The Spend Free September NSD Challenge

freebyfifty

Good Morning

Declaring NSD #4 for yesterday. :T I haven't spent any money budgeted or unbudgeted so a absolute true NSD - not very often they come along


Have a great day

freebyfifty

ChopinonaBudget wrote: »

Going to try for NSD 1 on Thursday, having managed to screw up Monday's attempt by forgetting i needed rabbit food, and spending £123 yesterday on Vets bills for said bunny (ouch for bunny more than ouch for me, poor thing was still off her gourd on sedation till an hour ago). Tomorrow is coffee with friends in the evening (will keep it down to £1.20 for the night) so Thursday here I come: first official NSd day, with luck!

I have put you on the front page. Welcome Can you let me know what target you are aiming for this month

freebyfifty

optimistic-mummy wrote: »

A NSD here today :T :T

hopefully there will be many more this month... off to update sig xx

Sorry to be a pain in the wotsit but can you put the number of NSDs you are up to in your post
It makes it easier for us updaters to update IYSWIM

Thanks

flukeas

freebyfifty wrote: »

Good Morning

Declaring NSD #4[:j/B] for yesterday. :T I haven't spent any money budgeted or unbudgeted so a absolute true NSD - not very often they come along


Have a great day

Woo hoo four in a row congrats :beer:

ChopinonaBudget

Thanks freebyfifty, I think I'm going to aim for NSD 7this month. Having never done this before, 7 is going to be a real challenge (especially with a teenage daughter in tow!)

slowlyfading

Yesterday was NSD 1 for me

EverTheOptimist

Morning all

Well I'm still yet to get a NSD. Booooo. And won't be getting one today either as I'm out for lunch. However I have a quiet weekend planned so will be going through my freezer and meal planning which should stop me popping to the shops.

Well done to everyone with those NSD's.

citizenkitten

TARGET : i want to hit 5 NSDs this month.

this is going to be incredibly hard as I have the following

car tax
sisters birthday
OH birthday (on the same day!!!)
youngest sister coming up to spend the birthday weekend with us (my middle sister and I decided to join up our birthdays to save money)
our 7 yr anniversary
my car needs urgent work doing so the bonnet is being resprayed on 24th
job interviews to go to

So i am manically searching ebay for bargains and therefore likely to spend every day as I did yesterday

however I have strictly budgeted for all of yesterdays spend

if i make it out this month alive along with my bank account I WILL BE BEYOND HAPPY!!!! :rotfl:

IF

Morning all :hello:

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!