A fantastic February with the NSD challenge

freebyfifty

Good Morning

Spoon - I have already said all this to you, but I wish you lotsa luck in your studies and I hope you achieve everything you want to :lovethoug We will miss you while you are gone and we'll do our best to live up to your standards by keeping the threads going (though you have set the bar pretty high!!!!!!) Much luv x



Well, I did it, I captured NSD #18 yesterday :j and hit my second target. :T Any more now will be a bonus.

Have a great Tuesday x x

phoebesmum2105

Hi everyone, been a busy old month for me, didn't hit my target:(, but not far away so won't beat myself up (yet);)

Will be a spendy day today as payday,so shopping and doggy food, also enter my dog shows on the same day so not breaking the spending for March up too much.

Hope you all have a fantastic day xxxxx

Oooopppps nearly forgot 1 more day this year, so may add another NSD tomorroww, :Tyehhh for leap years:T

lotti379

Well I haven't managed any extra since Friday, but still on 2/5. No time to get the all the rest sadly! So I am going to try not to spend today and think sensibly about my march target... :j

cw18

and another D/Debit out today...... still one more to go, so that could scupper tomorrow as well !!! but at least I've already smashed my 2nd target


Spoon - hope you can pop in and visit from time-to-time. Many thanks for all the hard work you've done with this challenge :beer:

blindtoast

A spendy weekend of climbing but grabbed NSD#10 yesterday

Think I'm going to miss my target by one this month as I think today will be spendy but tomorrow should be a NSD - shame there's not another day in Feb!!

Will have to try harder in March!

Butti

Have to stay in waiting for a desk for my student lodger - seems like an ideal day for another NSD.
Searching for jobs and rewriting my Literature Review chapter will be a cheap way to enjoy myself

B

chris81418

Good morning everyone! :wave:

freebyfifty wrote: »

Chris81418 – You are so organised. A superb NSD #23 and target 2 reached.:j:j Well done, watch out for your prize.:)

Thanks freeby!

Just quickly popping in to report that I'm still sitting at 23 NSDs but I hope to add one more to my collection before the end of the month.

Spoon - We will miss you! Hope your wrist gets better soon and good luck with your studies! :beer:

Have a good day everyone and good luck catching more NSDs!

elfen

NSD no 15 for me please and I have bashed that target!

Also, can you put me up for 14 NSDS for mext month please

IF

Morning all :hello:

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!