The Solvent September NSD Challenge

bottleofred

Good morning folks from a so far sunny and dry NI:eek:.

I hope everyone is enjoying the weekend. As I don't intend going out today and will also avoid the pitfalls of internet shopping:p, I'd like to declare NSD3 please:D.
I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the weekend. Jinty, totally agree with Scotland being robbed in the football. That ref should be sent to specsavers or perhaps to referee sunday league times, as he really was inept:mad: End of rant:D

Frodobaggins

Morning all, hope you all well. Yesterday was NSD#1 for me. I have been out spending today so fingers crossed for No 2 tomorrow.

solventsoon

itsapuzzle wrote: »

Afternoon all, well I was going to declare NSD number 1 today as I havent spent anything and am off to work soon, so wont be spending anything. However OH has lost the best part of 100 quid so I'm not sure whether to declare or not - Gutted!

Ho Hum

Puzzle

Ouch Puzzle, I'm not surprised you're gutted, sending you a (((hug))) xx

Re the NSD, it depends on whether OH is included in the challenge or not and your own rules. If it's outside your rules there's no reason why you can't claim it as NSD no 1. I don't suppose that helps though, really.

(((hugs)))
spoon xx

Phew... just read your second post saying you found it.. relief all round but sorry OH's day out was spoiled..

IF

Hellooooo all :hello:






Hi NSD'ers Could I ask you please to highlight your number of NSDs in a colour and in bold so that BDINI can see them easily, thank you :A



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

jenjade wrote: »

Can I join please.

My house is bursting at the seams with food, toiletries, washing stuff etc yet i seem to end up in a supermarket most days. I really want to monitor it (and hopefully save some cash)

The only thing I need to buy is milk and petrol. I am not going to count these as spends nor will i count direct debits for bills etc.

there are 30 days in September how many shall i aim for? i recon i could do over half

Hi jenade
Welcome to the NSD challenge and, yes, of course you can join us.

I'll add you to the list when I do today's update later on. In the meantime, pull up a chair and make yourself at home:D

spoon xx

solventsoon

Hi lovely gang:A
I didn't get around to doing an update yesterday, so here it is now:D

Lots of NSDs rolling in yesterday, well done everyone:

:j:j:jchris81418 - for no 2, great start for you, keep going!

:j:j:jjinty - for no 1, and off the starting blocks now, woohoo!! Keep going!!
Wow... that was an early post:eek:

:j:j:jLewby - for no 1, and off the starting blocks now, woohoo!!
And no 2 in the bag as well, great start for you, keep going!
Woohoo to the petrol money as well!:T

:j:j:jtoots - for no 1, and off the starting blocks now, woohoo!! Keep going!!

:j:j:jdebtfreewannabe321 - for no 1, and you’re off the starting blocks as well, woohoo!! Keep going now!

:j:j:jmarmite - for no 2, great start for you, keep going!
I like the sound of your Saturday, hope you enjoyed it

:j:j:jKeiss - for no 2, great start for you, keep going!
Hope the painting is going well

:j:j:jwebitha - for no 1, and you’re off the starting blocks as well, woohoo!! Keep going now!
Lovely to see you back here

:j:j:jBMF - for no 1, and you’re off the starting blocks as well, woohoo!! Keep going now!
I’m in the queue, don’t fancy being evicted from the tardis - after all, who’d drive it on our outings. Lovely to see you (and your posts) back again, we’ve missed you xx:A

:j:j:jSpendSpendSpend - for no 2, great start for you, keep going!
Hope you managed to get all the paperwork completed yesterday, you sounded a bit down in the dumps (((hugs))). Don’t worry about having a moan, most of us do, you just carry on and we’ll sympathise xx:A

:j:j:jRed - for no 2, great start for you, keep going!
You’re right about it feeling autumnal, the weather’s changed in the past few days....

:j:j:jiwanttogoonholiday - fingers crossed you nabbed no 1 on Saturday
And you did... off the starting blocks now, woohoo!! Keep going!!

:j:j:jelfen - for no 2, great start for you, keep going!

:j:j:jjaffacakegal - for no 1 and you’re off the starting blocks as well, woohoo!! Keep going now!
Hope you managed to avoid the off licence yesterday

:j:j:jModestyB - for no 3, wow, that’s a brilliant start to the month for you, keep going!
Well done for not spending yesterday, that’s quite a feat!:T

:j:j:jMrsNotAPenny - for no 2, great start for you, keep going!
I’m sure you can manage 3 in-a-row, fingers crossed

:j:j:jIf - for no 2, great start for you, keep going!
Love the Ikea cat:)

:j:j:jrunnerbean17 - for no 2, great start for you, keep going!

:j:j:jlynnette78 - for no 2, great start for you, keep going!
Fingers crossed for no 3 as well. Good news about the lotto win:T

:j:j:jTwelveStopsThenHome - for no 1 and you’re off the starting blocks as well, woohoo!! Keep going now!


Hello to:

Frodo - don’t lose hope, you’ll get your first NSD soon xx:A

robedha - fingers crossed for no 1 for you as well. Hope the car boot goes well today:)

kathy - oh dear.... sorry about the car, what a pain:(. Hope you can get it fixed easily (and cheaply!)

Squidge123 - try not to beat yourself up too much if a planned NSD doesn’t come along, sometimes life just gets in the way. You’ll get lots more during the month I’m sure xx:A


No 3 in the bag for me yesterday as well.


I'll be back later with today's update, so see you all then.

Have a lovely day everyone
spoon xx

Keiss_21

NSD no 3 today, a good start so far! :j

Hope everyone has a lovely Sunday today.

The_Dragon

Claiming my first 2 please!

SpendSpendSpend

Thanks for the hugs Spoon. You're right, I was a bit down in the dumps but there was no real reason for it except being tired. I'm always the same when I get tired & I'm tired most of the time! Fortunately I got a decent night's sleep last night so I'm not too tired today & the sun's out & I don't HAVE to do anything today. There are loads of things I "should" be doing but I don't "have" to do them today, so I'm feeling much happier today.:p

Anyway, I'm wittering again and really all I need to do is say today is NSD 3 as I'm not leaving the sofa and I'm going to avoid any internet spending as well.

I hope everyone's having a good weekend and good luck to everyone going back to work tomorrow after the holidays. Ugh, that's reminded me the roads will be busier tomorrow with the schools back so I'd better get up a bit earlier!

boultdj

A spend day for me today.