A ginormous jump into 2012 with the January NSD challenge

Wellyboots6

Hi, can I join please?

I had a little unofficial go in December and was awful at it, so I am now making it official and giving myself a good kick!

I will try 12 NSDs please to begin with.

I am not counting work-related petrol or parking as I claim that back at the end of the month. I am also not counting any pennies that go in to my penny prison!

Eeeek! This is going to be a tough one!

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!

Chocolatedrinker

Could I try for 10 NSDs and 3 in a row please? I'm trying to get my cash organised and have joined several challenges, this could stop the calling in at the shop on the way to work days. I will definitely be checking the links!
Cd

sirish1979

Hi,

Can you put me up for 15 NSD's for January.

Regards,
Rupa

LuckyLouise

** Deleted **

cw18

Spotted the new thread was up (and subscribed to it) just before I headed out to the gym (and shops!) this morning..... so I've been giving some thought to my plan of action for the month/year.

Last year I was managing 13 most months, but was trying to do my food shopping on D/Debit days (I'm one of the crazy ones who counts those as spends - despite moving the money into a separate account once a month, which I see would be counted elsewhere as 1 spend day for the move and ignore the rest). This year I'm going to try and keep my shopping to one day a week (given I no longer have daily temptation as I leave work), and the best day to do that is a Friday (given that as I'm at the gym - which is on a retail complex - I have access to more stores than at home, but can also hit the ones within walking distance if I prefer/can get cheaper there - plus it's likely to be a fairly regular spend day once I know whether I'm catering for 1 or 2 on the Friday night and/or Saturday and/or Sunday, which tends to get arranged on the Thursday or Friday evening).

So that potentially removes the possibility of another 4 NSDs in January (I've not checked what days my D/Debits fall to see how many of those may fall on a Friday), and I'm also likely to need to pay a hospital parking fee towards the end of the month (must remember to keep a variety of change in my purse for that) as I'm down as a birthing partner when GD3 arrives (official due date is 24th, but I've told DD she has to have baby a day early so that I can share my birthday )

That could bring me down as low as 8 NSDs, which sounds a very poor show - so I'm going to be brave and set my target at 10 please Spoon.... and just hope some of the D/Debits fall on Fridays!!!

WelshDreamer_2

Time to get organised can i please join in and be put down for 16 NSD for me please it should help a long way to cutting my junk oppurtunist spends down lol ...

AlyBaly

Great to see this back for 2012. Going to try for 10 NSD'S

Happy New Year to you all xx

:happyhear

Broomstick

Can I join in too with 16 NSDs for January?

I'm not counting DDs except for my weekly veggiebox order. I'm not counting dental bills
either because I know that these will be a bit unpredictable and are an absolute necessity.

Many thanks,
B x

twirly09

Id like to go for 14 days, with 3 in a row please