Making mayhem in May with the NSD challenge

butdoineedit?

Glad puss is home safe Kerri & DS1 is on the mend Keiss.

Well done on the win Jinty, sounds like £3 well spent (& for charity!!)

Definitely got the NSD today, had a cleaning marathon, call me weird but whenever i go on holiday i have to leave the house spotless just in case i don't make it back!!!

Eyebrows done, body defuzzed & (yet another) check of the suitcase & there's just enough time for a cheeky glass of wine before bed!! :beer:

Night all!!

IF

Good Evening all :hello:

Spoony I'm pleased to say I've got my 14th NSD today!!

solventsoon 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!

Trinny

Hi Spoon

NSD 10 today

If i make it to target this month it will be a photofinish:o

BW

Trin

PiggyBankShaker

Well I nabbed my 20th NSD today - hitting my target. :j:rotfl::j

Was a bit tempted by some self sufficiency books but resisted so I could get the last NSD in the bag.

I'm going to up my target to 25 and see if I can do it.

Good luck all

cw18

kerri_gt wrote: »

While I was in Mr M they were doing the final reductions - OMG people were literally fighting over the backery items, one elderly lady and a man were arguing over some pecan slice things, the store person doing the reductions was saying 'I'm not reducing anything anyone is holding or asking me to reduce' and there was squabbles over virtually everything. Seriously, it was like kids in the playground, I'm all for a bargain but not at the price of potentially losing blood. Cheryl are they like that in your store?

Official line is that if it's not on the shelf it doesn't get reduced, 'cos in theory it's "sold". People (me included) do pick things up to 'think about them' and then pop them back down as the reduction crew get into the area - but you risk someone else taking it before you can get it back, so it should only be done with something you're not desperate for / would rather go without than pay the higher price.

There are some really obnoxious 'regulars' at reduction time, and if they're in the area when we're asked if we're reducing something the standard answer is 'not just yet' - unless it's already had the final reduction, in which case they'd be told that. (But if they're not around when there is still a further reduction to do, and the person asks very politely, they may get a different answer )

I've not seen arguments as such, but have seen several hands reaching out for the same item as soon as the clearance stickers have been put on it.... and clearly the first to touch gets

kerri_gt

cw18 wrote: »

Official line is that if it's not on the shelf it doesn't get reduced, 'cos in theory it's "sold". People (me included) do pick things up to 'think about them' and then pop them back down as the reduction crew get into the area - but you risk someone else taking it before you can get it back, so it should only be done with something you're not desperate for / would rather go without than pay the higher price.

There are some really obnoxious 'regulars' at reduction time, and if they're in the area when we're asked if we're reducing something the standard answer is 'not just yet' - unless it's already had the final reduction, in which case they'd be told that. (But if they're not around when there is still a further reduction to do, and the person asks very politely, they may get a different answer )

I've not seen arguments as such, but have seen several hands reaching out for the same item as soon as the clearance stickers have been put on it.... and clearly the first to touch gets

Well your store sounds positively civilized compared to what I witnessed today - honestly I think I'd have rather taken my chances wearing Lady GaGa's meat outfit in a lion enclosure :rotfl::rotfl:

solventsoon

Hi lovely gang:A
Sorry I didn't get around to doing an update today, busy day.

Hope everyone's well and I'll be back tomorrow with a mega-update for Sunday and Monday.

'night everyone
spoon xx

Rachel021967

Saturday and Sunday were NSD's making a total of 5 so far.

chris81418

Good morning everyone! :wave:

butdoineedit? wrote: »

had a cleaning marathon, call me weird but whenever i go on holiday i have to leave the house spotless just in case i don't make it back!!!

I'm the same BDINI! But for me it's more because after a week or 2 of relaxing, I can't stand coming home and immediately having to start cleaning the place.

Anyway, checking in before heading off to work, to report that yesterday was NSD number 19 meaning I've reached my target for this month! Woo hoo! Spoon - I'd like to up increase my target to 24 NSDs please - thank you!

Must dash, as I'm running late now! Have a good week everyone!

jintyb

CatherineMM wrote: »

NSD # 9for me today please...yesterday I failed even though I never left the village as it was a school fundraiser fete and ended up spending all £30 that I had for this weeks groceries and my penny pot emptied of all silver and gold I won some sweets and got tomato plants and strawberries...hmmm
Tomorrow I have to work so NSD I hope, ditto for tuesday and thursday...watch this space though ~ just realised the most I can acheive is 16 out of my 20 planned even if I am really good...bummer. I failed. Did need an unexpected new dishwasher and shoes for kids though.
Good luck everyone else.

Now Catherine, we dont use the F-WORD here! Every NSD is an achievement! We dont allow you to beat yourself up here! You're doing just fine!;)