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

Karb

Haven't been keeping the thread updated very well, but I'm now up to NSD #9. Hoping for #10 today

Fae

NSD 13 on the 19th, NSD 14 yesterday and NSD 15 today Nearly there :j

Fae

chris81418

Hello everyone! :wave:

beanielou wrote: »

chris~Hope that you are enjoying being debt free

Yes thanks Beanie! :j Although I thought I'd be living the life of Riley; however, all my monthly 'debt money' is now going towards the non-essential but eventually necessary items such as maintenence work on the house etc. But at least I'm debt free! And with the NSD thread, one day we will all be on the Debt Free Roll of Honour! :money:

marmiterulesok wrote: »

chris81418:j:j:jwell done,you've got #15!:jAlmost at your target-are you going to increase it?

Thanks Marmite! And NSD number 16 caught yesterday! :j I'll wait until I've hit my 1st target though before increasing it - thank you!

Have a good rest of the week everyone - stay safe and wrapped up warm!

positivelypurple

Flying to report NSD #11 for today. I'm on my way out again now but have all my ducks in a row so no unnecessary spending anywhere!

Hope all are well!

MummyRivett

Just having a 5 min break at work and catching up on the thread from yesterday


WantToBeSE - great news on the cleaning job, excellent second income.

HelsBels - sorry to hear about the pump, but at least it is working, you will be saving money in the long term as it is now more efficient

Beanielou – Well done on your loss this week, keep it up.

Kerry GT – Wow ½ price shop with coupons that is amazing. I found basmati rice difficult to cook with but I have the hang of it now and I use it all the time for Biryani curries it’s so easy and you sling them in the oven they are Daddy Rivett’s favourite curry. Here is a good recipe: http://www.lovefood.com/guide/recipes/14930/anjali-pathaks-simple-chicken-biryani or try one of the pataka’s Biryani jars when they are on special.

Wildcherry – you are doing really well, I was due to go out last week but it was cancelled too due to a few of us being ill, but it was a saving at least you are £10 up on the week, you should feel smug


Cw18 – I can’t keep up with you, your life is so busy. It wares me out just reading what you’ve been up to. 11NSD’s is really great.

Armchairexpert – hang in there you can do it.

Real motivating posts by everyone, thanks for sharing

lottie3000

NSD # 8 for me yesterday. Yay So pleased with myself I have even overtaken last months, fingers crossed I make it to my target this month

wildcherry

I am target for a NSD today. Toddler group has been cancelled so I duly put that £1 of allocated spends in to my pot. DD1 was due to go to rainbows this evening and although its only 5 minutes round the corner, I am worried about getting off the drive and getting the car out with precious cargox3 (DD1 friend comes along too). I would walk as I usually walk everywhere but I have to walk down a path that is never very well lit at night and will be very icy. I'm toying with the idea of cancelling it this evening. If so that'll be £2 out of my allocated spend back in the pot . Will wait to hear from rainbow leader.

This thread is so good and full of lots of positive posters, I am really enjoying it!
Thanks to you all.

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 :hello:

beanielou

wildcherry~I would give Rainbows a miss if I was you.