Marching on in March - The NSD Challenge

Tixy

Hello All

Yesterday I went a bit spendy crazy (New shoes, new make-up, new jeans, diesel in the car (another 3p increase/litre:eek:), out in the evening etc etc) in short the bank took a rather large hit.:o

No spends today at least so I'm up to 4 NSDs now please.

I'm away next week so lots of spending to come then no doubt....

Butti

Right so 1 NSD for me. Planning now for another one on Tuesday.

B

kerri_gt

Afternoon all!

Well the wedding reception last night was lovely - the bride looked beautiful, and it was great to see some friends I don't see that often. My dress was perfect (only thing I need to do next time is put some 'magic tape' under the shoulders as they slipped off a but when dancing) and I got a load of nice comments about it which was fab. Of course it was spendy but it was a wedding so hey ho Bit of a late night....3am we got to bed :eek: (after the bride had stopped ordering jager-bombs at the bar )

Got home at a reasonable time today - stopped for breakfast en-route which was £20 for the two of us :eek: OH was flagging a bit and it was just what we needed but goodness, motorway services are a rip off. also topped up on a bit of petrol as I wasn't 100% sure whether I'd get back ok, 137.9p ltr!!!! On the way back though I did stop at J.Lewis to take back that sheet I got last week so that's £12 back on my card, and filled up on amber-nectar at A$da at a more 'reasonable' 127.9pltr. It was still £39 though - but that should be me for the month - esp as I'm off on me travels again soon.

Been out using my 'new' lawnmower on the front lawn (such a diff using a hover-collect :j) and 'trimmed' one of the palm bush thingy's that has taken a battering over the winter - lots of the leaves all gone black and spotty and died so I've cut it all back and pulled off a load of dead leaves...in fact 2 black bin bags full! I actually thought we had 2 bushes - turns out after cutting all the dead stuff back that it's one plant that's grown into 2, I wonder if it's the damp ground that has upset it too - hopefully now it might recover - fingers crossed everyone.

Sorry for the ramble.... good luck everyone who is studying and hope all those feeling under the weather is feeling better soon too (incl me and my throat that is still far from better )

IF

Hello all. Got my 4th NSD yesterday, thank you :A

LittleMissHappy wrote: »

Today is another NSD So that makes NSD 2 for me, please, BDINI x

Iggy isn't home today, the vet said almost certainly tomorrow, now......I can't wait :j

Spoon - yes, I have managed to resist eating the salmon, he had better be home tomorrow, though, or I'll have to buy some more!

Awww Little Miss that's brilliant news :j:j:j

BigMummaF

Hey Gang..just a quick one. Up to no 4 & resisted the market this morning; had a "lovely" time doing the laundry & ironing instead :undecided But I'm pretty chuffed with myself as when I used mum's iron last week, the plug was very hot after only one shirt & a tee. A bit of rewiring & a silent prayer later, & I did two long-sleeved shirts without a hitch :j so saved a bit of cash NOT buying a new one

BigMummaF

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!

cw18

Yesterday was an LSD for me - under £4 in total, but still spends.

But I've finally managed NSD #2 today :T

Not sure how this next week will go, as I'm back at work - which means I'm around for the 5pm-ish chilled food final reductions

Just need to keep reminding myself that
a) I do not need any food, and
b) I could need some pennies for Friday as I may be going out on a date !!! so everything I don't spend on Whoopsies is pennies I can spent then instead (actually comes out of a different budget, but all the different categories have to stay below a combined total even if I move money around)

Fredula

Hello! My name's Bex. I was just reading through this thread and I'm not really sure I get what the challenge is. Is it that you're just trying to not spend money for a certain amount of days in march?

karmachilovething

NSD no. 2 for me today. Going to make an attempt to do a bit of a run in the next few days, so will see how many in a row I can manage.

cw18

Fredula wrote: »

I'm not really sure I get what the challenge is. Is it that you're just trying to not spend money for a certain amount of days in march?

Spot on

But we each set our own personal target, and also include/exclude different things as spends (most notably utility bills and rent/mortgage).