The “how many paydays ‘til Xmas” November NSD challenge

IF

solventsoon wrote: »

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!

Betsie2010

Ok here goes - please can you put me down for 10 NSD this month. An increase on last month only by 1 but I have done no C*mas shopping yet
So fingers crossed

kerri_gt

Hey Spoony, would you mind whacking me down for 12 NSD please? A couple lower than my usual target but I am sure there will be some Xmas shopping and Amazon Black Friday week as well. Plus sone wiggle room for some Grabbits and couponing (though now T accepting competitor coupons has bitten the dust i won't be going in as often..oh wait, plan to get Branston Beanz on B1G2F tomorrow already ) Saying that, I've managed to build up a nice little stock pile over the past few months, don't think I'll be needing to buy laundry liquid, pasta or pasta sauce any time soon

muffin_man_7

HI SPOON CAN I GO FOR 10 AND WILL TRY FOR 6 IN A ROW PLEASE

Thanks for all the help and support couldnt see me doing any of this without it

muffin_man_7

ms_night_ryder wrote: »

I failed again last month, still going to keep trying please put me down for 10 again this month, will honestly try my best, its the small forgotten spends that always spoil it for me:mad:

It's been said so many times we DO NOT fail we just don't quite make our targets as long as you get some NSD'S then you are getting there

As for the small forgotten things maybe when you remember them you could write them all down and it might be a regular item or one not bought often but you will see a pattern and it will help another thing you could do is put all your small change in a jar and use this for the small forgotten items then as long as you don't get anything else thats ok i think ??? someone correctme if i'm wrong but thats how iunderstood it

i don't count buying bread or milk as a spend day as long as the money put aside for it is not exeeded if it is then it counts as a spend i do this because i was buying too much milk sometimes and othertimes not enough and apart from the waste i kept missing nsds this way it doesn't affect my nsds and no waste either
good luck for november you can do it


this month i'm trying something new so if it helps i will tell you fingers crossed for now

lynnette78

Bring it on:j

i will try for my usual 10 NSDs again and 5 in a row please;)

Decluttering

Been MIA for a couple of months but could you put me down for 7 NSDs please Spoony? Thanks

solventsoon

Hi lovely gang:A

Page 3 already and it isn't even November....

A big welcome to all the newbies joining us today, it’s great to have you on board. If you’re not sure about anything please ask, we’re very friendly and there’s usually someone around to help. Feel free to join in with the chat and general nonsense on here, we’re fairly tame (well, most of the time, if you humour us). Good luck with your first NSD challenge - keep posting, that’s the secret to success here.

:hello:ashleighsalem
:hello:chezabelle
:hello:debtfreeju
:hello:freebyfifty
:hello:Knitting Nora
:hello:mfu1098
:hello:myteeduck
:hello:RhiBi

All signed up for your first targets now - go get 'em:T:T:T

And a big welcome back to all the regulars

:wave:beanielou

:wave:Betsie2010

:wave:bottleofred

:wave:butdoineedit?

:wave:chris81418

:wave:cuddlymarm

:wave:Decluttering

:wave:donna dynamo

:wave:elfen

:wave:fedupandskint

:wave:Frodobaggins

:wave:greenanne

:wave:ifwishes

:wave:iwanttogoonholiday

:wave:jintyb

:wave:Keiss21

:wave:kerri gt

:wave:Learning2Budget

:wave:LittleMissHappy

:wave:LondonGirl252

:wave:lotti379

:wave:lynnette78

:wave:marmiterulesok

:wave:ModestyB

:wave:ms_night_ryder

:wave:muffin man 7

:wave:shezam

:wave:slowlyfading

:wave:SpendSpendSpend

:wave:The Dragon

:wave:toottifrootti

:wave:TwelveStopsThenHome


All names and targets added to the front page now, good luck, we can do it:T

jintyb

Good morning Spoon, and thank you for getting us going this month.
You have surpassed yourself with the prizes this month - they're brilliant! I loved last month's, but these are super! Are they part of our 5-a-day?

jintyb

Good morning everyone!

Hoping to get off to a good start today, but I have a birthhday present to buy.

The car was taken in to the garage yesterday and they called with the list of things that need to be fixed:
New bumper,
new wing
headlamp
replace grille under the bonnet

However, all the damage is on the exterior, under the car is fine apparently, the guy says it looks worse than it actually is, which is good(ish) news. It will take @ 2 weeks to fix, but I have a courtesy car so I'm quite relaxed about it!


Not much else to report - going into work a little later today ( by that I mean my proper start time of 9 am ) Just cant be bothered rushing about this morning!

Have a lovely day everyone:)