A fantastic February with the NSD challenge

debtfree_future

Hi

Today is my 2nd NSD. I was decluttering my stack of bags and found £1.01. The £1 has gone into my £jar and the penny is in my coppers jar.

DFF

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!

LittleMissHappy_2

No NSD for me today I forgot I was planning one and bought a book Oh well, there is always tomorrow

solventsoon

Hi lovely gang :A

Apologies for not mentioning everyone again tonight, but (((hugs))) to all


Lots of NSDs rolling in today, well done everyone:

:j:j:jBarbeduk - well done for no 5, that’s brilliant, keep going

:j:j:jRed - well done for no 10 and yay to double figures, that’s fantastic. Hope you have a good week in Edinburgh

:j:j:jBroomstick - well done for no 9, that’s brilliant, keep going

:j:j:jButti - well done for no 4, that’s brilliant, keep going.
Fingers crossed for the potential lodger

:j:j:jdebtfree future - well done for no 2, that’s brilliant, keep going

:j:j:jdonna dynamo - well done for no 7, that’s brilliant, keep going

:j:j:jelfen - well done for no 6, that’s brilliant, keep going

:j:j:jFrodo - well done for nos 5, 6 and 7, that’s brilliant, keep going. Sorry about the long working hours atm x

:j:j:jif - well done for no 7, that’s brilliant, keep going.
Love today’s pictures

:j:j:jIgamogam - well done for no 5, that’s brilliant. Your day sounds much like mine - without the fleabay - hope it went well

:j:j:jiwanttogoonholiday - well done for no 6, that’s brilliant, keep going

:j:j:jjinty - well done for no 6, that’s brilliant, keep going.
Good luck for tomorrow, hope your supervisor is reasonable

:j:j:jkerri - well done for nos 6 and 7, that’s brilliant, what am I going to do with the kippers this month?

:j:j:jmarmite - well done for no 8, that’s brilliant, keep going
Pleased you’ve had a good day and lots of HM sponge. Enjoy your two days off

:j:j:jModestyB - well done for no 6, that’s brilliant, keep going.
Oh dear, DH needs reining in a bit methinks....

:j:j:jmytimetoshine - well done for no 7, that’s brilliant, keep going.

:j:j:joldtractor - well done for no 7, that’s brilliant, keep going

:j:j:jpurpleorchid - well done for no 9, that’s fantastic. Sorry you’re not feeling too well (((hugs))) xx

:j:j:jQueenB. - well done for no 5, that’s brilliant, keep going

:j:j:jrising - well done for no 5, that’s brilliant. Re the pots, no I don’t think that’s cheating, go for it! Sorry you were feeling a little “delicate”, hope you recovered and managed to do all the cooking.

:j:j:jsilvasava - well done for no 6, that’s brilliant, keep going.
Thanks for the hugs, much appreciated, just feeling a bit down in the dumps atm, February blues I think...

:j:j:jsf - well done for no 5, that’s brilliant, keep going

:j:j:jSpendaholic Chick - well done for no 4, that’s brilliant, keep going.
Hope you managed to get some bargains at the boot sale


No 11 in the bag for me, I'm happy with that though I have some major spends ahead this week:(

'night everyone, will update the front page tomorrow.

spoon xxx

lashley82

agh,im really lagging, saturday was about to be a very unexpeted NSD for me, until everybody in the house went out leaving no dinner

tonight wasnt a planned one, but i feel for my mate, one of my oldest friends. It wasn't a planned NSD so i dont feel guilty, but he has his issues

Fruit machines basically

And theres me and my brother, enjoying a quiet pint, he's joined us and being a recovering gambling addict, proceeded to chuck £80 in the fruity. I know.

I tried to hint, be nice, be coercive, and be just plain nasty about it, but he wouldnt leave it. Until pub kicking out time when he was nearly in tears

He's one of my closest friends and I hate seeing him do that, and maybe I'm horrible in taking the view of "he's a grown man I can say what I like but at the end of the day it's up to him" but what can you do

all in all not a good weekend, on top of the other stuff that i can't quite say in public just yet grrr

Either way I'm bloody catchin up on my days this week and next you watch me

rising_from_the_ashes

Jinty - good luck today

Learning2Budget

Claimed NSD 5 overr the weekend. Halfway there.x

mooomin

A trip to Hobbycraft ended my NSD aims yesterday.

Today will be better

Kittikins

I've completely taken my eye off the NSD ball over the weekend, so am aiming to get my 8th one today by being sensible.......

niksyg

Whoo hooo! A No-Spend-Weekend :j

Takes me to 5 NSDs so far this month....not feeling well today so should be a NSD too as not planning on leaving the house.