May the NSD Force Be With You - May NSD Challenge

heyjude2013

Going to declare now so to avoidtemptation NSD #10 today! woohoo!

Today will be hard becasue I'm in and out of meetings and the dreaded coffee shops keep calling my name....will not surrender and will stop being so lazy and put the kettle on instead!

It's friday and for once, I have a weekend off! Yey!! :j

cw18

Jelly_Biactol wrote: »

Wondered if anyone else has grabbed an NSD on a special day (birthday, anniversary etc) or is planning to do so?

My birthday (back in January) was an NSD too

charleybear

Aw thank you! This mornings been really lovely so far, I will have to post a picture of my birthday cake for you all to see i'm hoping to have a sparky cake from frankenweenie

IF

Afternoon all :hello:






Happy belated Birthday Jelly :beer:







Happy Birthday charleybear :beer:

beanielou

birthday wishes to jelly B & charley B

Happy Friday all

solventsoon

freebyfifty wrote: »

Good Morning

The front page is all done :j Thank you for the update spoony :A

A pleasure as always, Freeby :A
I managed NSD #20 yesterday and reached my 2nd target :j:j:j I have increased it up to 24 :eek:[/QUOTE]

Woohoooooooo... well done you :j:T:j:T:j:T:j

freebyfifty wrote: »

Happy Friday everyone :T:T

Hope you have a lovely day too

HeadAboveWater wrote: »

Thanks for the update spoon, although it was #11 I got yesterday, not #12! Hopefully get that in over the long weekend

:doh: Sorry, HAW, I'm being a real dimwit this week:o:o I'm sure Freeby's got it right

HeadAboveWater wrote: »

Newspaper?!?! :eek: Ah well! Always good to recycle!! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Indeed :rotfl:

HeadAboveWater wrote: »

Happy Friday everyone...

You too

HeadAboveWater wrote: »

Don't let that worry you rogue! Have you not found that this challenge has at least made you very aware of what you spend and how often you spend? It does me anyway, even if I don't hit target. That's always a good thing

rogueylawyer wrote: »

Utterly fallen off the no-spending wagon! I've started making jewellery, which has lead to making jewellery and selling it. Which has less to investing in lots of new jewellery parts, oh my!

I did however manage NSD no.4 yesterday. This has been a very bad, spendy month. I can only hope it evens out next month!!

Now come on, rogueylawer, we'll have none of that talk here I'm echoing HAW's comments above and also saying........... what you're spending on the jewellery parts is an investment as you'll make money on it when you come to sell the jewellery, so it's definitely not being wasted. Maybe you could allow yourself a day or two during the month to buy some stock, just a thought.

Chin up, next month will be better and be proud of the four hard-earned NSDs you've nabbed, some people would be really pleased with that:)

solventsoon

And, as it's Friday, I'm wiggling too


PS: If, I love that cat wiggle, brilliant :T:rotfl:

busybumblebee

Happy Birthday all.... I've been away for about a week, but looks like I chose a good happy and jolly day to re-join :j

I realise now I chose a ridiculous time to join this challenge and try to commit to 10 NSD's this month, I've had birthday's galore, a friends baby born, a friend move house (all requiring cards and some presents!), as well as 2 bank holidays and a family holiday..... my oh my, I was optimistic

Not to worry, I've managed 4 so far and I'm hoping for 1 or 2 more this weekend and you never know I might manage a couple more before the end of next week, so I'm not completely destroyed yet, but pushing my luck!

However, the massively positive and brilliant thing to say is that it's really made me think about what I'm spending and how much I'm spending so I've not spent as much as I normally would. In fact, I'm still in credit and that hasn't been true for a very long time! I'm using almost in my o/d about 2 days after payday But no more.... that is a thing of the past!

I shall definitely be joining next months' challenge, wahoo :rotfl:

Have a super weekend all!

HeadAboveWater

busybumblebee wrote: »

looks like I chose a good happy and jolly day to re-join :j

Absolutely :D:D

busybumblebee wrote: »

However, the massively positive and brilliant thing to say is that it's really made me think about what I'm spending and how much I'm spending so I've not spent as much as I normally would. In fact, I'm still in credit and that hasn't been true for a very long time! I'm using almost in my o/d about 2 days after payday But no more.... that is a thing of the past!

Been there: done that. And now proof that you're well on the road to becoming debt free! Well done :T

IF

Hiya all :hello:
Could we please 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!