Springing Into the April NSD Challenge

itsapuzzle

afternoon all

another nsd for me, 7/15 for me

yeahhh

puzzle

Wellyboots6

NSD 10 please

mooomin

Spendy day for me today - nowt major though. Spent £1.58 on a cup of tea and a scone and £1 on a new washing up bowl

LittleMissHappy_2

slowlyfading wrote: »

Thanks had a fantastic day and honeymoon - wrote all about it in my journal on here

I will look it up now

kerri_gt

freebyfifty wrote: »

What I wonder is, how can they justify 14p. The internet can get a letter to someone almost instantly and it's free (sorta).
I know not everyone has internet and you can't put an e-card on your mantlepiece, but 14p :eek: all that does is hit small businesses that are struggling anyway :mad:

Basically the justification is the drop in the number of letters being posted because of email, and competition from carrier services - the royal mail still have to offer the same level of service but need to make up for the defecit in postage levels by raising prices. I guess I can see how they are having to do it, just a shame it will hit people who don't have email and have to post, like the elderly - who can least afford the rises.

thanks for the words of encouragement, not feeling very organised atm and it's kind of putting me out of sorts.

Welcome back from honeymoon Slowly - sure you had a lovely time Drop the keys for the Tardis off to Nora and we'll tidy up for you x

Not a NSD for me as expected, OH made me put the lotto on. Not sure tomorrow will be one either - going to see my niece for her 1st b'day but my mum wants to stop in the town there first - I'm driving which means I'll prob end up paying for parking. Seems everyone is trying to scupper my NSD right now.

beanielou

So no 10 today.

ModestyB

slowlyfading wrote: »

:hello: I'm back from my honeymoon so please can I join in?

Can I be put down for 15 NSDS please? I'll work out later how many I've got so far

Welcome back, glad you had a lovely day and honeymoon. Hope you'll both be very happy.

IF

slowlyfading wrote: »

:hello: I'm back from my honeymoon so please can I join in?

Can I be put down for 15 NSDS please? I'll work out later how many I've got so far

Nice to see you back SF :beer:

IF

Oooh nearly forgot :doh:

freeby, LMH and BDINI got my 9th NSD thank you all xxx:A:A:A

IF

freebyfifty 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!