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

HeadAboveWater

I'm gonna get NSD #5 today :j

I did have to go out and get milk for work but the £1 had been sitting on my desk from before Christmas so def doesn't count :D

Going to SIL house at lunch for a cuppa so no spend there either

And picked up my watch at the jewellers where I had got links taken out - for free!!

EDIT:

Just had a quick look at my calendar and noticed I got 3 NSDs in a row!! Wasn't aiming for that but happy days anyway!!

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!

beanielou

MummyRivett wrote: »

I just posted this on the need not want thread, but thought you guys might like this little freebie too:


"Last night there was an advert for a free food awareness flip chart made by the government for the change4life campaign it looks really good there is a free app too

Get yours here: https://befoodsmart.change4life.co.uk/

It is a meal planner giving you ideas and recipes to help make charges to your diet at a low cost to your purse.


If you are looking to swap meals for a healthy lifestyle and saving money, it's a great little tool and free too"

I ordered mine and they class as NSD :T:T:T

Would have loved one~but only for people in England

HeadAboveWater

They let me input my postcode and complete my address even though I'm NI. No harm in trying??

fedupandskint

Another one in the bag today - NSD 7 and 5-in-a-row

Shortie

I'm sliding nicely along for another NSD at the mo (though I might be on the prowl for food before the work day is done!) but will confirm tonight

Shortie

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

I don't know if it's because I've been cooped up in the house for 3 months & now I'm able to get out a little bit .... I just can't resist buying something .....but it's nearly everyday (as can be seen by my total NSDs)

Will try again tomorrow - car's going to the garage (covered by warranty;)) so ..... fingers crossed

Don't be too hard on yourself Rising, enjoy the new freedom for a while. Just try and keep the spends lower if possible to not do too much damage to the finances (hugs)

Shortie

butdoineedit? wrote: »

& not one for me, had to get some freezer bags & tubs for a mega organizing freezer day today, on the bright side, i don't reckon i'll need anything more than bread & milk for quite some time!!

A worthy spend day in that case, if you ask me

Shortie

IF, I loved the 'delete cookies?' picture, especially as I work in IT :rotfl::rotfl:

coolcats

9 NSD for me. Never had so many so early into the month. I have been busy sorting and filing paperwork though, the morning has flown by.
Tomorrow will be a spending day as will need bread. I think I need to buy extra loaf and I may keep going slighlty longer with no bread to buy. We seem to do a loaf a day. If there was a bit in the freezer by the end of the week that will help.