Marching on in March - The NSD Challenge

IF

Good afternoon all, got my 3rd NSD yesterday!!! :dance:

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!

fedupandskint

Its a no problem NSD 2 for me today - not going anywhere and not buying anything online so day done and dusted and aiming for another one tomorrow.

Need to knuckle down next week as had a very expensive week according to my bank a/c - just totted up debt repayments for March and I would be £600 better off without all of these debts so roll on the day there are paid back. Have 37 months to go taking me to April 2014 for CC and July 2014 for my loan. Can't will them here quick enough

Or with the NSDs helping maybe that date will arrive even quicker, I hope so!

bottleofred

Hi folks,

Unfortunately another spending day for me as I made a visit to the butcher. However, I'm determined to hit my target and well done to those of you who are already on track.

Red

Keiss_21

jintyb - hope your mum is feeling better, and that you enjoyed the Guild morning.

kerri gt - hope the snuffles stay away...have a great evening!

Declaring today as NSD no 4.

Been at work this morning...only my second session there this year (on claim work). I thought it would be quiet, but no, quite a hectic 4 hours. Hope I didn't do any major c**k-ups! Will check with my colleague on Monday morning before I do some invigilating.

So back home and just about calmed down after this morning's frantic pace. DH made me lunch, and we are off out into the garden soon, once the Glos-Barf match has finished on telly that is!!

DH can't understand why I want to go on the computer, since I was on one all morning! I had to check an email from my boss, which she sent me when I was at work, but I didn't have enough time to look at it properly then!! It looks like I might be getting more hours...at least for the next couple of months...so that's good.

Right, off to see if Glos have won...DS is shouting loudly atm...not sure if it's good or bad news!

Have a lovely day everyone.

jintyb

kerri_gt wrote: »

Sorry to hear that peeps are still feeling unwell, I had a bad throat yesterday and it's still lingering today (seems to be the first place of attack since I had really bad tonsilitis when I was at school) and all in all feeling a bit snuffly today, not good as we have a wedding reception to go to this evening - I would much rather curl up on the sofa and have a really lazy day but can't miss this.

Sorry to hear about your mum Jints - hope she is feeling better soon, and well done to you and Dad to stepping in for her - I think that deserves a bit of home baking as a treat.

Thanks Kerri - sorry to hear you're a bit under the weather, I'm sure you will still look a million dollars in your frock.

Mum still in bed, but feeling a bit better. Had a good morning at the fundraiser, we made £190 on the baking stall and Dad and Sis did " Guess the Dog's name and raised £53 so not bad!
Dont know what the overall total was. The money raised is split 50/50 between church funds and this year's charity which is Mary's Meals.
OH has painted the kitchen, tomorrow he'll do the woodwork/doors. Looking good;)
Spent some money on the tombola ( no luck) and a nice tea loaf, so low spends.
The rest of the day will be spent lazing, reading my book!

holidayaholic

Been a busy few days for me at the start of this month, but managed not to spend for the past three days, so that takes me to

NSD # 3 / 15 with 3 NSDs in a row!

Went for a wander around the retail park earlier (as you do...) and spotted a mattress in a carpet store for £79 (single) which was a really comfy foam. Dd's sprung mattress is terrible & we've been having to add extra duvets underneath to soften the springs, so I think I'll pop back later to pick it up. I can just about squeeze the £79 from my monthly budget this month - in the past it would just have been chucked on the credit card without a thought:o

I was also so very close to buying a trailer tent of t'ebay last night - only £450 :eek: but I managed to restrain myself. Having thought about it a bit more, we may just upgrade the tent instead which will be less money.:cool:

beanielou

Jinty~Hope your mum is on the mend really soon.
Enjoy the baking
I was at a better place to live fair today & I had a very yummy melting moment :drool:

Kerri~Hope your throat is better soon & you enjoy the wedding :j

Am tired tired tired so not planning on anything else today.

beanielou

Oh Jinty~Happy new carpet too :j
Does your OH fancy a weekend in the country ?!!!

chris81418

Hello everyone! :wave:

Checking to report that yesterday was NSD number 4! Woo hoo! I've got some big spends coming up over the next couple of weeks though - so I'll do my best to group them together to maximise my NSDs!

Get well soon and (((hugs))) to those with the lurgies.

Have a good weekend everyone and good luck catching NSDs!

debtfreewannabe321

Afternoon Can I join in please? I did it by myself last month (didn't find the thread to join in last month lol) and i had 9 NSD which i thought was good as it was my birthday so i went out quite a few times As this is a longer month though I would like to just put down 12 (only a few more lol) I have one NSD already and I'm hoping this will keep me on track for my awful habit of internet shopping So DFW321 1/12