The Lets Make It Awesome April NSD Thread

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!

charleybear

i had a no spend day -
thankfully as i don't have a lot of cash to spend this few weeks.

I saved money on a drink - i took one from home & i took some snack to eat whilst on the bus home from work instead of spending money on dinner.

debtfree_future

Hi

I've got 3 NSDs/15. These were Sunday 1st, Thursday 4th and today 7th April.

DFF

beanielou

Candlewick wrote: »

Morning everyone :wave:

It's super sunny here. Hope it's a bit warmer when I pop out later today.

Freeby, thanks for updating. I am also a bit of an excel queen and am still surprisingly keeping up my spending diary this year with all sorts of columns / formulas / tabs / worksheets LOL - I am actually, in a sad kind of way, enjoying doing it and my goodness is it an eye opener.

I have a question if anyone can answer please? I have just been looking at my Noddle credit report and was wondering how long credit / administration / ID checks remain on there. I have one ID check with Moneysupermarket going back to 1 November 2012 and a credit check with a different company for 2 November 2012.

Thanks

Have a lovely Sunday.

CW

I think it is a year.
Almost 100% sure.

Happy Sunday all.

Well done freeby on your 6 in a row.

getting-there-slowly

Im new to this challenge but this was my FIRST NSD so 1:T down 7 to go!!!!!

fedupandskint

A tremendous NSD for me today making it NSD 5

MissE001

getting-there-slowly wrote: »

Im new to this challenge but this was my FIRST NSD so 1:T down 7 to go!!!!!

Well done GTS....be careful though, getting NSDs becomes addictive :rotfl:

Well, I'm back to report NSD #4. Yes, I know the night is young and the temptation of internet shopping is there....but I am going to resist as I couldn't face coming back to remove the NSD

Enjoy the rest of the weekend

ModestyB

NSD 5 clocked up today. Went with DD plus 3 dogs to the pet shop for new collars ( for the dogs Spoony) but she paid. Dogs loved walking round the shop and they were very, very good and didn't pinch anything. :rotfl:

The weather has been lovely here today, I've actually got a skirt on. :eek::eek:with over the knee socks on of course.:rotfl:

kerri_gt

Well no NSD here I'm afraid - finished of the last of my holiday by taking a few bits back from earlier in the week (shoes for DM - they were a real bargain but then she found the bottom of the heal was twisted - so I've already ordered her a new pair online :A) also took back a jumper she'd bought me that i found had some loose stitching and a hold under the armpit :eek:

Then took back a top that I'd bought, nice, but a little clingy in the wrong places, I'd actually bought it when taking a diff one back However, I then managed to come out of the shop with yet another diff t-shirt :o

Treated myself to some face scrub from Lush...just because I wanted to

Oh, and FINALLY bought the new foundation I've settled on (but that was already paid for on a gift card) BUT now I want the blusher the lady tried on me during the week - except I don't know what it was, turns out she was a temp covering holiday and is now on holiday herself :doh: why I didn't think to ask her on Tues is beyond me, so wish me luck on that mission.

Nargleblast

Finding it a bit of a struggle at present, always something demanding your cash when you have guests to stay.... We went to a craft show this morning, and although I resisted temptation of all the lovely things on sale, I fell at the raffle stall. 5 tickets for a pound.
On the bright side, one of the tickets was a winner. I came away with a nice handbag with Scottie dogs all over it. Would have preferred puddy tats but it's a nice bag so I ain't complaining for the sake of a quid. Unfortunately it means I am still stuck at 1 NSD so far.....
(Bad Nargle! Must try harder....)