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

anxious_mum

3/10 yay!

I haven't spent a penny all day! Normally, I would have been down the shops buying 'essentials' to cook, but I just made do with what's in the freezer/fridge/cupboards and ended up making a lush fish pie for tea and 2 x chicken and mushroom pies, one to freeze, one for tomorrow.

Tomorrow will be expensive, DS's gf is going back to Finland on Sunday, so I'm driving them to Stansted and spending the day there at Audly House before leaving her in a B&B ready for a 6:00am flight. Still, I think I made up for it today!

Hope everyone else is doing OK with their NSDs, there's lots of positivity on here!

beanielou

Blimey positivelypurple £4 is cheap for a indoor valet.
Wish you lived near me.

NSD no 4 today.
Feeling as if I am coming down with something,bah is all.

Happy Friday all.

Sazdaz

Another NSD for me today so that makes a total of #2NSD's so far this month. Tomorrow I am really hoping will be another one.

katholicos

NSD 4/12 and my fourth no spendy day in a row.

Must buy fruit and veg tomorrow though so my run of nsds will end. Hopefully i can get into the swing again early next week, and nail another few nsds.

Must try to get everything we need in tomorrows shop, though it is unlikely when i have a sieve for a brain!

Well done everyone, we can do it!

debtfreeby2013

1 out of 5 so far, nearly had one today but I fancy cooking a chilli and have no canned tomatoes so have had to send the other half out for some. Haha

freebyfifty

A dinner time update, just to keep us all on the straight and narrow. It's inspiring to see so many NSDs being collected


Anxious_mum – NSD #3. :THow brilliant do you feel? This thread certainly makes you think about how you spend your money. Warning – It will become more addictive.:rotfl:

Beanielou – NSD #4 caught.:T Well done.:T You take care of yourself.:A

Blindtoast - NSD #2 captured. Well done.:T Hope you enjoyed your climbing and it stayed spend free.:)

Changingme – :eek::eek: to the washing machine and iron both giving up, now I could live without the iron... :rotfl:Well done on claiming NSD #3 though:T

Commited – An excellent NSD #3 declared. Well done.:T Good luck with that tax bill.:eek:

Debtfree2013 – You are off the starting blocks with NSD #1. :T Watch them come flooding in now. I am having chilli for my tea tonight, send the OH over and I’ll give him a doggy bag.:rotfl:

Fae – You have had a great start to the month and are up to NSD #3. :T Well done.:T

Flubbery – The car tax is :eek: isn’t it and it’s us honest folks who pay for all the chancers out there. :mad: Well done on bagging NSD #3.:T

Gien – NSD #2 declared. :T Well done and good luck for lots more.:T

Harduphelen – You are off the mark with NSD #1. :T Well done, there will be no stopping you now.:T

Helsbels – This NSDing is addictive, isn’t it. I am glad you have got the bug it has bagged you NSD #2. Well done.:T

Hermyam – And you are off.... NSD #1 duly captured.:T Well done.:T

Ifwishes – Great to see you, I wondered where you were.:) I missed your cartoons.:) Well done on being up to NSD #2. Great start.:T

Jaxsmar – NSD #3 and 3-in-a-row. :T Very well done, you have got off to a fantastic start.:T

Katholicos – NSD #4 and 4-in-a-row. :T That is fantastic. :T Very well done. Write a list for what you need, just remember to take the list.:rotfl:

Kezlou – NSD #2 in the bag. :T Really well done. :T I hope that both you and DS2 are feeling much better.:A

Lottie3000 – You can and you will do it this month. :T You have NSD #2 already, that’s a brilliant start. :T Well done.:)

Lurvlyloz - Well done on NSD #2:T and good luck for capturing another one today.:)

ModestyB – You are brilliant. :A Up to NSD #4 and 4-in-a-row already. :T Fantastic.:T

Moneypenny – Going for a Song?? Now that takes me back (sorry :rotfl:) Well done on NSD #2 :T and enjoy your trip out tomorrow.:)

Mummyrivett - That was a bargain in your co-op.:T Will save you loads in the long run. Well done for bagging NSD #2.:T

Poohbear – NSD #3 is a brilliant start to the month. :T Well done and keep chasing that 4-in-a-row.:T

Redouble – A brilliant NSD #2 all done and dusted. :T Good luck on house sorting,:) seems in my house that as soon as I have done it, it needs done again.:mad:

Sazdaz – You are up to NSD #2, that’s a brilliant start.:T Good luck for another one tomorrow.:T

WantToBeSE – NSD #3 is well and truly caught.:T Well done.:T

WelshWoofer – Well done on claiming NSD #2 nice and early. :T And it is brilliant to see you being so determined to get lots more.:T

zafiro1984

Failed today - spent 3.49 but really needed the toms and olives. Hopefully no spends over the weekend. so that makes a total so far of 3/25

The_Dragon

Number 4 nabbed and (unsurprisingly!) 4 in a row as well :rotfl:

freebyfifty

zafiro1984 wrote: »

Failed today - spent 3.49 but really needed the toms and olives. Hopefully no spends over the weekend. so that makes a total so far of 3/25

Oh no, Oh no. Not the 'f' word.

Can you hear the music???? Dum dum, dum dum, here he comes



We never, ever use the 'f' word. We just have a little blip

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!