The Awesome August NSD Challenge

IF

Afternoon all :hello:

beanielou

NSD no 3 today.

Loving loving the olympics.
The rowing was just awesome, amazing.
A massive well done to Zac Purchase & Mark Hunter :j :j :j
The hardest won silver of the games I think.

So proud to be British~Thats a lot coming from me as I consider myself primariy to be Scottish.

solventsoon

freebyfifty wrote: »

Spoony – NSD #2 in the bag. Well done. :T I am hooked on the Olympics too. But instead of it encouraging me to get up and do something, at the moment it just seems to be encouraging me to sit on my @ss and watch :rotfl:

Same here Freeby, I'm hoping it will inspire me when it's over:rotfl:

beanielou wrote: »

NSD no 3 today.

Loving loving the olympics.
The rowing was just awesome, amazing.
A massive well done to Zac Purchase & Mark Hunter :j :j :j
The hardest won silver of the games I think.

So proud to be British~Thats a lot coming from me as I consider myself primariy to be Scottish.

It was beanie, I've been glued to it every morning this week and I'd never normally watch rowing. I felt so sorry for those two this morning, they were completely distraught at their silver, a massive well done to them :j:j

abundant1972

Hey All,

Am a little behind this month - but can i pledge:

15 NSD + 5 IN A ROW

Thanks!!!

HOHOHOoffwegoKaren41

number 2 for me please x

marmiterulesok

#3 for me please today.

I've done some more tweaks to my budget as well.I don't know how I managed before I discovered budgeting.I just love it.:D

I'm also hooked to the box,watching some truly amazing sportspeople.

Lemon curd recipe (my Mum's):

HM is 100 times better than anything you can get in the shops-unless it's HM you're buying:

-1 medium fresh egg,remove the balancers and lightly beaten
-one lemon,zest and juice
-25g butter
-55g sugar

Multiply quantities as desired.
You can make it in a bain-marie.Combine all ingredients on a low to medium heat and stir continuously.You don't want it too hot,otherwise the eggs will cook.If you're making a small amount it'll take less time to make than if you're making x8 of everything.

At first,as the butter melts,it looks curdled,but gradually will become a uniform rich yellow colour.After about 15-20 minutes (if you're making a small quantity)it should begin to thicken.Keep stirring and once it is quite thick you can take it off the heat,stirring all the time as it cools.Unfortuanately usually there are bits of egg white which will cook seperately,these can be picked out with a fork.

Some people sieve the LC,But then you lose the zesty bits.

Pour into sterilized jars and let cool before putting in fridge.It continues to thicken as it cools.You can freeze LC by the way.It is a lovely,rich yellow,totally natural.:D

Microwave method:

Same quantities.
Microwave on medium.
Zap ingredients for 1 minute at a time,stirring each time inbetween.Depending on the quantities,it'll take at least 4 minutes.After 4-5 minutes,if you're not sure about over-microwaving it,zap it just for 30 second intervals,stirring inbetween.

I prefer the bain marie method-you tend to get less cooked egg white.

If anything's not clear,do say.

Once you've tasted it,you'll never go back to mass produced LC.:)

freeby have a lovely time with your DDs.Good luck keeping it :money:!

marmiterulesok

PS I forgot to say for the lemon curd:it keeps in the fridge for 3 weeks.I now make several small jars at a time rather than one large jar,as the other jars can be frozen.

Means that you don't have a big jar to 'get' through.Not that that's a problem though.After a few days of being reasonable,I just attack the jar with a spoon.:D

kerri_gt

Thanks for the recipie Marmite, I never realised it was that easy.

Well I'm not doing very well this month still not managed to clock up a NSD. Went with OH to look at new phones for him, and ended up doing an upgrade then and there - saved a couple of £ a month from his prev contract, it was slightly more per month than deals I'd been looking at for him, but he did get a newer phone so it's a good compromise, I did however end up buying him the accessories kit offered for £15 (1/2 price offer) not sure whether I could have got a case etc cheaper on Amazon (will have a look) but given this has to last him 2 yrs I figured that it was prob worth it.

Then picked up the picture I had framed a while ago (had already accounted for that spend) and went off to A$da for food. Rubbish wombling, 30p from one APG and one to check tomorrow - they've been much thinner on the ground recently than they used to be which is worrying. Anyhoo, popped back into town and picked up some popper files for my loose recipies (currently in one big file but I want to split them out into meat, fish etc), they were on offer so down to £2.99 but still a spend (naughtly me)

Really have to get my finger out else this month will run off without me.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend xx

IF

Thanks for the recipe Marmite too, going to give it a try

If...x

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!