We Are Decking the Halls with NSDs December Challenge

armchairexpert

I had this realisation today, which is going to sound like an elaborate justification for spending money, but bear with me: I work part time, and I have very small children. My partner works fulltime, but not anywhere near a business district. So on my days at home with the kids, it's hard not to spend because there's always an incidental. I try and pack lunches/snack/water/nappies but then one of them falls over and there's a rush to the chemist for a plaster - etc. And then on my work days, which should be NSD because of bringing lunch, I have the family responsbility for basically all purchases. Presents, home decor, top up groceries, anything incidental for the kids (eg ballet costume for elder), prescriptions, etc.

So do I conflate all my purchases for kid days, and drag tinies around shops? Please, tips welcome!

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 all

Got my 5th NSD

Thank you
IF…x

lurvlyloz

NSD 6/15:j

blindtoast

Grabbed NSDs #3, 4 and 5 over the weekend and the only thing I bought on Sunday was a new curtain pole! Today is looking good as well - after a very slow start this month they seem to be coming in nicely now - not sure if i'll hit my target this month though - will try my best

mimi35

7/20:j
Saturday, Sunday and today are NSD - had to do shopping on Friday and buy some bits yesterday. Tomorrow will have to be spend day - need to buy petrol.

purple.sarah

NSD No 2!
Quick question, I'm on a bit of a roll but DH and I have to buy our weekly bus passes to get to work tomorrow. Should I count that as a spend or not, since it's necessary? What would MSE do?

rising_from_the_ashes

armchairexpert wrote: »

So on my days at home with the kids, it's hard not to spend because there's always an incidental. I try and pack lunches/snack/water/nappies but then one of them falls over and there's a rush to the chemist for a plaster - etc. And then on my work days, which should be NSD because of bringing lunch, I have the family responsbility for basically all purchases. Presents, home decor, top up groceries, anything incidental for the kids (eg ballet costume for elder), prescriptions, etc.

You could have a small tub that you take when you go out with the kids that's stocked with things like nappies, wipes, plasters etc and ensure it's refilled if they're used.

You could also have a pot / jar that you stick a few £s into and use that to cover "incidentials" - you'd get a NSD as long as you didn't spend more than that but it depends on where you need to cut down on spending. If this is one of those areas, then setting aside something like £10 every trip would defeat the purpose IYSWIM?

It's really all about planning - if things are coming up like presents, home decor etc then you should be able to plan these into spend days and they shouldn't (routinely!) be emergency lose a NSD thing. HTH

purple.sarah wrote: »

Quick question, I'm on a bit of a roll but DH and I have to buy our weekly bus passes to get to work tomorrow. Should I count that as a spend or not, since it's necessary?

Entirely up to you! I don't count petrol as it's an essential and because I'm an 18 mile round trip from the nearest fuel station so will often top up my tank if I'm passing one (rather than having to waste fuel making a special trip) BUT I do have a budget for fuel & it's only a NSD if I don't go over that!

rising_from_the_ashes

Ohhhhhh and No 7 for me please

TD has packed in (well there's not a lot of heat coming out of it & it took 2+ hours to dry part dried clothes). I know it's not very MSE (and actually haven't used it for the past couple of years) but have been having really bad damp problems in the spare room where the washing hangs - as I'm not well, I need to try to get rid of the damp so ..... have resorted back to using the TD)

New part is £50 :eek: and I can get a new dryer for just over £100 so seems a bit silly spending that much on it when the motor could pack in next week.

It is 17 years old so it doesn't owe me anything (one of my 1st purchases when I left home & bought my 1st flat .... feeling a bit sentimental!):o

Why does everything break down at this time of year? (Last year it was the fridge / freezer .....) - I've already broken the Iron this week!:eek:

lemmings1986

hi all hope everyone is well :)
reporting nsd 6
i did post a ebay parcel but they paid the postage,and instead of buying a new book i went to library and got me and oh a book each which saved us some money.