The Lets Make It Awesome April NSD Thread

charleybear

NSD10
Woohoo I did it

Jelly_Biactol

NSD 9 today

heyjude2013

NSD#7 for me today

EverTheOptimist

Spend day yesterday and today on lunch with friends. But I only have a couple of pounds left of my weekly budget so hoping for a few NSD's now.

Hope the poorly people are feeling better soon.

cw18

Candlewick – congrats on nabbing #9 yesterday :T
Charleybear – #10 gets you to double figures, and 2/3rds of the way to target :T
Fedup – #14 in the bag already - you're going great guns :T
Heyjude – congrats on #7 :T
If – and double figures with #10 caught. well done :T
Jelly B – #9 bagged - congrats :T
Marmite – #10 in the bag - well done :T
MrsCautious – well done on #9 :T I've already bought all the birthday cards I need for this year bar one for OH, so I just need to remember where they are and post on time when appropriate too....
Purplemum – congrats on #4 :T I need to get my bike looked at too.... it was fine until DS borrowed it !!!
Slowlyfading – well done on #7 :T
Trajal – up to #7 - you're doing brilliantly :T
Wildcherry – #10 in the bag - you're 2/3rds of the way there now :T


and I made it to #10 today - partly helped by the fact I've been having dizzy spells on and off so wasn't going to wander away from the house!! The cold I picked up from my GDs last week is turning out to be a swine - 72 hours of runny nose and sneezes, then 24 hours just a bit under the weather, then 24 with sore shoulders and now a day of dizzy spells. Really hoping I'm up to some exercise tomorrow, even if it's only a 3 or 4 mile walk!!

freebyfifty

Good Morning

Thank you for the update Cheryl :A I hope you feel better soon.

NSD #14 for me yesterday :j I did put fuel in the car but as I need the car to get to work or I would never earn any money I see that as an essential spend.


Have a great Friday eve

freebyfifty

There are

57

of us taking part in the April NSD Challenge

and so far we have collected

375 NSDs

:T:T:T:T:T

[Deleted User]

Good morning,

Finally made it half way....NSD #5 in the pot

Have a good day everyone x

IF

Morning :hello:

I have my 11th NSD

Thank you Freeby, Spoon, Marmite, Cheryl and Sazzie
IF…x

IF

Hiya my No Spendy chums :hello:
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!