Marching into March with the NSD Challenge

littleskintdragon

morning everyone,

Happy St Davids day :beer:

can i join you please, havnt done this before bu id like to aim for 10 nsd's to start me off.

May be optimistic of me as I'm awful for stopping in the shop on the way home for something for tea (hence being here!!) those small stops in the supermarket really add up!

jintyb

LittleMissHappy wrote: »

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Just want to say thank you for doing the thread BDINI and thanks to freeby for helping out too

And to all the lovely people who have thanked me, you are most welcome x

Thanks to you all for your efforts on our behalf - most appreciated!

I am going for a modest 10 to start with - last month was a struggle for me!

purpleorchid

morning all

we have the sun here in the south again, nice fresh morning though.
no nsd for me as i had to top my phone up and will have to get fag papers and gazette later. wont be nsd tomorrow either as i will going to town and tesco, so im hoping for my first nsd of the month on saturday. good luck to everyone this month

Luv P
xx

Knitting_Nora

Morning all

Big thanks to BDINI, LMH and Freeby for. Though, BDINI - I feel we should manage your expectations around keeping hold of that last thread of sanity....

Can you please put me down for 15 NSDs please - going to take me ages to start though, as the next few days are full of hen nights, parties, gatherings and other general ways to stop my purse shutting!!

Nora.

IF

Morning all and Dydd Gwyl Dewi Sant :hello:

KellsBells

Hi all,

going to give this a try, have talked to the OH about it and together we've decided we're going to go for 15 NSD's... 3 per week. Wish us luck, and best of luck to all taking on the challenge.xx

Delilahh

Today is a definite no starter and a spendy day for me. Woke up with a horrible cold, so have just got back from boots with some supplies.

Try again tomorrow!

Kittikins

Hello - I've just moved house so don't think I'll be able to make 15 again this month (well, managed 16 last month *polishes halo * ), so I'm going to go for 10 NSD in March.

This could be tricky as I need to buy things for the house and I've got an operation and DD's birthday all coming up, but I like a challenge

LittleMissHappy_2

Not an NSD for me as remembered that I had to send DD form in to pay OU for my course.....(it should be getting taken out in the 5th, hope it's not too late :eek:!) and didn't have any stamps

Got my DS1's offer for secondary school today, 1st choice which is great but still have had a bit of a cry as my baby is so big now but too x

IF

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!