The Autumnal October NSD Challenge

emslovesmickey

I'm joining in again but put me down for 10 please

NinjaSavingKat

Hey there .. please count me on for 15. Ambitious but its just me in my little world.. . Lets hit 5 in a row as well..

freebyfifty

Good Morning

Front page all updated ready for the first of the month :T There's a lot of us this month so good luck to everyone :T Welcome to all the newbies, remember to keep coming back to let us know how you are getting on, be it good or bad We'll soon motivated (kick up the articles :eek:) you to get you back on track :rotfl:

Christi

Morning all,

Can I please join? Think I'm going to aim for 14 please. Is that too ambitious for my first go? Oh well - nothing like jumping in head first!

I know I'm going to get off to a bad start as I'm away from tomorrow until Thursday. Will have to try and make up for it later on in the week!

Good luck all!

silvasava

Trying to get back on track so please put me down for 12 NSD's for October and I'll stick my neck out for 3 in a row

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!

stripeyjumpergirl

Thank you for setting up the lovely new thread. I'd like to go for 10 NSDs this month, please x

suzitiger

freebyfifty wrote: »

Good Morning

Front page all updated ready for the first of the month :T There's a lot of us this month so good luck to everyone :T Welcome to all the newbies, remember to keep coming back to let us know how you are getting on, be it good or bad We'll soon motivated (kick up the articles :eek:) you to get you back on track :rotfl:

I'll try to remember to post this month so you guys can keep me on track, thanks Freeby :money:

Frugal_Saver

This is my first time, I've been reading posts on this forum for a while now and always felt inspired but it's only recently I've decided to get my head out of the sand and face my debts.

I'd like to try 10 NSD. If I was doing it alone I know I could easily manage this but just need to convince OH

Igamogam

Thought I had posted but it disappeared! I did manage to reach my Sept target but just didnt get round to posting - had to have a serious cull of threads I follow on here as it was taking up too much time trying to keep up! So I have dropped out of a couple of challenges and left behind some diaries/threads.....not necessarily because they were boring/unachievable/too scary to follow but really because time is a premium at the moment! However as I need to keep focussed on the NSDs I will sign up for 10 please and make an effort to post