We Are Decking the Halls with NSDs December Challenge

IF

Anyone clicked on Martin top left of all boards?

rising_from_the_ashes

beanielou wrote: »

Now the credit union is closed til after the festive season.
I am not a happy beanie.
Baaaaah.

:mad: Ohhhhhhh noooooooo - that's terrible

rising_from_the_ashes

Ohhhh and forgot to say ..... thanks for all the positive vibes ..... I had my scan:j - it was much better than the MRI as it's like a polo-mint thing. I still nearly freaked when I had to slide through (I don't know why you always have to go head first - why can't you go feet first?:mad:) but managed ..... *phew* glad it's done!:D

kururunfa

Just checking in to report that today is NSD 7 - in fact I just got a last minute order from a client. It's only small, but it means I'll have a little more money coming in next month than I expected, which is always good news

rising from the ashes: Not sure whether to congratulate you on the NSD or commiserate about the handbag! I hope you manage to find the same at a great discount in the new year sales.

beanielou

Good news on the scan Rising :j

donna_dynamo

Hi all another 4 NSDs this week so far that makes 7 NSD's in total. Been sooo busy with childrens christmas stuff, doctors, hospital children being ill (ahhh feel like my head with explode).

citizenkitten

suzitiger wrote: »

Amazing, that's very impressive, I'd love a gas bill like that. Right well, my aim for this winter is to cut down on the heating bills then. I haven't had it on today so far so that's a good start :rotfl:
As for your yukky tuna blood problem get urself down to L*sh and get helping hands handcream, it's a natural barrier cream that will help to stop hands drying out, we get lots of nurses who buy it cuz of the alcohol sanitiser that dries out their skin, it really helps, and no yukky chemicals in it to make ur skin worse.

thanks for the tip.

yeah well i keep blankets on the sofa and i have an electric blanket which cuts out quite a lot of need for heat. also i find because i am in a small modern flat that if i am making stock therefore the oven is on for a few hours it gently warms the flat right up so long as i keep all the doors open.

i am not saying that sometimes i wish i would just put on the damn heating but every january when the bills come in after christmas i am glad i got a little cold.

ANYWAY TRUMPETS PLEASE!

TUESDAY WAS NSD 13/20 AND 8 IN A ROW! AND YES THEY WERE ALL TRUE NSDS NOT ONE CENT LEFT MY BANK ACCOUNT OR PERSON.

jeez louise what a slog! I have never eaten things with such gusto as they were free.

wednesday and today was spendy but managed to keep it under £40.

had a couple of food treats, pizza and cake for lunch. will have a spendy friday and saturday but that is it. then it is a home straight till then.

on the updates, since i read all the posts, i tend to update that way so I have no need to read the updates as such but i like getting the mentions and congrats i have done a few updates myself and some especially at the end or start of the month have been mammoth but i believe in putting in what you get out.

On that, i can see jan is going to be manic! i thougth maybe we could take shifts? such as person A does updates for all posts till 6pm and person B does 6pm-whenever they go to bed. or they do every other post?

rising - glad to hear the scan went better than expected

beanie - oh no well hopefully your bad luck is over and just in time for christmas, who knows what santa has in his sack eh??

citizenkitten

oh and IF - i loved the organic carrot snowman! really made me laugh

bottleofred- glad to hear your mum is on the mend

marmiterulesok

Just dashing in to say that yesterday would have been one,but had a dd.Today is an nsd (a proper one too,not a 'within budget' one),so that's me at #16.We got paid today too.:)

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!