The Mad March NSD Challenge

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, Marmite, Cheryl and Sazzie 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!

cw18

Just got to love my OH :heartsmil

I explained this challenge to him a couple of months ago, and since then he's teased me about the fact I've missed out on an NSD whenever I go shopping.....

When we were texting this morning he'd been to Mr T on his way home from work (was on night shift this week, and his route home passes a 24 hour store), and I said I was trying to decide whether I needed to get anything today or whether I could cobble together a meal for the two of us for tomorrow from what I've got in. And his reply was that he 'loves cobbled together'

So as the stumbling block was veg we're having bean casserole, and I'll serve it with some fancy sausages from my freezer

Means today is NSD #9, and as I rarely spend on a Saturday I should hit double figures tomorrow

beanielou

NSD no 13 today.

marmiterulesok

Not an nsd today after all,as I had to get a battery for my watch.

Thanks cw18 for the fab updates!:beer:

Hi to amyc92 and welcome :wave:Hope you enjoy the challenge!:money:

Hope you all have a relaxing weekend.I'm working,but can't complain as I've just had lovely two days off.

karenccs67

Needed petrol today so not a NSD .....

charleybear

#NSD 8
I never spent anything today because i stayed home,
I have an ear infection

Nervous about tomorrow because i have work & its my boyfriends birthday

flubberyzing

A NSD today after grouping some spends yesterday, taking me up to #10! Doing much better this month than last.

That being said, I don't expect to get any NSDs over the weekend. Tomorrow I'm off to Birmingham to go to the Education Show. I'm not particularly planning to buy anything much, but there's the train fare there, plus prob some food and drink whilst out.

Sunday is food shopping day. I mean, I could food shop tomorrow and combine my spends, but I try and avoid the supermarkets on Saturdays if at all possible!

Nargleblast

Number 4 NSD in the Cauldron of Doom!

Talking of cauldrons.....some idiot told Igor it is St Paddy's Day Sunday. And he has dusted off his favourite cauldron (the one he inherited from Grandma Igoretta and had to spend 3 months cleaning the stuff out of it before he could use it) and has been stirring away like a mad stirry thing. Something is being created in there.

Now what are all those Guinness empties doing there?

kerri_gt

Evening all - well I'm totally shattered and basically got in from work tonight and went to bed for 2hrs :eek: still tired and actually debating how much longer I'll last before curling back up.

However, did have first boxercise session at boot camp today which was 100% awesome

I can also declare NSD#9 :j Plus I sent back those boots I was umming and aahhhhing about - figured the fact I haven't actually worn them yet kinda says they weren't right. :A although I had ordered a diff / similar pair so we'll see about those. Might just give up on looking and see if I stumble across the right pair unexpectedly.

Just wanted to say thanks to all those lovlies who do the updates and keep us all motivated. You're all fab xx

mad_scientist

Evening

NSD #9 bagged today and its the weekend :j:j:j

Good times indeed!