The Solvent September NSD Challenge

IF

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!

Nargleblast

Hello everyone, welcome to all new members -read If wishes' post above for some idea of how it's done. To highlight your latest number of NSDs, when you do a reply select the Go Advanced option and you will be able to change the size of your text and select whatever colour you want, as well as insert some smilies if that floats your boat.

Now, for september, shall I do my NSD totals in this green? This orange? This pink? This red? This blue? This purple?

Decisions, decisions.....anyway, my target is 15 for September - bring it on!

debtfreeeju

Please can I join you? Sign me up for 15 no spend days - might be a bit ambitious but I'll challenge myself to do it!

Is it ok that I'm not including the things I have to pay (rent, bills, etc), but just days I spend nothing on food, coffee, lunch at work, extras, etc?

twirly09

im going for 12 NSD please.

marmiterulesok

Gulp-four pages already...I'll have to catch up tomorrow.

My target for September is 10 NSDs please.

Hopefully I'll manage more ,but 2 weeks holiday is going to play havoc with my spending habits....

Thank you!

butdoineedit?

Wow, were a busy bunch this month, & fantastic to see so many newbies joining in!!

So a big welcome to:

RonniesMummy - signing you up for 7 now, good luck!! :j

taka - signing you up for 10 now, good luck!! :j

kersplatt - signing you up for 15 now, good luck!! :j

itsapuzzle - signing you up for 15 & 4 in a row now, good luck!! :j

debtfreeeju - signing you up for 15 now, good luck!! :j

twirly09 - signing you up for 12 now, good luck!! :j


And welcome back to all the regulars:


fedupandskint - signing you up for 18 now, good luck!! :j

SillyBlondie - signing you up for 15 now, good luck!! :j

jaffacakegal - signing you up for 18 now, good luck!! :j

Keiss 21 - signing you up for 18 now, good luck!! :j

marmiterulesok - signing you up for 10 now, good luck!! :j

Frodobaggins

Good to see all the newbies joining, it is very motivating. Tomorrow will have to be a spend day for me and I am really disappointed I cant get September off to a good start.:p

lynnette78

can i join
too please?
im gonna try and do 10 NSDs in september

and 3 in a row too!
wish me luck!!

Pips_Mum

Good grief 4 pages already!! Please could I aim for 10 NSDs this month please, epic fail on last months target so will need to behave a little better!!:p

SillyBlondie

Thanks for signing me up BDINI.

I would like to set my target at 15 NSDs for September.