A ginormous jump into 2012 with the January NSD challenge

beanielou

Nobody any thoughts on the halogen oven's then??

Very cold here.
I loathe being cold.Gah.

rising_from_the_ashes

Ohhh Beanie I was thinking of you earlier as someone asked a similar question on the Grocery Challenge thread and someone responded quite positively.

I meant to copy a link to the page but forgot .... will go and see if I can find it!

rising_from_the_ashes

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3695287

Post 1928 (very busy thread this month!) HTH

Frodobaggins

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

If anyone has the cheaper one like me and wants a light ... you can get them in the "household essentials" bit in Mr T (at the end of the household cleaning stuff aisle in our one) - there's loads of wee gadgets in here that are cheap - I got a thermometer for the fridge, tarpaulin and my kindle light .... £1.27!

Not as fancy as a "proper" one but gives off a reasonable amount of light & certainly worked a treat in our power cut the other week! HTH:)

I didnt pay them £50 for it I'm much too tight for that! I had voucher from old Uni books they had bought back of me so only cost me an extra few quid to make up the short. Really like my case though, I know I need to get out more!:D

slowlyfading

NSD 8 yesterday for me

IF

Afternoon all :hello: Freezing here!!!

elfen

NSD no 7 for me please - took the shopping money out early and came in under budget!

Raspberrysauce

Number 8 for me today:)

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!

kerri_gt

Afternoon all! Well a spendy day for me already as had my hair done earlier.

Beanie - sorry, no thoughts whatsoever about halogen ovens as I've never had one nor been in a position to choose my own oven sorry, not very helpful of me.

Jinty - regarding Kindles, OH bought me one last xmas because of my travelling with work. Initially I was sceptical and thought 'a book is just as good' but I love mine. Much lighter than a book, can carry loads at once and I find myself buying books I might not normally pick up as I might not be taken by the cover. I have the 3G version so I'm never stuck for buying a book (yes I have been in a situation where I was stepping onto a 16hr flight and realised I had nothing downloaded, cue super quick purchase and one happy flight ) I do think some of the books are expensive on amazon but some are really good value for money. I've got used to not really being able to see how much of the book you have left (though you do have a % bar at the bottom) makes me just get on with reading OH has commented how much I use it (thinks I read just so I don't have to talk to him :rotfl:)

I bought a neoprene cover by Built like this one (though mine is bright pink) http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005I6DIFU/ref=noref?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&psc=1
Partly cos I liked the look of it, and partly because I had heard the leather ones can add additional wieght and I didn't really like the idea of the front cover flapping about when I was reading.

Sorry for the ramble, what I'm trying to say is, after being sceptical, I love my Kindle