The Remember Remember NSD November Challenge

flubberyzing

Online xmas pressie shop done! Although with a ticket ordered for my school reunion next month (not sure what I think about that!).

Only things left to get now are some chocolately bits and mum wants a plant for her garden. Think I'll get all those a bit nearer the time.

CandyCupcake

Hi,

Can I claim NSD number 8 please

:j

Candy
x

missladyannie

Thanks for your replies everyone, i'm not going to count petrol as a spend ;-)

IF

Morning all :hello:

Loving the doglee pictures :dance:

freebyfifty wrote: »

Hooray, you are back. I missed all your pictures and cartoons. This thread isn't the same without you cheering us up.:A

solventsoon wrote: »

If - lovely to see you back agian, we've missed you x

Thank you Freeby and Spoon

marmiterulesok

abundant1972 wrote: »

Does anyone pay themselves a wage to spend on other things... or do people just see what's left at the end of the month and use that? Am never sure what is a 'reasonable' amount to spend... Have been saving and really getting into the debt clearing and now every penny am loathe to spend on anything but debts... That can't be healthy lol... Would welcome any advice...

:-)

I'm not quite sure what you mean-do you mean any purchases outwith the grocery budget?

I have a budget for everything except prescriptions,so if I buy a bar of soap,cat food or washing up liquid,it comes out of the toiletries/cat or 'household' budget and so on.I have a weekly grocery budget and a monthly budget for everything else.Hope this helps!

freeby what lovely dogs you have.Nice that the older one has discovered his second puppyhood!

marmiterulesok

ifwisheswerehorses... wrote: »

Morning all :hello:

Loving the doglee pictures :dance:








/QUOTE]

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Good to see you back!

abundant1972

Thanks everyone for the tips...

Just to clarify - I meant - does anyone give themselves 'pocket money' - money that is theirs to spend guilt free on anything...? Wondering what (if people do) give themselves per week or per month...

When I commenced my DMP they set aside money for everything from magazines to clothes to entertainment... So there is an expectation that these things are a part of your life - even if you're in debt... What I ended up doing was lumping a lot of this money into repaying extra, until actually - the only definite things I do put money aside for (besides bills etc) is food and fuel each month...

I think where I have gone wrong is food and fuel should be included in my monthly outgoings... Then... I put aside an amount of pocket money I don't want to spend over... By jingo I think I got it LOL!!!

:T

Nargleblast

Just whizzing by to announce the Chateau Nargle NSD haul now amounts to a fabulous 5 NSDs!!!

Did some spending today at Mr T - various offers including 3 for 2 on baking stuff plus IAMs moggie food at BOGOF. The cats will be eating well this week.

Junior cat, (aged 7 months) however, caught a bird yesterday. Her very first. Trouble is, it was a pigeon as big as she is. She presented it to OH in the kitchen - how the hell did she haul that ruddy great thing through the catflap???? Judging by the scenes of carnage on the patio (like a massacre in a pillow factory) it seems the creature landed on the patio for a breather and a little black puddy tat was a-waiting.....

I remember senior cat (aged nearly 4) once bringing a bird into the kitchen. It wasn't dead, though, and OH then chased it round the kitchen and released it back into the wild. Big tart of a cat has never tried it since.

Sad for the birds, I know, but that's nature I guess.

phoenix_dragon

6 NSDs to declare.

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!