We Are Decking the Halls with NSDs December Challenge

citizenkitten

marmiterulesok wrote: »

#20 achieved today and target reached!:j:j:j

I might try for two more,certainly one more.:)

citizenkitten lovely earrings.How annoying to have an allergy problem just when you're trying to be frugal.:mad:

PS work is a lot quieter just now and we're all a lot happier because of it.It probably won't last long...

we start to get busier! time for diets so everyone buys fish! our quiet time is october/november, too cold for fish and no splurge for luxury fish buying. well done on your target, i should met mine just scraping in!

beanielou wrote: »

citizen kitten~ Im ok, ta.
Just very tired & out of sorts.
Not a great lover of this time of year.

Anyway have been out & about with a couple of very good friends today so had an unexpectectly good day today
& acutually found longer length shower curtains in Dunelm very reasonably priced.
I usually have to buy 3 and get a bit added to the bottom of the two needed for my wet room.So that was good & nobody to be paid to add bit at bottom IYSWIM.
So a wee spendy day today.

Goody buy! though shower curtains were a bane of my life, boarding school and the old hot water meaning that the shower curtain would chase you to the back of the shower desperately trying to cling on to you! Like wth? pervy shower curtains! LOL!.

solventsoon wrote: »

Hello fellow owl, nice to see a kindred spirit on here:D

I think a 7.30 start would kill me now... I used to start work at 8.00 but those days have long gone:rotfl:

Love the earrings too btw, forgot to say earlier, and what a bargain. Well done you:j:j

thanks spoony, yeah it is tough to get out the house at at work at 7.30 but then i have a massive incentive of getting a good parking spot. oh and looking like a goody two shoes as everyone else starts at 8am or 9am.

kitchkitty - bargain hunter! well done you! i love flowers in the house, i just think they make such a difference.

bigmumma - no need to apologuise for the old spelling, i cant spell but it is the thought the counts right??? i gave up trying to be modern when i switched from music radio to talk radio at the tender age of ....20. lol. i know when i am really old when i switch from my current station to radio 4 more than once a week....

went to bournemouth today to visit some of my OH relatives, had a lovely lunch. made it in excellent time. was a spendy day yesterday as i went to get my toe nails done in bright red. nice to have a surprise every time i take off my socks or tights LOL! then i spent £6 on absolute crap in the shop, chocolate, crisps, popcorn, sweets etc..... naughty naughty... damn christmas giving me such a taste for chocolate... *that is my excuse and i am sticking to it....

really looking forward to tomorrow and rather nervous about what january has in store for me.... so many things happening, nervous as a mother to be as my OH will be asking my grandparents for permission to marry me ...........

Anyway without further or do

NSD 19 TODAY! IT IS THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!!! da da dob be dop de dooo!!!

citizenkitten

January's NSD thread - Click here

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!

emslovesmickey

Well over the last two days i have had 2 more NSD's taking me to my second target of 18!!!

butdoineedit?

Aww i missed you guys over the last few days, but have been frantically writing my last essay (which is still not finished ), who on earth thought a deadline immediately after xmas was a good idea????

Spendy day yesterday, although thankfully most of it was xmas money, so not quite as bad as raiding my bank account.... my part of the spending was a meagre £16 in Mr M for a few top up bits, & only that much because my favourite deodorant was on a very good special offer, so i stocked up.

Bless my lovely family who all gave me money as i wanted a proper carpet shampooer (much cheaper than hiring with a house full of cream carpets), & then i managed to get a real bargain at nearly half price so i had enough money to get a Hettie hoover too, i've needed a decent hoover for ages & i just love that hettie is pink & has a face (i even caught myself talking to her whilst upstairs earlier )

Anyway enough waffling, the point of this post is to report the 2 more NSD's that i gor on Friday & today, which takes me up to 20 & target met!! :j:j

abundant1972

Hi All

Hope everyone had a good break and is raring to go for 2013!

Today = NSD number 19 (achieved 7 in a row previously)

:T

rachyroo1985

Yay reached my target!! NSD10 please xxxxx

nomi01

Hi, I have managed another 2 NSD's but I didn't reach my target.
So I am calling it now as I am out tomorrow.
7/10 NSD's in DEC
Hoping to better in january

VickyV

Hi all,
Just checking in with NSDs #15 & 16 so I've exceeded target #2! woohoo! :j
Hoping for one last one tomorrow to round the month off nicely!

x

kerri_gt

Okaaay, so I'm gonna declare today as NSD #14 - prob the last one of the year as I'm planning to order something for OH b'day tomorrow online. I was thinking of excluding that (so long as it was my only spend) like I did for xmas presents - but somehow feel that's cheating my rules.

solventsoon

freebyfifty wrote: »

Beanie - You took the words right outta my mouth..............

............perhaps I'd better not sing the next line :o:rotfl::rotfl:

Pleeeeeeeaaassseee don't freeby, I'm not sure we're ready for a Scots version of Meatloaf:rotfl:

kitschkitty wrote: »

I spent a grand total of £2.49 in the sales on some stickers, a calendar & couple of cards for next Christmas, plus around £7 on food & a couple of lovely bunches of flowers in Tesco - a £7 bouquet for 88p and a gorgeous bunch of purple tulips for 66p.

Yay... brilliant flower bargains kitschkitty:j:j I'm now wishing I went to Tatco this morning instead of sending OH......