The Marvellous May NSD Challenge

emslovesmickey

NSD 4 today :j

LittleMissHappy_2

NSD 7 for me please

ModestyB

Got NSD 5 yesterday. Bloomin' internet was off all day. Still got the twitches! Lol!

Nargleblast

And another sneaky little NSD snuck irs way into the bag, making 3 NSDs to date.
Not quite the bulging haul some of you have achieved, but to quote Mr Cohen and friends ..."Every little helps!"

mooomin

Not a NSD today as I bought a (new with tags!) top from the charity shop for £3.99 and then really made my day with a bag of Tutti Frutties

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!

debtfree_future

Hi all NSD's

*Warning long post*
2 NSD's for me total 4/10 NSD's this month. These were 10 and 11 May.
Yesterday I wanted to go out and buy some sweets but the thought of not being able to post my NSD stopped me, I had a chopped banana in a plain yoghurt instead both of which I had in my kitchen,very MSE:money:
Today I cancelled 2 ID protection polices (why I was paying for 2 I've no idea!)which means from the end of June I will be £260 better off per year. This equals £25 per month and I needed an extra £20 to increase my repayment by £100 the other £5 will go in my fun money account.
Also snowballed my debts and I will be debtfree by end of April 2014.

Monday 7 May Bang goes the Theory recording was very entertaining a good mixture of adults and children in the audience. I've never realised how fast an ordinary man can kick a football it was37mph! It makes me wonder how fast professional football players kick a ball and no wonder the goalie need protection.

My friend and I didn't go for meal as her buses were on a Sunday service and were one an hour,the next one was due 10 mins after we left the recording and the bus stop was only 5 mins away. So I went back to my friends place and we had asparagus risotto from a slimming magazine but courgettes were used instead of asparagus it was very nice. As I took a change of clothes etc in my bag I had the option of staying overnight at my friends which I did and went back home the next day when bus services were back to normal

DFF

freebyfifty

Good Morning,

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend and not spending too much money!!!!!!

Well done to everyone who captured another NSD


Bottleofred – You are up to NSD #7. :T Well done. :T Save us all a piece of that chocolate cake.:D

Chris81418 – NSD #8 captured. :TYou are on a roll, long may it continue.:)

Debtfree – Well done for getting up to NSD #4. :T You sound very MSE focused at the moment. :money: Well done on cancelling those policies.:)

Emsloves- Well done for capturing NSD #4. :T Keep going.:)

Frodobaggins - A brilliant NSD #5 for you. :T You are doing really well.:)

LMH – A brilliant NSD #7 in the bag. :T Well done. How is your studying going?? I got all my books out yesterday and then fell asleep

ModestyB – NSD #5 done and dusted. :T Well done. No internet??? I only have one thing to say - :eek:

Nargle – NSD #3 safely captured. :T Every NSD is a good NSD so well blimmin’ done.:D

Rising – Well done for NSD #6 & 7. :T It sounds as if everything is going really well for you and Maisie, Labs are the best dogs for cuddles (IMO)

Stripeygirl – NSD #7 in the bag for you.:T Well done.:)


And hello to
Flying – Tutti Frutties???? I haven’t seen those for years. Didn’t even know you could still get them. I’ve instantly been transported back to my childhood and trying to get them out of my teeth.:rotfl:

freebyfifty

Good Morning

No NSD for me yesterday, but I knew there wouldn't be Never mind, I am all organised for next week and shouldn't have to spend any money

Not doing much today, just the usual Sunday stuff - housework, housework and if I get really bored I might throw in a bit of housework to cheer me up :mad:


Have a great Sunday everyone x x

wannabee_in_credit

Well I managed another cheeky and unexpected nsd yesterday - taking me to 5nsds this month!
Need to give myself a little kick and get on trying a bit harder...