Avoiding the shops in April - The NSD Challenge

IF

Good morning all :hello:

What a glorious day and have a lovely Saturday X

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!

wit40iwtwan

Hi all

Busy busy week at work! I am happy to say that I have managed to clock up a whopping 6 NSD's thanks to the rush!

Keiss_21

Hya all, on this glorious day.

Just popping on to declare today as NSD no 5. Staying at home, baking and gardening today, so no spending :j.

Have a wonderful weekend all x

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

Hi good folks
I am aiming for 10 NSD'S in April, with option of adding extras if I make target.
So far I am onto 2 NSD'S because I diligently recorded them right from the beginning of the month.
This weekend it's spending on Fares to London For Big 5-0 Birthday Girl Weekend and on Monday I order my regular Organic box which retails at between £12.00 and £20.00 per week perhaps more from Riverford Organics which comes highly recommended by the way for sheer qaulity of fruit and vegetables as well as highly committed Customer Service Ethos.
I overspent in March which means I should cut back in April my Birthday Month. I need to save up Scotland trip costs which could be an outrageous £600 for one week!!! including house rental and fares but event that could be too low.Plane and train prefered, Coach less so, Dresses as small prints are in season and they suit my petite frame, and keep my costs as low as possible.
(My Birthday's on the 19th BTW).
I should live on £40pw all in but going to London is going to throw me off target.
As a reader I try to get books as cheap as possible.
As a beginner to MSE I have a lot to learn from this site which is very new to me. Gotta work out what is best, what to leave out and what to try. Best wishes to all.:beer:

suzie_wong

Butti wrote: »

Susie,
Have you tried Aldi? Their face cream is about £2.

No, I haven't, and I don't know where there is an Aldi close to here. Will have an ask around.

Thank you for the info

bottleofred

Hi folks,

Another spend day for me today I'm afraid! Hope you all have a good weekend and enjoy the sunshine:D.

Red:beer:

kerri_gt

jintyb wrote: »

Good morning all,

Low spend day yesterday, but a spend nonetheless. Took cat into vet for his exam under GA. I had to take him to the main vet surgery ( our local one is a smaller practice) so it was a bit of a longer journey. By the time Id done that I treated myself to gregg$ sandwich and a lemon drizzle bun - and bloomin good it was too!

Should be back on the wagon today,although we are going shopping this morning. OH badly needs jeans and tops so we are off to kit him out! I am not buying anything as I loathe shopping for clothes on a Saturday. I have vchrs for M&$ which I will use on my midweek days off when the shops are quieter.

Have a lovely day everyone:)

Hope puss is ok Jints - I know you're having a tough time with him atm, and it's doubly hard when OH is not really on side about him (though I know what the urge is like to throttle the furry begger when they pee on the worktop ...the cat I mean, I wasn't inferring your OH was a furry begger :rotfl:)

Oddly enough your day sounds like ours, we're not long back from shopping for jeans for OH. Success came in the form of one pair from N*xt, plus one pair from Primarni, plus some denim shorts which he's wearing and look really nice on him (they have camoflage type print on the turn up), also saw another pair of cargo type shorts for him but none in his size so will keep an eye out for those. Funny thing was that we both spotted the cargo shorts, picked up the same pair of denim shorts and pointed towards the jeans all at the same time :rotfl::rotfl:

I was very good, one pair of sunglasses for £1, they are quite retro with mint green frames (hats make me look daft but I can carry glasses off quite well), and a t-shirt for £7.99 from h'n'm. There is a dress online that I quite like though....£7.99 + delivery....oh the temptation....

suzie_wong wrote: »

No, I haven't, and I don't know where there is an Aldi close to here. Will have an ask around.

Thank you for the info

Are you referring to the sienna (or sianna?) face cream everyone went nuts about a few years ago? Not to put you off Suzie but I bought some of that one and really wasn't impressed. I didn't find it particually amazing compared to any others and it had a really strong artifical fragrance. Still everyone's skin is diff - were you saying you're not keen on the Clinique you have? I've just started using the range and it's like having new skin - darn my non MSE face! :rotfl::rotfl:

Off out a bit later to pick up the table I reserved in HB for car boots - £40 but 15% off and my friend and I are going havles (think I mentioned that yesterday) it is a lot, but as her OH pointed out, we're best to invest in a decent one rather than buy a chepo one and then have to replace it further down the line. Fingers crossed that takings tomorrow will cover the cost.

Weather here is glorious - more like the beginning of July...and our holiday tickets arrived today too - makes me want to go and whip my bikini out right now! :eek:... ...:rotfl:

cw18

Spendy day today, as I knew it would be.

Been to Mr M (milk, jelly, bananas and a whoopsied melon portion), and A!di (decided I needed ice cream, and actually had room in the freezer for it too :T)

Managed to find a pair of trousers that fit well (but that I can still move around in) and a top for tonight in my wardrobes, but was struggling with shoes. Planned to 'make do' with a pair that don't fit too well (I walk out of them!), but nipped into B'n'M while I was spending (to check if they had any good food bargains, or cheap rotary lines as mine's had it completely ). Nothing in those sections, but I spotted they had some rather nice strappy flat sandals at £4.99 pair (and they had my size in the black, the silver and the bronze - all colours that will go with various outfits I have), so a bit of an 'Oooops' and I came home with three pairs

muffin_man_7

REPORTING NSD NO ON WED AND THURSDAY SO THATS 7 UP TO NOW
Friday was a small spendy day £9 not too bad except ran out of money still needed bread milk more cheese and juice oh well will just have to manage till monday

A BIG THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR YOUR SUPPORT ON WEDNESDAY

AlyBaly

Another spend day for me today and going to a Ruby Wedding tomorrow . Looks like Tuesday might be my next one grrrrrr