The jubilant July NSD challenge

karen_is_trying

Had another NSD yesterday and today will be another as only going to work and pottering today so thats 6 for me so far pleased with that x

Stapler_2

Good luck everyone for an NSD today:D

LittleMissHappy_2

No NSD for me - had to pay for DS2's ice hockey fees and DD's football fees :eek: Normally DH does the weekly 'clubs', but I have made a deal with him that I will do them if he gets up at a reasonable time at the weekend. He was still in bed after I got back from football at 10.30am *rolls eyes*. By this time I had taken DS2 and DD to ice hockey for 8am and then gone from there straight to DD's football for 9.30am :eek: I though weekends were supposed to be restful?!?!?! Anyway, he has been roundly told of his inadequacies today He's up now, though

I'm going to the cinema tonight to see 'Bridesmaids' with a friend and her mum - can't wait! We are going for dinner too so it will be a fun evening.

Hope you all enjoy your day, whatever you are doing x

cw18

Just checked my bill paying bank account, and can confirm that yesterday was NSD #2 :T
I did have to get some liquid gold (else I wouldn't have been able to get to my R@ce For Life today), but I put money aside for that last Saturday - and decided not to completely fill the tank so didn't spend it all anyway......

However today isn't an NSD, as I did have to pay for parking at the race (£1.50) - so I may nip down to work later and see if I can find myself a treat as a reward for having done it

I'm glad I went, but I have to admit I wasn't sure I should given I've not been able to train for 5 weeks due to my chest infection, and had only done two runs this last week (3.88 miles on Sunday, and 4.01 miles on Thursday) so wasn't sure I was up to 10km (6.02 miles).

A really slow start as there was a narrow part on the course that was littered with huge puddles, so not much above a walking speed for the first half mile - and very frustrated to find that as it started to open up there was loads of people walking even though there had been a clear announcement that the first wave to leave were to be runners (planning to finish in no more than 45 mins), the second wave (which I was in) was joggers and the walkers were to be the last to set off :mad: Meant I had to keep weaving round folks to try and get my speed up which shouldn't have happened, but is clearly why I'd been warned that a RFL isn't an event to get a personal best.

My personal best for a 10km is 58 mins and 59 secs, and despite the lack of training and chaotic first half mile I completed today's in 1hr 1min and 31 secs - so I'm really, really pleased with that :T

Just need to hope my legs hold out for a reasonable time in tomorrow's 5km now (organised by my club to raise funds for local Breast Cancer Unit) - but even if it takes me a lot longer than it should it'll still be a personal best as it's the first race of that distance I've done

IF

Afternoon all :hello:







Written by solventsoon aka Spoon:-

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!

kerri_gt

Well done in the rin today Cheryl, and good luck for tomorrow :j

Jinty - glad the dentist has managed to adjust the dentures. I think you're allowed a couple of book purchases since you won't really be leaving the house and it's good to lose yourself in a good book and be able to forget about your mouth for a bit.

No NSD for me today, went to Mr A with a list of things and some vouchers (incl the infamous Dove but OOS of what I wanted) needless to say I did come out with some additional bits but nothing too bad, and managed to get my spend down from £23 to £17 with coupons Also popped to Mr T after a tip off on the 1p thread for a dinner service, none there and no other bargains but still spent a couple of £ on some Natures Harvest cereal bars (hideously expensive at 3 for £2 :eek: but the cranberry and macadamia with dark choc are delicious). Did try a couple of sneaky Doves but darn ss wouldn't accept my vouchers

In Mr A some of my additional spends were on some tins of chopped toms, plum toms and butter beans all reduced down to 20p (they were the ones in the indian food aisle with all the large bags of rice etc) saw one woman loading a whole tray into her car :eek:

Wombled a couple of receipts at Mr A and Mr T - the Mr T already had cc points but checking the price diff in hopes of a few extra pence

Also had to go to the big orange DIY store to get turf and topsoil as there was a patch of front lawn looking very sparce. Had to use one of those impossible to steer flat bed trollys which I caught the back of my leg with going back to the car park and now have a blue/purple lump there Also picked up a toolbox saw while I was there as it's something we didn't have. total cost £12.24, total spend £2.24 thanks to my £10 voucher.

All in all (except the Mr T spend) quite a good day.

marmiterulesok

Stapler wrote: »

Today was NSD Number 5!!

Taking own Sarnies to work today really helped. I even walked the long way to work to avoid the shop. Thank you to whoever suggested that.

Have made up some sandwiches for tomorrow, chicken and stuffing

You're welcome and I'm glad that you liked the sandwiches!

Spend day for me,so still at #6.

Hope you're all enjoying a lovely weekend.I'm knackered after a busy day at work,plus the heat is really getting to me.So it's an early night tonight.Thank goodness I'm off tomorrow.:)

BigMummaF

*holds arms out straight, crouching & skulking around furniture, with hands clenched & index finger pointing pistol-style* Dum-di-di-dum-dum, darm-diddy-dum-dum. DAdarm-did-de-darrrm!

The name's F...BMF.
And I'm licensed to save.
I have NSDs & I know how to use them!

Hi Guys :wave:
Timmy D is not one of my favoured 007s but it's good to catch them again. Plan was to collect them all, but we all know what happens to best made strategies
Still. UKGP tomorrow, so there's not an awful lot getting done in here this w/e I'm afraid

solventsoon wrote: »

....
Here are some threads to help keep us on the straight and narrow, if you know of others, please post. Many of the lunch box ideas are aimed toward children and are great ideas now that the school holidays are approaching.

March Grocery Challenge, with lots of recipe ideas.
Tinned Food Recipes.
Leftovers? Don’t Throw It..
Exciting Sandwich Fillings on a Budget.
Lunch for Work.
Laptop Lunchbox Ideas.
Packed Lunches.
Cheap Healthy Snacks
Cheap Snack Ideas to Stop Buying Crisps.
Homemade Snack Ideas…contains further links for ideas.
Sprouting Seeds to Eat.
Really Quick & Alternative Snacks.
Easy Homemade Biscuits.
Muesli & Cereal Bar Recipes.
Weetabix Cake.
HM Popcorn.
Smoothie Recipes.
Yoghurt Without a Yoghurt Maker.
Ham Economics.
Low Carb Kids Lunches...contains advice for diabetics.
Kids Lunch Box Ideas.
Back to School Lunches.
Healthy Kids Snacks.
HM Lollies.
Ice Lolly Ideas
Cheap Healthy Playground Snacks.
Homemade Fudge.
OS HM Sweets.
Forgotten Puddings.
Making chocolates or sweets....

Hope you don't mind my posting ^^^ again; thought it may help with ideas for lunches as the chat seems to have swayed into that direction a little of late, particularly the ones twix the two .
I had a lovely combination yesterday--granary bap with tuna & sweetcorn on a bed of watercress --I'd not had thought to add the greenery myself!

I have managed 5 nsds up to yesterday so not too shoddy a start to the month, but I MUST have an eye test (& almost definite new spex) & also a trip to the dentist (again--evens bet on treatment required) so have the paramedics on stand-by for the :eek: when they give me the bills! What is it with teeth this month? I know we enjoy an outing, but can't we find somewhere more exciting than a fang-fixer :rotfl:

bottleofred

Afternoon folks,

A spend day for me today as I had to buy liquid gold! I hope everyone is enjoying the weekend.

Red

elfen

Up to no 7 for me please