The Mad March NSD Challenge

freebyfifty

Good Morning
The front page is all up to date.

Well done to everyone who have managed to snaffled NSD #1 and NSD #2. That is a brilliant start to the month :T:T

And to all those who are still to get off the mark there is still a whole month of potential NSDs waiting to be captured so get those nets out :T


Have a great Sunday everyone. :A

freebyfifty

There are

54

of us taking part in the March NSD Challenge

and so far we have captured

29 NSDs

:T:T:T:T:T

donna_dynamo

1st NSD captured today. As predicted went shopping yesterday and got little sis birthday present and mothers day gift so thats the majority of the spending done for this month apart from zumba classes.

IF

Hiya my No Spendy chums :hello:
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 we ask you to highlight your number of NSDs in a colour and in bold so that Freeby, Spoon, BDINI and Marmite can see them easily when they whizz through the posts - red would be best but they don't really mind as long as they 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

Morning all :hello:

Got my 2nd NSD

Thank you Freeby, Spoon, BDINI and Marmite
IF…x

positivelypurple

Popping by to say hello and see how everyone is doing today. Not a NSD for me as my turn to buy the coffees when I meet my friend in a bit. I also need to get petrol on the way out.

It had slipped my mind that it is Mother's Day on Sunday so I think I'll order gifts for my lovely Mum and Grandma tonight so that can count as today's spends. I have one other gift to get when I drop my son off tonight. Yikes, best get going as the spends are increasing by the minute :rotfl:

Have a super day everyone.

kittiej

Hi everyone, just popping by to declare 2NSDs so far (Sat and Sun).

I need to be careful because I only have 5 spend days left and I will need to use another one tomorrow, I will need to plan that carefully and make it a productive spend day.

Joining this challenge gave me an idea. I've already withdrawn my budgeted money for March but I need to make it last until the 1st April. Then in April I will make my money last until 8th May, then 15th June and so on thereby making my money stretch an extra week each month. The direct debits will be paid on their usual dates though, this is for my food and petrol money mainly.

This is the theory anyway and I got the inspiration from joining this thread - so thanks Freeby and thanks everyone else.

beanielou

No 3 today at tired.com

karenccs67

#2 NSD TODAY :j:j:j

Candlewick

Afternoon fellow NSDers :wave:

I decided not to go out today and save money that I don't have! so NSD 2 for me today.

Have prepared and cooked for 4 lunches and two evening meals for this week using up the remaining veggies in my fridge so as not to waste them. I have bread in the freezer, milk and eggs in the fridge so am going to try and go the whole week living from my fridge, freezer and cupboards. I will make do with frozen peas and tin sweetcorn for veggies later in the week.

Tomorrow and Tuesday will be spend days as I will have my remaining 3 d/ds going out. From next Monday I should start to get a string of in-a-rows - I could do with about 18!! :eek:

Freeby, thanks for updating.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.

CW