wish she'd consider the effect her behaviour has on other people, especially my sister, who still lives with her.

Anyway, rant over, suffice to say I am DREADING visiting my dear family, though I can't wait to see my sis again!

On a more positive not, I got a second star! Woop woop MSE promotion!

rising_from_the_ashes

Made it - No 12 today! Yeeeehhhhaaaa, target reached and 2 days to go! (was tempted by a diet coke at lunchtime but decided it wasn't worth 85p:eek: which is a BIG step forward for me).


There's some really, really impressive numbers on here and many of you put me to shame - I will try for more in April but have 7 birthdays:eek: so will be a struggle!

Keep going everyone!

Dee_cb

Hi everyone, hope you are all well. I've not been on as much, got so many things going on at the moment. I've had a few NSD's only another 3 though which brings my total up to 14 NSD's now. Am still going ot try and get another tomorrow

cw18

Resisted all temptation to check Whoopsies today, and only picked up the milk I put the money aside for last night.

Just checked my bank account, and no D/Debits out.

So that means today is NSD #12 - and I've managed to hit target, which I was beginning to doubt I was going to do this month :T
Not going to increase my target, but will do the best I can to get at least one more. Need to figure what I'm having for tea the next two days though, as I used my last potato tonight..... guess that means I need to have pasta or rice based meals then

castri09_2

12/10 doing well hopeing i will do better next month

kerri_gt

Oh dear Lotti379, sounds like you have a tough time of it with your mum. I'm not privvy to the ins and outs of her position, or your relationship with her, but do you think some of what she is projecting onto you is the hurt she is still feeling over the divorce and asjusting to life on her own (so to speak?). She may well be bottling a whole load of stuff up hurt/loneliness/sadness/scared at being on her own etc etc. She prob doesn't want to burden you with it, but by keeping it to herself (and prob being a bit scared to let it out) it's coming out in other ways like making you feel bad for going out when you're home. There's prob a whole lot of stuff going on in her head that we 'normally' share with our partners - but in her case she doesn't have this now?

Also, and I am sure she would never admit this to you, she may be a teeny bit jealous of you (even if she doesn't realise it). You are away studying, have a boyfriend to share things with, etc etc. She's prob quite envious and may be evaluating (or wallowing a teeny bit) in 'if's buts and maybes about the choices she could/should/did/didn't make in her life?

I'm just speculating on much of this of course, some based on experience with my mum who has been on her own for 21yrs (when we lost my dad) and sometimes and be the most infuriating person in the world - I honestly want to shake her and tell her to snap out of things and stop using the past as an excuse (even if she doesn't say it out loud)....of course I don't though.

Mothers in general can also be the most infuriating people at times, I think its the mother/daughter relationship thing..mine only has to breathe the wrong way at the wrong time to set me all on edge...maybe it's because we can see ourselve in our mum's sometimes :rotfl:

Nargleblast

Lotti - commiserations to you. Families...who'd have'em? Sounds like Mum is depressed, but she's the one who needs to take action on it. And that's hard when you have no motivation, or can't seem to make up your mind what you want. You'll just have to try and show her you care and will always be there for her, even if it seems she doesn't appreciate it, and keep in touch with sis. It might get to the point where the two of you have to gang up on her and drag her to the doctors - what you have to do, you have to do. You'll have to catch her on one of her more receptive days! Don't let it spoil things for you in other areas of your life, though, i.e. your relationships with your sister and your boyfriend.


On an NSD note, my final score for March will be a sad and sorry

10 out of 13. Hvaing said that - it is about a third of the month though, so not that bad...is it?

(Scuttles off to prepare for a slapping from a soggy paintbrush)