Have an adventure in August with the NSD challenge

Keiss_21

Morning all, hope everyone "up north" isn't getting blown about too much....a good excuse to stay in and do what you want methinks!

Declarig today as NSD no 18, so have reached my first target! :j:j

Spoon, can you up my target to 20 NSDs. That should restrict my spending for the rest of the month!

Right, off to organize my DH and DS2, lots of things to shift today !

bottleofred

Good morning folks from a cold and wet NI:eek:
Belated Birthday wishes to Beanie.
As I intend staying in today and doing some cooking (in between watching the football and motor racing), I'm declaring NSD18:beer:
I also have a slightly sore head due to excessive wine consumption last night, so may have to throw myself into my wine later to assist it in going away:rotfl:
I hope everyone has a good day and enjoys the rest of the bank holiday weekend:D

Red:)

solventsoon

chris81418 wrote: »

Hello everyone! :wave:
What's everyone wearing for our 'lil trip to the carnival? I'm looking for some more inspiration ... can't wait to see all our wonderful outfits and creations!

Here you are Chris, a couple of ideas for you:D


Sorry, the pictures are a bit big - can't figure out how to reduce them:o

Butti

Just got prep for a job and prep for a dissertation today so I think I go for another NSD.

Bit windy up here but i'm going to put my washing out and make use of it.

B

IF

Happy Birthday Beanie love If...x

Written by solventsoon aka Spoon our inspirational mentor:-

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

I'm thinking about this one - you're not going to miss me in this:D

elfen

NSD no 16 and my target hit for the month

Keiss_21

Happy Birthday Beanie!

:bdaycake::bdaycake::bdaycake:



hope you have a great day, despite the weather!

pinkfluffybabe

NSD No18 today - 2nd target met.

Nargleblast

And where's the beautiful, warm and sunny weather we were supposed to have today?

Happy birthday Beanie, hope the computer gets sorted soon.

On course for another NSD today, will confirm later.

Just sorting out stuff for tomorrow's carnival outing. Igor is busy preparing a vat of Jerk Chicken for the festivities (no, Igor, I don't care if your mother's recipe did have beaks in, we follow Delia's recipes on here) and frenziedly chopping up salad veg - whoops! there goes another tomato - whilst simultaneously putting the kettle on for a cup of tea and finishing off my carnival costume. He won't let me see it till it's finished, although I did catch a sneaky look at some of the materials....(what exactly can you make using 2 black bin bags, a lime green feather duster and a couple of J Cloths?)