A fantastic February with the NSD challenge

mandz1

No 4 for me today

beanielou

No 14 today,not out of PJ's :eek:
So tired

bottleofred

Declaring NSD15 for today please and target reached:beer:
Can I please increase my target to 18?

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!

Nargleblast

Just dropping in to announce I am now the proud owner of

8 February NSDs!!!
The Nargle is on a roll.....surprising, because I am up to my eyes in sloggus domesticus, familius, workibus and academicus at the present, plus trying to shake off the late winter lurgy and lethargy that has been hounding me lately. Roll on Spring - it's my birthday season so I always tend to lighten up then. My theory is that we all feel better in the season we are born in, any winter babes out there disagree with that?

butdoineedit?

freebyfifty wrote: »

BDINI – Bloomin’ heck – well done on getting all those bargains :T– if you need to use some of the stuff up there is a house here that could do with a good going over. :rotfl:

Well Freeby, you are welcome to share my stash, but i think i draw the line at doing it for you!! :rotfl::rotfl:

kerri_gt wrote: »

BDINI - yep, feeling better now thanks - think I was just a bit tired after a long and busy week. Glad to see you are enjoying the art of couponing, I have some to print from Mission Control too but my home printer needs new ink.

You have definitely rubbed off on me kerri, i even wombled a coupon that was blowing on the pavement outside my local Mr A (& i hadn't even been in for any shopping!!)

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Well, I followed BDINI's example and went to Mr T - I had a £5 off £40 voucher only valid until today as well as a £7 off £50 valid until next Sun.

Decided to use the smaller one today to stock up on cat food (also on offer) as well as cleaning stuff and walked out with £73.19 worth of stuff for £35.70:T - well chuffed and feel like I''ve managed to "get one over" on the sm for a change;) and worth sacrificing a NSD for I think:)

I now have a years' worth of washing liquid (bought a few weeks ago on offer at Co*op) & fabric conditioner and around 6 month' supply of washing up liquid, bleech, toilet cleaner, floor cleaner, surface sprays .... YAY! (redundancy threat is still playing at the back of my mind so trying to do what I can when there are great offers on to help cushion the blow if the worst happens)

Will be using the voucher next week to stock up on food ..... (although I did also get another £5 off £40 one too:eek:)

Woo Hoo, well done Rising.... & fingers crossed your redundancy worries don't happen!

Butti

NSD no. 5 please.

And I got a run in too, first for a couple of weeks. My backside was looking like it was going to get it's own passport so I thought I'd better do something!

B x

SillyBlondie

Another 2 NSDs for yesterday and today please, taking me to 10.

Broomstick

NSD#15 for me today. :T Thanks.

B x

butdoineedit?

katy721 wrote: »

Got a spendy day Tuesday because of dog starting his second dog class of the week. I am at zumba on Wednesday but wondering if I get the money out of my treat tin on Tuesday could I count Wednesday as a NSD? I am getting desperate now!!

I think you could absolutely do that, lots of us here allocate money on certain days, if all you spend on Wednesday is zumba, it could definitely be a NSD!

beanielou wrote: »

No 14 today,not out of PJ's :eek:
So tired

(((((((((((((hugs))))))))))) Beanie, hope you feel better soon x

Not one for me today, the weather was so nice i decided to get some stuff done in the garden & didn't realise i had so little compost, so had to go & get some, & also found the perfect toilet brush :j (sounds silly but i had been looking for one for ages & everything i saw was just 'not quite right'), did feel a little bit guilty spending again :eek: but there's still time to meet my target, so am just going to make an effort not to open my purse again this week.... I CAN do it!!