The jubilant July NSD challenge

marmiterulesok

Still stuck on #10 :mad:,but I'll definitely get one tomorrow!

Congratulations AuntieHappy!!!!

beanielou

No 16 today.

kerri_gt

Congratulations on the safe arrival of your new niece LittleMiss - please share names as soon as she has one :j

Well done on clocking up the NSD Stapler - keep up the lunches you're doing fab - just pretend the sandwich shop is still closed.

Congrats on paying off one of your debts Elfen - that must feel fab.
I though blue and yellow was B&M but I don't know as we don't have one down here

:rotfl:hee hee! I'm not sure which Womble I am Cheryl - prob a cross between Bungo and Wellington. There were quite a lot of receipts on the floor in my local Mr T today but did resist picking those up as its only a small Metro and I'd been in full view of the supervisor who had already been called to my checkout to help put through some coupons...which leads me to....

well no NSD for me today - seemed to have rolled right on and back off that wagon However, I had my list and basically stuck to it meaning that across SD, Wilko, Icel*nd and Mr T the full cost of my shopping would have been £16.88 (before store offers and coupons) - I paid £8.63 so a 49% saving :j (and 84p of that was rolls for OH - he likes seedy, err no, seeded ones)

I did also spend £1.98 in the 99p shop on shampoo (I am even almost out of hotel freebies and the one I'm using atm leaves my hair horrible) and a huge jar of japapenos for OH.

My one off the list spend was a San3x roll on deo for OH in Wilko, 1/2 price at 64p...with a 50p coupon = 14p :beer:

Will be back in later in the week for another one for him and have my eye on a few bits in B**ts... but I think these spends are much better than what I used to buy at lunchtime

ps watch out for me on 'Extreme Couponing - the Wombles episode' :rotfl::rotfl:

BigMummaF

*finally gets past passport control, slightly dishevelled & a wheel missing off me case* OK :mad: Whose idea was it to give Igor a uniform & wooden hut at NSD Terminal :angry: Do you know how LONG I've been held as a suspected alien?
Well..technically..I suppose..:whistle:..some of it was...errm...not-exactly-my-fault I had mistakenly picked up PDDopey's bag for life, thereby carrying her lodgers passports but that's NO excuse for that JobsWorth to keep me this long :wall:
I suppose I could have been here sooner but have you ever tried getting yellow milk dessert sauce out of your waist-length hair, well, have you? Have you??? We really must get some English comprehension tutors into the Tardis; no-one else should have to endure Igor's definition of being kept in Custardy :rotfl:

Up to no 15 including today's efforts. Well Done Fellow NSDers! You're all doing very well *shakes walking stick & stumbles backwards a la Young Mr Grace in Are You Being Served*

cw18

been out round the various Arg0s stores this evening, but didn't do the extra mileage for paper/paint as it's looking like some or all of my purchases are going to have to go back

The curtains, light fitting and lamps are all exactly the colour I expected, and look brilliant together

The bedding (quilt cover packs, extra pillowcases and fitted sheets) all match each other perfectly - but unfortunately don't even come close to the rest of the stuff I really don't know how they've managed to list them as 'duck egg', as they're not really anything more than pale blue :mad:

So I now have a couple of weeks to try and find bedding that works with the other stuff before I decide whether to take back just the bedding or everything, and in the meantime it means I can't start on the decorating in my room (or not any further than the woodwork anyway) Did bob into a discount store next-door-but one to the last Arg0s I hit to see if they had anything - but the only one they have is mainly white which I don't want. Then nipped into the next retail park to check in Mr A, but the only one they have is a slightly different shade to the curtains - and absolutely plain which I don't want either. (I did pick up some Whoopsies from there there though - a small oated loaf, a couple of packs of deli roll, a pack of 6 paninis and c&o pasty which came to £1.30 in total, with the pasty being a whoppinh 5p )

Didn't see anything else in a different colour scheme that caught my eye either, so not sure where to try next I'm not starting work until 4pm on Thursday, so in theory I have time to go into the city centre and check out some stores there - but I suspect both TK and Prim@rk (the likely suspects for my budget) will be hit and miss, and after that it's the large expensive chain stores :eek:

But given I'd have got everything for my room today if it hadn't been for the mismatch, I've decided that if I have a day where my only spend is to get this sorted I'll still count that day as an NSD....... possibly a slight cheat, but it's not my fault it all went pear-shaped today

Look like most of the rest of the week is going to mean spending too

Car's in for service and MOT tomorrow, but as I've had a shift change (2:30-8:30 instead of 1-5) there's a strong possibility I won't get it back until the garage opens on Thursday. Either way one of those days will be a spend, and I'm just hoping it doesn't need too much doing (other than a replacement blade on my rear wiper and a repair to a front wiper that I already know about), though I have to confess I rather suspect I'll get told about tyres and/or brakes as I don't think I've had anything done to either in the 5 years I've had the car

And on Friday I've got my first session with a Personal Trainer at the gym Got his details from the gym on Sunday, and sent him an email yesterday evening out-lining what I'm wanting to get out of it and asking what it would cost if he could work with me on that. He phoned me while I was on my lunch break today (think he'd tried in the morning while it was turned off from what he said) and he seems confident he can work work with me. Cost wise I got a pleasant surprise, as he's coming in at £10/session cheaper than people I've spoken to on-line are paying - which he says it 'cos he has to set his prices according to the area, and even varies them from gym to gym with the one I use being in a 'less affluent area'!!! I'm hoping this will be the final push I need to give up the cigs as I can't afford both..... but his prices mean that what I spend on cigs will more than cover it (so I'll actually have some extra spending money as well), instead of having to find about another £7/week from somewhere else :T And if I block-book for 10 sessions then the cost comes down another £5/session Doing the first couple as PAYG though, as it seems more sensible to see if I'm happy/comfident with him/what he gets me doing before I commit to a longer term thing. But on the phone he seemed to think that the areas I want to work on (to get from where I am now with my running to being able to get a 4 hour time in the London Marathon if I get a place - which gives me just 39 weeks this Sunday) are exactly the things I should be looking at, and also said he worked towards the same target with another lady a couple of years ago..... so it sounds like we'll be singing from the same basic hymn sheet, even if what he gets me doing does seem to be totally unrelated at the time

kerri_gt

Hi Cheryl, have you had a look in JL at any bedding? They do have some value ranges (ie within the affordability of us mere mortals that don't normally shop there) I also might have a duck egg kinda colour scheme photo that might be of help to you if you want to pm me?

fedupandskint

It's NSD 8 for me today which is good and I'm going for another one tomorrow as I try and eake out my food for work lunches until Friday

butdoineedit?

beanielou wrote: »

Errrr by the way I still havent worked out who the blue & yellow shop is?

The blue & yellow shop is Ike@ Beanie

elfen wrote: »

Also...... NSD NO 15 for me please! Hit my target and going to up it to 18! And and and I've paid one of my debts off!

:j:j Yay go Elfen, it must be a fantastic feeling to have that debt gone!!

BigMummaF wrote: »

*finally gets past passport control, slightly dishevelled & a wheel missing off me case* OK :mad: Whose idea was it to give Igor a uniform & wooden hut at NSD Terminal :angry: Do you know how LONG I've been held as a suspected alien?
Well..technically..I suppose..:whistle:..some of it was...errm...not-exactly-my-fault I had mistakenly picked up PDDopey's bag for life, thereby carrying her lodgers passports but that's NO excuse for that JobsWorth to keep me this long :wall:
I suppose I could have been here sooner but have you ever tried getting yellow milk dessert sauce out of your waist-length hair, well, have you? Have you??? We really must get some English comprehension tutors into the Tardis; no-one else should have to endure Igor's definition of being kept in Custardy :rotfl:

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Well no NSD for me today, i had to pay the man that came to change the element in my oven after it stopped working at the weekend. Did think i might have a go myself, but then bottled it at the last minute, & he was very reasonably priced. Now i've seen it done i know i'll never pay someone to do it again as it just looked so easy!!
I've also put some money to one side to pay travel expenses for if i have to rush home to see Gran (she goes back into hospital tomorrow for the op), so as long as i don't buy pop or snacks on the journeys i can count those days as no spends. Oh & a couple of quid for some canes from Mr W tomorrow as my tomatoes are just doing so well :j they need a bit more support.

Rest of the week is looking good for NSD's, i am hoping my purse will stay well & truly shut!!

IF

Evening :hello:

Spoon got my 12th NSD today, thank you :A


Written by solventsoon aka Spoon our inspiration:-

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!

solventsoon

BigMummaF wrote: »

*finally gets past passport control, slightly dishevelled & a wheel missing off me case* OK :mad: Whose idea was it to give Igor a uniform & wooden hut at NSD Terminal :angry: Do you know how LONG I've been held as a suspected alien?
Well..technically..I suppose..:whistle:..some of it was...errm...not-exactly-my-fault I had mistakenly picked up PDDopey's bag for life, thereby carrying her lodgers passports but that's NO excuse for that JobsWorth to keep me this long :wall:
I suppose I could have been here sooner but have you ever tried getting yellow milk dessert sauce out of your waist-length hair, well, have you? Have you??? We really must get some English comprehension tutors into the Tardis; no-one else should have to endure Igor's definition of being kept in Custardy :rotfl:

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

It's lovely to have you back, BMF, glad you escaped:D