A ginormous jump into 2012 with the January NSD challenge

arrowlili

jintyb wrote: »

Thanks BDINI, Spoon, Beanie and BigMumma and everyone else that sent good wishes.

When I read my original post again I felt a bit :o:o at the amount of off-topic ranting so I took it off.
I had a meeting with my supervisor & her boss yesterday and I received a humble apology for the way she handled the review. I was well prepared though, and I had all the things I wanted to say written down. Although it came out as a bit of a "speech" I was able to get everything said without losing my temper (and therefore credibility)
She is new to this post and these are her first formal reviews.
She is very inexperienced in staff matters, and I think she realised she had made a gigantic boo-boo in the way she handled this.
She agreed that I had been nothing but supportive of her over her first year in the role. I told her that if she wasnt happy with something I was doing, a quiet informal word is sometimes better than a full blown "formal" meeting and certainly, under no circumstances sshould a conduct matter be raised in a year end staff review which is only meant to cover performance and develpoment matters. ( This is stated in my firm's HR policy)
That said, while I will gladly do my job, I wont be volunteering to change days, do extra hours etc any time soon! I'm not that much of a pushover! It's 9-5 and a full hour for lunch from now on!;)

good on you for putting her right! :T
i used to be a manager in my last job and had to do reviews like this. i bet she's since spoken to HR and they are s#%ting themselves and have told her to treat you with kidgloves! :rotfl::D

arrowlili

oh, and 8 NSD's for me :beer:

kerri_gt

Big hugs to you Lotti, well done for not rushing out on a spendathon - hope things get straightened out with your sis xx

Wannabe - how did today go?

Well today (as expected) wasn't a NSD. Had two JTD vouchers to use up today in Mr T (£1.80) so picked up a couple of little bits (prob payed about £1.50 overall) I also had to put our home lotto on for the rest of the month.

So, I know you're all on tenterhooks about the xmas card saga...well I picked up 4 packs in the charity shop today at 79p each. Then took the ones back to WHS that had been 1/2 price. Got sent to CS at the back of the store and had to ring the bell about 4 times to get someone to come - who then said she'd been with a customer and I felt really awful Anyway, she did the return and asked if I was planning to rebuy at 99p ..didn't expect that.... so I said could I rebuy two of the packs (initially it was only one no willpower me!) so I think that's me sorted for next year (and prob the one after :rotfl:)

I still have the 99p cards I bought on Fri, if I take those back I can claim a NSD...though I'm tempted to keep one or two and deff will have the next two years sorted....no...must return them...be strong .....

Don't forget, Cushelle on offer in L!dl from tomorrow (had better bloomin be now!) so won'y be a NSD again but a necessary spend after Igors sprout curry at NYE :eek: Oh and caterpillars need threading too before they crawl off my face. Had better buck up my ideas on the NSD front

Igamogam

Despite a carp start to 2012 I am reporting in with 4 NSDs please.

rising_from_the_ashes

cw18 wrote: »

as I count the day I pay for something using my c/card as a spend day, I don't count the day I pay my c/card bill

Ohhhhhh never thought of it that way before I count the days I make individual spends on the card and the day I pay it (which does seem silly as I've already counted the spends once) ..... am now thinking I've done myself out of a good few NSDs!;)

Lotti (((hugs))) - sorry can't offer any advice as no siblings), JCG that does seem a bit unfair of your work and Jinty pleased it's sorted ..... I'm contemplating putting a note on the fridge door as I know in a couple of months I'll have forgotten how bad I felt a few days ago and will probably end up volunteering for something .....

butdoineedit? wrote: »

I do have to say though, that i don't think the off topic rants are really that off topic though, to be fair, if i didn't rant on here the only other coping strategy i would use would be shopping of some description, so actually all the off topic stuff is definitely in pursuit of an NSD.

mmmmmm totally agree BDINI!

Well, spendy day for me - started off with a collection at work and as it'd already been "ruined" I treated myself to a coffee (forgot to clean the coffee flask last night so had to leave it to soak today), then paid the window cleaner and went to the shop to have a look at flasks and ..... it's 1/2 day closing on a Weds!:eek: - so still soup flaskless. Think I'll try again on Sat and if not will order online.

slowlyfading

NSD 7 for me today please

wannabee_in_credit

I left work late, after a manic day and a rubbish meeting, with a migraine. And I went to KFC on the way home and got dinner for the four of us. Grrr, gave in to a moment of weakness.
Hugs to you Lotti.
I feel quite unwell so just off to bed to try and sleep it off.
See you tomorrow all

QueenB.

7 NSD:j

(((((((((hugs))))))))) to everyone who needs them

mooomin

NSD #6 for me, finally! Been a Spendy Fresian of late and am going to have to work harder to hit my target

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!