The Lets Make It Awesome April NSD Thread

jessie4109

Could you put me down for 15 NSD with 5 nsd in a row please, I hope I can stick to it especially with kids holidays. Maybe I can use this time off with them to explain how important managing money is to my 4 and 5 year old lol

The_Boss

10 NSDs please.

Spending classed as ANY time cash or cards are used.

HeadAboveWater

Will try for 12 in April! Not gonna make it in March but I think March had a mind of it's own and didn't want me to not spend

if_at_first...

I'm new at this so going to try for:

12 NSD days

4 inarow days

IF

Big Thank you to Freeby for doing April's NSD thread xx





Special thank you to Spoon, Marmite, Cheryl and Sazzie who do the updates, you are stars too :staradmin :staradmin :staradmin :staradmin

Could you put me down for 17 NSD's please and Freeby could you put my name down as just IF instead of Ifwishes :beer:

Thank you
IF...x

freebyfifty

All done If :A

And you are a star too with all your cartoons and posting of the rules. You are an important member of the team too :A

IF

freebyfifty wrote: »

All done If :A

And you are a star too with all your cartoons and posting of the rules. You are an important member of the team too :A

Thank you Freeby....you made I blush

EverTheOptimist

Hi freeby

Please sign me up for 12 again. Really not sure how the month will pan out. My maternity leave starts on 12th April and not sure whether I'll end up spending more or less than when I'm working.

I have transferred my monthly budget to my new account so that needs to last the month. But will be grocery shopping from our joint acc now hubby is back, and don't include these spends.

Thanks for the thread and the updates everyone,

MrsCautious

Hello FreebyMeister

Please can I go down as a target of 12 please.

Thanks so much for presiding so marvellously over this so very useful and isnpirational thread.

My 'spends' include all times I pay for anything, however essential, using cash or a card but not direct debits. I reckon in the future I could relish a challenge of getting more 'hardcore' with this but aren't ready to commit to that just now. . .

Good luck all xx

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!