The Marvellous May NSD Challenge

Barbeduk

Wow, there are some big numbers on here! I have just had NSD 7. Sunday should have been a NSD too but there was a bit of a chocolate crisis .

Won't manage one tomorrow as I've got to go to the dentist. :eek:

Hope everyone's got the sun, have fun not spending.:D

Nargleblast

Glorious weather today, may this be the start of a proper summer for us all. Spent a few quid on fruit and veg today so not a NSD, but there will be one or two more before the week is out.

Did the monthly on-line grocery shop to be delivered payday next week - can't believe how much stuff has gone up lately, will have to be extra frugalicious next month as I have money to set aside for a trip to see family and for DS to go and spend a day with his big sister, plus really want to get to grips with the garden as there is work to be done tidying that up, buying bark chippings for the chicken area and planting more stuff. Then there is my reflexology session which I will not give up as it is really relaxing. And some clothes OH bought me for my birthday need altering slightly so more money going out.....no sooner has the salary landed in my bank account than it is flying off again!

Oh well, mustn't moan, at least I have a job, a home, a family and a reasonable standard of living, some folk haven't even got that.

Learning2Budget

NSD 9 . Little steps cos its been an expensive month. L2B.x

ModestyB

NSD'S 7& 8 Sunday and today. Try and get another tomorrow.

rising_from_the_ashes

freebyfifty wrote: »

I bought some curtains I've had my eye on for ages and yesterday they had 50% off stickers on them - well, how could I resist??????

Ohhhhh they're the best bargains Freeby:D

Emlovesmickey ohhhh myyyyy, I'm exhausted reading about your trip - that's the downside of public transport:(

LMH pants to the exams .... sure they'll go OK and think of the relief once they're done .... now ..... get revising!;)

Anyway - No 15 & target today :j:j:j - really early in the month for me! While Boot Camp's helping Kerri get her NSDs, it's Maisie that's helping with mine as I just never have time to go anywhere!

Could I set a new target of 18 please ladies

hedgesparrow

NSD 7 today! I did buy a present for someone from Amazon but it was paid for entirely with vouchers I earnt; so as I didn't part with any cash I'm going to ignore that! Is that cheating?

Deb4

# 12 for today :j

butdoineedit?

Nargleblast wrote: »

Bdini - well done on the lottery win, nice if there were a few more noughts on the end but any win is a good one! I put £3 a week on the lottery - now I know that over a year that amounts to £156, but honestly, do you really think I am going to methodically put £3 in a jar every week and not touch it for a year? Are you kidding? I am not that self-disciplined! That £3 would just get squandered on incidentals, so I might as well put it on the lottery - as they say, you have to be in it to win it

Agreed Nargle, that's my thoughts exactly!! & i have been very good & put the money to one side for the next time i buy a treat for me & my dad instead of frittering it away on carp! :A

freebyfifty wrote: »

Good Morning

No NSD for me yesterday I bought some curtains I've had my eye on for ages and yesterday they had 50% off stickers on them - well, how could I resist??????

Hoping for one today though


Have a sunny Tuesday x x

Yay to your bargain Freeby, great result!!

Another one for me today, so thats number 11 :j
Very proud of myself today, picked a couple of bits of clothing up from primarni for my friends daughter on a spendy day last week & dropped them off to her at work in the local pub today. Not only did i resist being talked into staying for a drink i also avoided all the shops i walked past on the way there & back. :A
Even better, instead of allowing myself that money for a treat as it had already been spent, i put it in the milk & window cleaner pot, which will leave an extra tenner to pay off a card out of next months budget... feel like i'm back on track with this money saving lark

ladymay

NSD today, so that's 9 :j

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!