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

rising_from_the_ashes

Redouble wrote: »

Resisted the temptation to treat myself on my birthday.

Agree with Spoon .... you kept that very quiet!



Sazzie so sorry to hear about DOHs illness - what a shock you must've got ..... wishing him a speedy recovery & hope your back's OK

BigMummaF

Sazzie23 wrote: »

....Sorry moan over....

Never apologise for letting off steam Sazzie, or any of us, cuz we've all got things happening in RL; if we can't share here...where can we go to lighten the load so as to carry on

Hope If won't mind my posting this; guess Igor got his crimbly wish & has spirited our resident mirth-maker away to his [STRIKE]lab[/STRIKE]kitchen to have his wicked way & all the cartoons to himself :rotfl:

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!

freebyfifty

Back again - another little statistic for you.

40NSDs

snaffled by us lovely lot yesterday (so far)

I will try to keep a count of how the total is going right the way through the month but I doubt I'll be able to do it every day. It is okay just now as I am not at work but when I am, things are a bit more hectic :eek:

WantToBeSE

Morning All,
thanks for updating the thread freeby

Today wont be a NSD, as i NEED to go food shopping. I have put it off for as long as possible, and if i leave it any longer i think i'll be done for neglect of my children, as the fridge is almost bare

I am also going to check my debt balance with the DWP. I know it stands at about £700, and i think the payments are due to increase soon (i currently pay £80a month, but think this will increas to £100 a month).

Anyway, i'll stop blabbering now! Have a great day all!

freebyfifty

Thank you BMF for re-posting the NSD guidelines. :A


I just wanted to stress this bit if I can please.

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.




I am sorry but I was about cross eyed this morning and I am always frightened I miss something

Motoko_2

Hello,

Can you please put me down for 15 NSD please
January 1st = [COLOR="rgb(139, 0, 0)"]1 NSD[/COLOR]


Happy Wednesday everyone

freebyfifty

Motoko wrote: »

Hello,

Can you please put me down for 15 NSD please
January 1st = [COLOR="rgb(139, 0, 0)"]1 NSD[/COLOR]


Happy Wednesday everyone

You are on the front page :T Good Luck

freebyfifty

Ohhhhhhhh Motoko was No 99. :j:j


Is there one more person out there that wants to come join us????????

BigMummaF

*rejoins conga line still going on from NYE* *Ouch* Did you have to wear your running spikes Cheryl; that's the third time you've caught my toe I know you want to get some wear from them, but they're no good on the Tardis flooring. :idea: Let's put some of Igor's vegetarian meatballs on them, cuz they've got enough roughage to stop you slipping *sits out quickly to do the deed, waits for a gap then joins in again* Da-du-da-da-du-dah! Sorry My bad! Wrong foot! la-da-de-da-da-d-daaahh *whips nsd out of back pocket & into centre of dancers with a flourish* eh-ehh-enn-nn-whoo-pah-eh-eh-ess-sus-dee-ugh-na-umb-er-1-aah*conga line continues into the distance of the lower decks of the Tardis*

BigMummaF

Here ya go, hopefully near the top so we can have a bit of a refresher of why we're here

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!