Avoiding the shops in April - The NSD Challenge

lauzellen

Declaring Sat, Sun and today as NSDs so i'm upto #3 but tomorrow will be a spend day as I need to go food shopping.

Good luck for April everyone :beer:

IF

Afternoon all :hello:

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!

boultdj

And today is #2.
If, that picture was me to a T this morning, realy did'nt want to go to work, I wanted to stay home and do some more gardening, sod's law, went to work and it's been sunny all morning,............. now I'v come home it's tipping it down with rain

Nargleblast

Humunguous great spendiferous day today, but at least the food for the week is in and the meals all planned. Been getting Easter chocs for family members, plus stuff for daughter's birthday (beginning of next week, day after mine) so a bit heavy on the old bank account. At least I should be able to clock up one or two more NSDs this week.

marmiterulesok

Hi everyone.Hope you've all had a good weekend!

I have an NSD for today and yesterday,which brings me up to 3 NSDs so far.

I might even manage an NSD tomorrow and Wednesday,which mean 4 NSDs in a row.....I think that I'll give it a go!:)

kezlou

aw thanks honey xx

I wish it was to do more with thrift, but he's been this way with me since i was born. He's just a hateful oink, at he moment he's in a well paid job and in mountains of debt, which he runs away from. He just
thinks were scruffy because we don't wear labels, he thinks they currency. I was a former goth, which wound him up no end. I'm just waiting for karma to come back and bite him on the a$$ Then i'll laugh so hard i'll fall of me chair.

Well i went grocery shopping today, which in my mind counts as a NSD, as we had nowt in. Didn't buy any extra's *polishes halo*, even though i was tempted by chocolate and town so close i could touch it. Instead i ran like the wind to the MIL's house. If i had bought one bar of choccy, that would have a non-essential spend.

So far so good, could be a NSD for me.

Roll one 10pm tonight.

ilovetea

I'm up to 3 NSD as well. have done a mr.T. order but that's not coming until Wednesday,so I'm not counting that as the money won't leave my account until then.Is that alright?

ilovetea xx

LittleMissHappy_2

:wave:

Hello, folks

NSD number 3 for me please BDINI x Thank you x

Wee_Pilsbury

Evening all

Managed to grab NSD 2 today :dance:

Things looking good for the rest of the week too so hopefully I'll be doing the happy dance by then!

Have a good night everyone.



:hello:

tattooed_lady

NSD #2 for me today :T:j yay!!

xx

ps. have actually made some money today from ebay sales !!:beer: