A fantastic February with the NSD challenge

phoebesmum2105

#2 today, after being awake for almost 32 hours, I need my bed. Will be having a small spendy day tomorrow as off to a dog show, and love a mac D on the way (1st treat since joining) so hopefully I deserve it. Have a fantastic day everyone, I am off to the land of nod, after a couple more minutes reading some threads.:j

miss_t_2

Am declaring NSD 3 early for today which gives me my 3 in a row as I know I won't be going out anywhere as am not feeling too well. Thankfully I have enough bread, milk etc which will keep me going for a few days so not going out shouldn't cause any major issues.
Can I please be put down for a new target of 4 NSD in a row? Have 1 more week at work and then a week off, and I know I will have the temptation of going out for lunch which I will sucuumb to if I don't have a target to focus on.

Knitting_Nora

Afternoon all

Just nipped in to declare NSD#4.

Hope all are snuggled up warm.

Nora.x

WelshDreamer_2

NUMBER 3 for me today please xxxxx

cleggie

FINALLY, 1 NSD to report today!!

Was supposed to be yesterday, but ended up paying out £320 for the kids to go on a school trip each.
not too bad though as the eldest is going away for a whole week, and the youngest is going away for 3 days.

freebyfifty

Knitting_Nora wrote: »

Afternoon all

Just nipped in to declare NSD#4.

Hope all are snuggled up warm.

Nora.x

Pffftttttttt :mad:

donna_dynamo

Hi all NSD 3 today. Was going to be a spendy day but the snow came down and saved me from spending:j:j:j (I hate snow but on this occasion I love it).

zafiro1984

Middle of the night woken up by much gurgling in the radiator in the bedroom, I thought it was boiling water circulating but DH said not and got up to find a huge leak, and the central heating system disgorging all its contents over the floor in the new extension which is being built. He seems to have mended it and got a new pump - just in case - but even with the heating off for just a few hours it's b.. freezing here. Water frozen all day to the hens alpacas and horses. 350 hens needed watering that took some planning and time. Mares and youngsters had frozen water but we have huge containers on the back of the tractor which we filled up with hot water so that was ok, and it's not started snowing yet !!!! Br........... I hate this cold weather.

IF

Afternoony 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!