The Mad March NSD Challenge

solventsoon

And NSD no 3 for me today please freeby.. I need to buy some things but can't quite bring myself to do it..... I must be feeling poorly!!:D

freebyfifty

Good Morning

Happy Monday everyone

NSD #3 bagged yesterday, hopefully I have started as I mean to go on


Have a great day :A

freebyfifty

There are

55

of us taking part in the March NSD Challenge

and so far we have collected

47 NSDs

:T:T:T:T:T

The_Boss

First NSD yesterday; next one possibly tomorrow - will have to see what is in the freezer

charleybear

I'm aiming for a NSD today & this week,
I don't actually need to buy anything but saying that I have a gig to go to tomorrow so we'll see. :rotfl:

flowerofscotland

Managed to net
NSD #1/10 yesterday Spent most of the weekend cleaning and clearing up after boiler replacement (that will be a spendy day and a half when the invoice arrives :eek:). Saturday was only the usual food shopping and weekly expenses and Sunday was spend free - even managed to avoid spending for this coming Sunday's Mother's Day

However when in shower this morning there was a bang and everything went off - main fuse blown and pretty certain the shower is the culprit so another big spend heading my way. Good thing I have been cutting back on non essential spending via this thread

chrisico

Reading about Bejams brought back memories as I used to work there as a Saturday girl soooo long ago.

It wasn't a very nice shop so my friend and I used to put frozen raspberries in our cheeks and wait for them to thaw. Lovely! The run and raisin ice cream was also particularly delicious! The amount of 'broken' packaging in that shop was amazing :rotfl:

I think the owner got wise to us and we got the sack but we just shrugged our shoulders and went next door to MacFisheries (remember them?) and got much nicer jobs. Saturday work was very easy to find and some of my mates had two jobs and were rolling in money!!

Chris

The_Dragon

A nice couple of NSDs snaffled over the weekend, add in today and I am up to 4 and 4 in a row :j

IF

Morning all :hello:

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!