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!

Frodobaggins

Morning all, hope everyone is well. The sun is shining here and gives me a sense of well being.

Hoping today will be NSD no 1 and a good start to November.

elfen

Just to start the month off with a bang....NSD no 1 for me please!

LittleMissHappy_2

Can I get a whoop whoop I actually got an NSD today!!! So that is1NSD for me this month! x

Learning2Budget

NSD 1 on the first of the month!!!!! Unheard of for me, but i moved the shopping day and took money out that i knew i would be using for bills yesterday. This month will be better!

honey

Big thank you spoon for running this thread :A

Could you put me down for 12 again please, I just made it last month. This month I'd like to beat it and I'm also aiming to keep up with the thread Feel like I'm missing out on all the gossip!

Good luck everyone,

honey x

honey

LMH - whoop whoop Also, a big thank you to you too for helping out with the thread :A

Forgot to say today isn't a NSD, spent too much in Tesco earlier. So much for their price drop. The mozzerella we buy has gone up by 20p a bag and cans of hobgoblin are £1.25 dearer than Sainsburys and Morrisons (they stayed on the shelf) .... grumble grumble ...

beanielou

Nsd no 1 for me today.

emiesq

Can you put me down for 10 days this month? October was an expensive month... :-S

Was stupid today and "window shopping" on a website, but closed the browser after putting some shoes into my basket. Now it's gone through.

Have emailed to cancel, so hopefully it's not a completely disastrous start this month...

LondonGirl252

No 1

For me please! A good start to the month! I need to rack up as many as I can at the start as the end will be the hardest!