A fantastic February with the NSD challenge

beanielou

LittleMissHappy wrote: »

Poor you rising :grouphug: Hope you are feeling better soon xxx It is poor that they knew you were claustraphobic and sent you there, such a waste of time and money and that is without considering what a trauma it was for you

From me too x

beanielou

Gl;ad that you are feeling a bit better today flying.
Yesterday was no 6.
Not today as was out for a rather not nice lunch~what a waste of money

marmiterulesok

I haven't had a good day at work,though did get everything done in the end.oh boy,I'm glad to be home.

I also got shouted at in the park on the way home by a man (when I was throwing bits of bread for the birds),saying that it's against the law to feed wild animals.I shouted back that I wasn't feeding animals but birds.I don't know if he's right...Breathe deeply marmite....

Today being my #5 NSD does make me smile however.

rising sorry it didn't work out.Hope you're feeling better.

fedupandskint

NSD 6 today.

It's shopping top up day tomorrow if the weather behaves itself long enough, otherwise it'll be on Friday

Wellyboots6

Sorry to hear about your day rising,

At least you tried though

Got totally scuppered on my NSD today. Was all set to stick to it, and then realised I needed to top up my gas card. Even that would have been fine as I don't count gas as a 'spend', except the shop charges 25p if you only top up your card and don't buy anything. I decided (being all MSE) that rather than spend 25p on nothing I would do a bit of shopping to make it worth while. Only problem was I couldn't find anything I 'needed' and so I ended up buying chocolate and cake

Not only not a NSD, but I also wasted money on things I didn't need!!

Grrr!!

ModestyB

Rising, I hope everything goes alright for you next time. Is there any way you can put a claim in for your travel expenses?

Wannabe, how did the interview go? Fingers crossed for you.

No nsd today, DH went to Mr M's with DD. He only wanted some paint and stuff for the guitar he's making. (That isn't included in my nsd's.) I told him not to buy any food. Why do I waste my time? He had the cheek to say he'd bought me something nice. An nsd would have been nicer. I'd nearly got 4 in a row. :mad:
Seeing as he'd broken the day I got DD to take me to Ald! and got a few things in from there so I will not be going shopping again!

kerri_gt

Evening all! just a quick swing by for me, am shattered after a mega busy week at work and can't beleive it's only Wed :eek: Was supposed to be going out with OH to watch the fitba (Edinburgh is green and white tonight Jinty ) but it's so cold and I'm so tired I dropped him out and am watching it from the warmth of my sofa with a cuppa instead.

Not a NSD for me today I had planned one then took a walk to Sainsbobs at lunchtime. Wasn't going to buy anything but picked up my free love tub pud. Then remembered Pud did actually need cat food and it was on offer for £3 so I picked up a box and some chips for OH as he likes the ones from there - won't have time tomorrow (planned spend day) so figured that as it was stuff I would buy anyway it seemed silly not to pick them up while I was instore. Was thinking about bidding on an item on fleabay but have stopped myself, really trying to be good this month :A

Rising - sorry to hear today wasn't good - how stupid of them to send you there is the first place xx

Sazdaz

Woooo hoooo another NSD today so that takes me to 3 NSD this month. I am so going to hit my target this month. I also havent been in a Supermarket or purchased food since last saturday, that is a whole 4 days of not shopping. I am so proud of myself.

IF

Evening all :hello:

Spoony, BDINI, LMH and freeby got my 5th NSD thank you all xxxx :A:A:A:A

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!