The Autumnal October NSD Challenge

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 thefirst 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!

IF

Afternoon :hello:

InaPickle

butdoineedit? wrote: »

Aah now i see, it doesn't take much to confuse my poor little brain!!
Well done, you've had a great week with your lunches, i think you deserve your chips tomorrow... enjoy!!!

Mmm, curry chips! *Licks lips*

citizenkitten

rising - having kidney failure when I was 15, i had to stick to a very restrictive diet, including avoiding anything that was hard to digest (sort of similar to crohns) is that how it is spelt?, my sisters bf has it too. anyway basically as we constantly joked i couldnt eat anything that cast a shadow, vegan level 5.

off the my diet was
Sugar
Dairy
Wheat
Fungus
all red meat
no tuna
no tomatoes
no citrus fruit
and some other things too... i would take up the entire wall if i listed it, so if you need ideas on food without random objects in it, i can be of some help.

I am going to declare today as NSD 2, i am hoping if i do this nice and early then if i do spend i will have to retract it!!!

flubberyzing

NSD2 for me! I've been out most of the afternoon, so haven't had a chance to spend!

bossymoo

I did it! I've had an

NSD

beanielou

NSD no 3 today.

Mockingjay

2 NSDs down - 19 to go! :T

MuffinTops

I'm doing terribly. Due to working late all week I've been too hungry to wait until I get home and cook dinner, so having to grab something on the way! It's not planned overtime either.

Tonight I'll pop to my local mini supermarket and grab their 10p rolls and will make sure I don't need to spend tomorrow at all. After working late most of the week I think I'm well in my rights to be out of the door on time tomorrow.

NSD 1 will be mine this week!!!!

mrs_motivated

Dilemma


Now I have spent today as I needed some bread and treated myself to a bottle of wine. Large glass to be enjoyed later.

However, I submitted gas and electric meter readings today and was informed I was £265 in credit :eek: So they credited my account with £115 and I asked them to keep £150 as a winter safety cushion. So despite the spend I am £107 better off . I have decided to get some new boots (allowed £57 max ) and transfer £50 into savings.


So have I spent or not? . . . . . Me thinks I can't claim a NSD today as the money paid back is actually mine and I would have bought bread regardless

Oh well tomorrow is another day.