Shiny New Year, Shiny New Start. The January NSD Challenge

BigMummaF

moneypenny2k wrote: »

Immediately thought of this.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzWpGxLkWNM

Always makes me laugh:rotfl:

If it's all the same to you, I'd rather like his address than the postcode for the haggis...have him wrapped & sent to my room

armchairexpert wrote: »

Oh dear, it sounds like the plague has hit a lot of you this week. Sympathies to everyone stuck indoors with various lurgies (although it does sound nice and cheap!)....

We've got a lot of Auzzies over here at the mo--promoting Ohm AndaWay or somesuch--& the current sickness bug is being called SidKnee 2012 cuz it originated in Ostrailia, so thanks a bunch
I've seen the programmes about custom control at airports etc; crash hot on not letting stuff on your island ain'cha..Kudos



Who shall we book for a turn this time; I quite fancy a smidge of Midg€ Ur€ with a sprinkling of KayTee Tun$tall & a smattering of AMe McD0nald to add a mellow, soft rock vibe..a proper growed up do, to reflect our [STRIKE]sewfist[/STRIKE][STRIKE]sofist[/STRIKE] poshness :rotfl: *begins to tap felt-tip against mouth, deep in thought, & ends up with mouldy green 'freckles' on top lip like crusty nose drops* ...got no 11 by the way...

Loubell83

Popping in to declare NSD#7 for today...decalring now means I wont spend! I had a very spendy weekend with my sisters hen do, so time to correct that now!

armchairexpert

...crash hot on not letting stuff on your island ain'cha

We've come a long way since the days when the English dumped any old riffraff off here, haven't we?

I meant to say earlier, thanks for the cold chicken tips! I ended up making a scratch chicken curry with the cold roast and the last few bendy root vegetables in my fridge, but I'm keeping the rest of those ideas in my bank for later.

IF

Morning all :hello:

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!

flowerofscotland

Just popping in to claim NSD #8 for yesterday.

Aiming for at least 3 more this week

Very inspiring to read all the successes on here :T

WantToBeSE

Morning Everyone

today will DEFINITELY be a NSD, so that's NSD #7

Solventsoon-nope, still no snow! Darn it, i was hoping for ust a sprinkling...maybe its just taking its time to come this far south
Thanks for updating!

Spent most of yesterday doing online applications for jobs on the council website. They have 2 positions available, so i am hoping (as always) that i at least get called to interview, as the job sounds just up my street and very interesting. Keep your fingers (and toes, and arms and legs etc!) crossed for me please everyone!

Today i am mainly doing the same, but for another council website as they have a few job vacancies too.
I will also be baking some mini sausage rolls and some choc chip cookies
Have a great day everyone!

Helsbels8080

Good morning everyone

The snow has reached us through the night .... nothing major and thankfully the roads seem clear but enough for my DD to moan that she will be dodging snowballs on her way to school.

I did manage another NSD yesterday and of all my NSDs so far this one felt the best. Thought I would HAVE to pop to the shop to pick up some pudding for family meal; did think that sending OH wouldn't count but that would have been cheating because I would have taken the spend out of the joint grocery budget anyway!

So ... in a major effort to preserve my NSD I ventured to the depths of my freezer and behold, there I found a small chocolate gateau and a box of profiterole bites. Add to that a chopped up melon from the fridge and raspberry ripple ice-cream which meant no shopping for me :j

That now takes me to NSD #8 and almost to my target. Don't think today will be a NSD unfortunately as DS has a freerunning class tonight so will want some pennies but I am still a happy bunny.

Catch up with you all soon.

Sazzie23

WTBSE Good luck with the job app, dunno how many council jobs you have applied for, but I might be able to offer a few tips if it might help?

Freeby :A thanks for all your efforts at keeping us up to date, it must be a mammoth task particularly at the moment with so many of us...but we are all doing well aren't we :j:j

Yesterday was NSD 6/15, today was a quick shop day, and that's another positive, shopping is much quicker and I don't have to worry about a £1 for the trolley as I can carry it in a basket :rotfl:.

Hope the snow has reached everyone that wants it and stayed away for those that like their ice in cream :cool:

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!