The Autumnal October NSD Challenge

EverTheOptimist

Not a great start to the month, just managed NSD #2 .

I was supposed to be out with my friend for my anniversary on weds, as hubby is away, but she had to cancel. But i had other spends instead, then Thurs was going to be a NSD, but I ended up out for tea with different friends. Now everything was budgeted for (i have a weekly spending budget that i try and stay within) but as i am trying to reduce my spends generally, i am counting it as a spend.

Expecting a spend day tomorrow, and Sunday too. :eek:

rising_from_the_ashes

citizenkitten wrote: »

rising - oh i lived off bananas too, since i couldn't have sugar or diary they became my substitute for everything. they really work as batter mixture, i would make banana and oat pancakes, maybe use whole meal flour as well get a really nutty taste. hmmm made myself hungry now... LOL! :rotfl:

TBH I find eating bananas a bit of a strain ..... I guess too many times when they've been all I can have - still they are yum when dipped in sugar:D:o (guess what I'm about to have - tummy is a rumbling!)

Not one for me today - popped to B00ts to see if I could get some liquid build up meals (com*plan or similar) and couldn't find them anywhere :eek: pharmacist pointed me in the direction of the reduced isle where they had them down to 90p and 3 for 2 - so £1.80 for 3 boxes (normally £3.50 - £4ish each):j:j. Downside is that they're stopping stocking them which is why they were so cheap:(

Anyway, bought 3 of soup (only had one flavour unfortunately) and 3 shakes & then went back after work to get the last 3 soups as they are actually OK...... hopefully a liquid / gentle diet over the weekend will help.

Happy weekend all!:T: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 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!

beanielou

Spoony~Great news on you being nearly debt free :j :j
How long to go?
Does the milk then keep ok if it has been frozen?

beanielou

No 4 today.

Hope that works out ok Rising.
Really want chocolate & trying to resist~ho hum.

Stand_Fast

No 2 Today - Only 10 more to go - this challenge really makes me think about how I spend/fritter money!!

OutofDebt-NOT-OutofDanger

NSD #4 safely in the bag.

LMac

NSD3 for me today. Yesterday was only because my bf paid for everything and its my turn on Sunday! Tomorrow should be no spend except for a charity donation to an event Im going to. After some consideration, Im not going to count it (or any other charity donation) as a spend.

butdoineedit?

Wow Spoon well done on being nearly debt free, that's fantastic!!

Rising - hope the liquid diet helps & you feel better soon x

My take on the milk debate.... long life is vile & i'd rather go without tea than use it (& i'm a total tea monster!). What i do is take all the change from my first weeks grocery shopping after payday & shove it in my milk pot. That covers all my milk for the rest of the month & whatever day i buy the milk i don't count it as a spend. It works for me because if i counted at as a spend i'd buy other stuff, but this way i know i will only buy milk IYSWIM.

Not one for me today, did grocery shopping tonight as i really wanted a glass of wine, and also bought my first *whispers very quietly* christmas present, as i have a tradition of always buying my mum some new Pj's & i saw some that were just perfect for her!!

Feel i should fill you all in about the work stuff... it's in progress, although my cover is blown & the whole office seems to know about it (& not from me) :mad::mad::mad: & i've already had some veiled threats about what might happen if i don't retract & deal with it informally, but i'm gonna stick to my guns & pray the union comes through for me!!
It's going to sound stupid, but i daren't say more as i'm so worried someone will be spying on me here.... guess that's what stress does to me :eek: Keep your fingers crossed for me guys!!

solventsoon

beanielou wrote: »

Spoony~Great news on you being nearly debt free :j :j
How long to go?

Thanks beanie :A

If I'm very good - and avoid being distracted by new laptops, mini CD players, etc :o - then I'm aiming for Jan/Feb. It would be sooner but I have the dreaded tax bill to pay in January :eek::eek:

beanielou wrote: »

Does the milk then keep ok if it has been frozen?

It keeps perfectly beanie. It needs a good shake occasionally while it's defrosting as it does look odd when it comes out of the freezer but it keeps for at least 3-4 days in the fridge.

I do, however, only use skimmed or semi-skimmed milk - just wanted to point that out to everyone.

"Normal" milk will freeze and can be kept in the freezer for a month maximum. I dug out a pint of skimmed milk last week with a use by date of 2011 and it was fine.

Stand_Fast wrote: »

No 2 Today - Only 10 more to go - this challenge really makes me think about how I spend/fritter money!!

Great news Stand Fast :j:j That's the aim of this lovely challenge, glad it's helping

butdoineedit? wrote: »

Wow Spoon well done on being nearly debt free, that's fantastic!!

Thanks BDINI, it's been a while coming but I'll get there :j

butdoineedit? wrote: »

Not one for me today, did grocery shopping tonight as i really wanted a glass of wine, and also bought my first *whispers very quietly* christmas present, as i have a tradition of always buying my mum some new Pj's & i saw some that were just perfect for her!!

I think you probably deserve a glass of wine with all that's going on at the moment, hope you enjoyed it x

Yay to your mum's PJs

butdoineedit? wrote: »

Feel i should fill you all in about the work stuff... it's in progress, although my cover is blown & the whole office seems to know about it (& not from me) :mad::mad::mad: & i've already had some veiled threats about what might happen if i don't retract & deal with it informally, but i'm gonna stick to my guns & pray the union comes through for me!!
It's going to sound stupid, but i daren't say more as i'm so worried someone will be spying on me here.... guess that's what stress does to me :eek: Keep your fingers crossed for me guys!!

Hmmm... it sounds to me as though someone is feeling the pressure a bit, stick to your guns BDINI, you've got him on the run now. I don't think the union would have taken on your case if they didn't think you had good prospects of winning.

You're probably wise not to say too much, you never know who you're taking to online, that's the problem.

Fingers and toes crossed for you hun and sending you a big (((hug)))

spoon xxx


rising - hope you feel a bit better after your liquid diet. Thinking about you hun xx :A
Just a thought, you've been under a lot of stress recently, could that have made the crohn's flare up again?