A fantastic February with the NSD challenge

freebyfifty

Good Morning,
You lot have been very busy collecting all those NSDs these past couple of days.

Allie Ballie Bee – Well done for NSD #10. :j Good thinking about keeping all your spends to one day. And take care of yourself.
Barbeduk – Well done on capturing NSD #8. :T I hope the babysitting went well.
Bottleofred – I nearly missed you on the update and I’m glad I didn’t. A brilliant NSD #18 and second target reached. :j:j That’s just brilliant. :T Well done. :T
Broomstick – Target reached with NSD #19. :j:j That’s fantastic. :T You’ll get your prize asap. Good luck for your new target of 23.:)
Bubble32 – A brilliant NSD #11 :j Good luck for the last one and reaching your target.:T
Chris81418 – A fantastic NSD #22 for you. :T That is brilliant, you’ll have to let us all in on your secret.;)
Elfin – Well done for NSD #13. :T Hope you are starting to feel better.:)
Flying – I have declared that yesterday was not a spend for you I have no idea why not, it just doesn’t seem right when your money went to a good cause, so another NSD for you. :j
Jaffacakegal – A brilliant NSD #13. :j Well done, keep going, won’t be long until you hit your target now.
Katy721 – Well done on getting NSD #9. :T Don’t worry about slipping occasionally, it’s the getting back on the wagon that counts.
Keiss 21 – Well done on bagging NSD #15.:j I hope DS2 has a brilliant birthday.
Lotti379 – NSD #1 and welcome to the challenge. :jThink of the end of February as a practice run for March.:)
Marmiterulesok – NSD #15 that’s brilliant. :j Have a quiet weekend at work.
modestyB – Well done on NSD #12. :j Thanks for the ebay reminder, guess what we’ll be doing this weekend.:D
Mytimetoshine2012 – A brilliant NSD #13. :j Well done. I hope the coursework and presentation go well
Nargleblast – NSD #10 – that’s brilliant.:j Make sure you make some time to put your feet up with a cup of tea, that sounds like one hectic weekend. :eek:
Pinkfluffybabe – NSDs #11 & 12 :T How brilliant is that? :T
Purpleorchid – A fantastic NSD #17 and for 5 days in a row.:j:j Well done, that is just brilliant.:)
Sirish1979 – Well done for NSD #11. :T Keep going the next one is just around the corner.:)
Slowlyfading – A fantastic NSD #11 for you. :j Well done, that’s brilliant.
Wannabee – Blimmin well done on NSDs 11 & 12 and target reached. :j:j Watch the front page for your prize. I dunno why you are so hard on yourself. You’ve done brilliantly this month. :T
Welshdreamer – NSD #11 is brilliant. :T Keep going, you’re doing really well.

And hello to
Blindtoast – I’m glad you got your money back, fingers crossed you missed the bank charges
Cw18 – I am always seriously impressed on how busy and organised your are. A personal trainer????? :eek::eek:
Jintyb – Good news about your tax rebate,:j I hope you enjoyed your family meal
LMH – Did you have a great night with your bestie?? Hope you enjoyed yourself.
Rising – I hope you feel better soon, wrap up warm and take good care of yourself


I hope I haven't missed anyone, apologies if I have.

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend, I'll be back tomorrow with another update so remember, I am watching you :rotfl:

mooomin

freebyfifty wrote: »

Flying – I have declared that yesterday was not a spend for you I have no idea why not, it just doesn’t seem right when your money went to a good cause, so another NSD for you. :j

Well that's NSD #15 then and I've hit my target

cw18

freebyfifty wrote: »

Cw18 – I am always seriously impressed on how busy and organised your are. A personal trainer????? :eek::eek:

Yep - I guess that's my one major indulgence

I started seeing him last July, as I was convinced my leg strength wasn't what it should be given the running I was doing - whenever I had to take a walk break it was due to my legs going into 'meltdown', whereas all the other runners I know say it's to catch their breath......

When he put me onto one of the machines towards the end of the first session he easily identified me as being right handed !!! Apparently we favour the leg of the same side, and on using the leg press with my left leg I had to keep taking a breather - but I could have done what was asked and more straight off with the right....... so my problem was actually a major imbalance in strength between them.

I have an hour of leg strengthening exercises every Friday morning - pushing the left to it's limit, and working the right to the same level. The right has gained some strength, but the left is catching up fast...... so it'll soon be a case of pushing both to the limit while not letting them get back out of balance




Ordered my replacement book from Am@z0n yesterday - and added another 6 titles to the order. Means I've already spent next months pocket money in it's entirety, and I was already overspent for Jan and Feb in that category :eek: I'm seriously considering increasing my annual budget to allow a bit more on groceries (which already seems high to me! but I want to start switching to leaner cuts of meats as standard, and would also like to be able to get at least some of my meat as free range or organic. I want to get some of my f&v as organic too, and that's quite pricey ) and a fair bit more to my personal spends.

Going to have a lot of reading to do - especially as they're all Dvmmy Guides.....

I already have "Eating Clean" and "Low-cholesterol Cookbook". I returned (and re-ordered) "Nutrition", and am still waiting for "Controlling Cholesterol" to arrive (another one I expect a fight over - listed as a UK publisher copy, but reading feedback on the seller yesterday it's come to light the book's actually coming from the US :mad: )

The new titles I ordered yesterday are "The Glycemic Index Diet", "Glycemic Index Cookbook", "Vegetarian Cooking", "Superfoods", "Lowfat Cooking" and "The Mediterranean Diet"


From what I've read of the two I already have I'm expecting a fair bit of overlap between the 10 books, but that's exactly what I'm hoping for With a bit of luckk it'll encourage me to get more adventerous with food, while developing a "normal" meal plan which should help fight my predisposition to high cholesterol (when I was told mine's slightly high a couple of years back I was told I'll almost certainly end up on meds, as both my parents have been on them for some year) and reduce my risk of diabetes (my Mum was diagnosed 5 or 6 years ago, but has managed - thus far - to control it by diet). As a side effect it should also ensure my diet is totally suitable for the exercise I do

It'll also help me cater for my chap given his high cholesterol without having to think hard about what I'm making (or checking with him whether something is ok - I actually find doing that embarassing, which seems stupid ). This has actually been the final kick up the backside to get me doing this reading / seriously decide it's time to make changes, but it's something I've "played at" for a while as I knew I needed to do it for myself.

There are still a couple more titles I'm looking at - including one on the Men0pause (my Mum let on a while back that she had a pretty rough time and was on some pretty serious meds - something I'd like to avoid). I read one book on this about 7 years ago, and the one thing that I remember from it was that increasing the amount of soya in your diet is supposed to help - and that certainly fits in with the low-cholesterol, low fat and vegetarian lifestyles :T

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!

IF

Morning all :hello:

bottleofred

Good morning again folks,

A spend day for me today, as I've been out and did some shopping and paid money towards the national debt (I mean my credit card!).

chris81418

Hello everyone! :wave:

freebyfifty wrote: »

Chris81418 – A fantastic NSD #22 for you. :T That is brilliant, you’ll have to let us all in on your secret.;)

Thanks freeby! No big secret I'm afraid:
- I just stock up on food when we go food shopping, and on those days I also buy other necessaries which we write on a blackboard throughout the week/month, therefore keeping spends days to a minimum.
- We aren't big spenders - we like going for long walks, and socialising normally involves, having friends/family round for a meal, or popping round the corner and they cook for us, so our social costs are pretty low.
- and I'm lucky in that I only very rarely have to buy liquid gold as I can pedal cycle to work so my commuting costs are virually nil.

Unfortunately, today will be a spend day as we're going out tonight; however, I managed to catch NSD number 23 yesterday, meaning I reached my 2nd target! :j

Have a good weekend everone and hope the sun is shining where you are!

rising_from_the_ashes

Chris fantastic NSD count:T, I must take some lessons and write stuff down tbh most of my spends are planned ones but I still count the day as a spendy one ... may need to rethink things before March comes along.

No 14 today .....


I know it's still early but I've been out already (visit to local dogs home ..... now very, very down).

Having what is now called a "bad Ben day" - probably not helped as I'm still not feeling great but .....

Anyway, have made it home and doubt I'll be setting foot outside again.... OMG I need to pull myself together *shakes head and pootles off to try to find something constructive to do* Sorry all:o

Enjoy the rest of your day:)

cw18

Not bought anything yet today, and no plans to go out as my chap's due in just over 2 hours
We've not discussed what we're doing about food this evening, but I'm about to toddle off into the kitchen to start pulling something together - remove the temptation of a(nother) take-away which is no good for my waist-line (or either of our bank balances!)

So I'm declaring today as NSD #17 - which means target 2 met :T

Not going to increase again, but I reckon I've a good chance of getting 2 more before month end - possibly even 3 as some of my Feb DD's didn't go out until the first working day of March last year due to it being a short month.....

poohbear59

18NSDs for me now. We spent £10 last night for the two of us to see a slide/film show by a camerman who filmed for Attenborough. it was worth the spend and was in aid of the local church. There aren't enough days left in the month for me to achieve my target but this is my first month and I was a tad optimistic. I have learnt a lot and made lots of savings too. DH and I will be able to pay off more debts than if we hadn't taken part this month. Thank you to beanielou for suggesting I join in :T. I can't wait for the next month