Marching on in March - The NSD Challenge

IF

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!

SOT2011

Can you please put me down for 20 NSDs again this month.

The last week of last month went totally wrong, so missed my target, so will try harder this month.

I take snacks to work, eat lunch at home and don't count travel costs in my NSD's so with just a little care there is not reason why I cannot hit 20 this month.

Thanks

castri09_2

hi can you put me down for 10nsds hopefully i willl do better this month

tryingtocutback

Please may I join in with this? I am doing that thing of popping into the supermarket a few times a week when I dont actually need to and this should stop me!

Can you put me down for 20 NSD's?

thanks in advance.

kathy40uk

:hello:

Hi to all NSD'ers old and new

Special thanks to BDINI for doing this month :kisses:and many thanks to Spoon for all her work before :kisses3:.

I have been missing in action for a few months The tax bill followed by new battery and alternator in December really put me off my stride and things have been horrid at work so I just haven't had the energy to check in during the day and that has led to spending, only little bits here and there but enough to keep me slightly depressed.

Have been having a mass rethink over the last couple of weeks about a few ways of changing my life and feeling in control of it a little again and realised/remembered what an amazingly supportive thread this was and how much better I felt when I was taking my NSD's seriously and logging in every day.
Soooooooooo I'm back and would like to set my target for 15 days for March.

I have missed the last couple of months so :grouphug: to everyone who needs them and I promise to be in every day to keep up with everyone's news

Am off now to get petrol and baccy for the month so hopefully tomorrow will be a first on the first so to speak.

Thank you all for still being here :happyhear

See you all tomorrow

:hello:

honey

solventsoon wrote: »

Hi honey
I'm fine thanks, just having a holiday for a month and BDINI kindly offered to take over the thread. I'll still be around though, but as a participant rather than cheerleader:D

Hope all's well with you, how is your S.Dad getting along? We missed you last month, I was hoping everything was OK:A

Take care
spoon x

Hi spoon,

Good to hear you're ok, enjoy your cheerleader holiday

Aw thank you, I'm ok too, just got a bit fed up with everything! My S.Dad is not doing very well, he's at home at the moment but he's so poorly. The lung consultant has just said he's happy for the heart op to go ahead so we're all pinning our hopes that it will sort him out.

Glad I'll see you about, clocking up the NSDs this month! I'm intending to beat my target!!

Take care
honey x

mi_jardin

I am going to go for 15 NSD's again, though I have to admit, I am not sure I will do so well this time!
Fingers crossed, and lots of willpower to all!

Soph86_2

Can I join in this month too please? I would like to go for 10 NSD's please!

Thanks,
Soph x

butdoineedit?

Wow it's a busy one this month!!!!

romylou – signing you up for 20 now, good luck this month!!

pixiechick99 – :eek: to half term, signing you up for 10 now

suzie wong – signed up for 15, well done for the last 2 months!

Lucy1010 – good luck for your 20 NSD’s & for resisting the evil ciggies, I stopped last month, so shout if you need any encouragement!!

runnerbean17 – signed up for 14 now & 4 in a row, good luck!

AlyBaly – welcome to the challenge, I’ve signed you up for 7

holidayaholic – well done for your first month, signed you up for 15 now

Rock_Cakes – signed you up for 15, but a little treat on your birthday won’t hurt one bit!!

muffin man 7 – signed up for 15 & 5 in a row, good luck with resisting spending when you go to your appointments!

thrifty fifty – signed up for 10, good luck!

chris81418 – welcome back Chris, signed up for 19 now

d3mon4ngel – signed up for 15, good luck with battening down those hatches!!

jintyb – signed up for 15 Jinty, here’s hoping you have a good month!

sibles – welcome to the challenge! You’re signed up for 10

donna dynamo – welcome back Donna, I’ve signed you up for 14 now

ilovetea – welcome back! Signed you up for 10 now

complimentschemistry – signed up for 10 now. Yay another birthday to celebrate!

Tropicalmoments – signed you up for 15. 50% of the month as NSD’s is fab, well done!!

Reformedshopaholic – signed up for 10, am glad you decided to stop lurking & join us!!

DansMum – signed up for 15, good luck!!

Tixy – welcome back Tixy, have signed you up for 10

postingalwaysposting – signed up for 18, good luck!!

Keiss 21 – well spotted Keiss!!! Signed you up for 18 now

kevstanley – welcome back, signed you up for 8 now

Butti – signed you up for 7, good luck!!

lotti379 – signed you up for 12, I agree about snowdrops, definitely cheer me up when I see them!

honey – welcome back Honey, fingers crossed for s.dad’s op. I’ve signed you up for 14!

kezlou – welcome back, signed you up for 15

jaffacakegal – signed you up for 12, good luck!

ebsaver – sounds like you have a good plan for this month, signed you up for 20 now!

castri09 – welcome back, signed you up for 10 now

tryingtocutback – welcome to the challenge! You are signed up for 20 now

kathy40uk – welcome back! You’re signed up for 15 now & we’re all here for support so shout when you need us!

mi jardin – signed you up for 15, you can do it!

Soph86 – welcome to the challenge, signed you up for 10 now

Karb

Hi all. My rules for this challenge are that I can only claim a NSD if I don't spend anything at all, unless I can claim it on expenses, regardless of whether its accounted in the grocery budget.

On that basis, can I set my target as 12 NSD's please!