What was your 1st challenge?

canidothis · 30 April 2011 at 9:05PM

:wave:
For someone who only had their LBM last month Im finding all the threads, posts, advice and tools just brilliant and inspiring - thank you.

There are so many challenges to choose from I just dont know where to start, so I was wondering which was the 1st challenge you started with OR which one do you find works best for you

bumblingbea · 30 April 2011 at 9:41PM

I'm starting off with 1 debt in 100 days .....its keeping me motivated!!!

suzie_wong · 30 April 2011 at 10:00PM

There are two that helped me a lot initially, and I'm still using. They are the NSD (no spend day) challenges, which run each month, and also A Debt in 100 Days (mentioned above).
The NSD challenge makes you really focus on how often you spend unneccessarily, and the Debt in 100 Days helps you to realise how even tiny but regular overpayments can make a big difference to how quickly you clear a debt.

Sorry I'm not sure how to post links, but I'm sure someone else will come along and help!:p

rising_from_the_ashes · 30 April 2011 at 10:34PM

I went a bit OTT when I joined and "signed up" for loads. Some have fallen by the wayside but the ones I still do, and find really useful are:

NSD challenge - May's challenge is about to start ..... https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3198028 - it's great for making you think about where your money goes (a lot of days I was popping into the local convenience shop and spending around £5 - that adds up to quite a bit over a month).

£365 in 365 days - basically you put a £1/day into a jar/money box (some people transfer £30/£31 into an account at the start/end of each month) and should have a nice amount at the end of the year https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2943514 for Christmas/hols etc (mine's going towards my OD)

I also do the £2 jar challenge https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2928368 - although I've done this for years, I've always raided the tin at the end of each month (haven't so far this year).

I've missed this one over the past few weeks but usually do the "what small dfw things" thread at the weekends: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3201470

and finally....

The frugal living challenge https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3146548 where I've picked up some really useful tips, some great recipes and now have a fantastic spreadsheet to keep track of all my spends!

Each one is full of really great people and I enjoy the chat on them all. Have you looked at the List of Challenges thread? https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2739372

Good luck:D

backinbusiness · 30 April 2011 at 11:11PM

£2 coin in a pot for me. Although I cheat by counting it!! Also my colleagues all know I am saving them, so they sell them to me (at face value!) so that's cheating too!

It's a small enough amount to not miss, but a large enough amount to mount up quite quickly.

I have £158 since 1/1/11 - usually collect around £50 per month. That should cover Christmas just nicely!

BiB

KPR11 · 30 April 2011 at 11:18PM

It was £365 / 365 days (http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...943514&page=22), it was nice pain free way of saving and it got me into saving spare change - you will be amazed how much it adds up to. I started the challenge a bit late so had to catch up so I started overpaying every time I came back home, anything less than £10 notes went into the savings tin, I have continued this habit to date. It has done wonders for me.

I hear the following are pretty good as well:

1. No spending days, if you just tend to spend on a daily basis
2. Grocery challenge, if you are spending loads on groceries
3. 1 debt in 100 days, idea is to take 1 debt (or a few small debts) by the horn and clear them in 100 days.
4. Payment a day, make a payment - however small - to a debt / debts
5. Save £2 coins

There are a few more that people find useful, it just depends on what works for you!

Good luck

timefortea · 30 April 2011 at 11:35PM

I'm new around here, so I've just signed up to one so far. I've chosen the Make £10 a Day Challenge, because recently I've been selling loads of stuff on eBay so I think it will be doable. That's a terrible reason, isn't it?

Most of the others don't apply to me, or I already do them. I already save all of my change, so those ones wouldn't be challenges for me, and I still live with my mum (until next week! :eek:)so don't buy groceries.

canidothis · 1 May 2011 at 5:33PM

Im inspired Im inspired!! I dont have a lot of spare cash so NSD are not a problem I just do them naturally

I quite like the idea of seeing an amount of money increasing, on paper I dont think Ive got any spare however I do budget for £10 a week on odds and sods which doesnt always get used - The problem is (I think) i want to do too much at once. I want to see a savings pot increasing and I want to see a debt decrease - So If I go for £31 a month as an amount of money I could 'do' something with what would be the best challenge /s that I could join?

caledonian_princess · 1 May 2011 at 6:06PM

canidothis, that sounds as if the £365 in 365 days challenge would be good for you as your £30 would be more or less what you need for a £ a day. They do let you join the challenge part way through the year, just change your personal challenge to £250 in 250 days or whatever it turns out to be.