Midsummer NSDness - the June NSD Challenge

freebyfifty

Evening everyone

I hope everyone has been enjoying this glorious weather. I have to admit to being a little bit pinker than I was when I got up this morning

Thank you for admiring my doggies. I just love them to pieces.

The puppy is eating but only when and what she wants to :mad: but i'll go with that as long as she is eating and it's healthy.
Thank you everyone

The_Dragon

Woo hoo! Grabbed #7 today - a good month so far!

kathy40uk

:hello:

Evening all xx

Wow well done The Dragon 7 out of 8 :T

Glad pup is eating Freeby

Well, have tried to get more organised for next week to try and keep on track, have enveloped my money, put electric in and made sure I haven't run out of anything silly, am just washing clothes for work tomorrow then hopefully an early night.

See you all tomorrow

:hello:

EverTheOptimist

I managed to grab number 5 yesterday as hubby paid for my coke... Oh and the curry.

Spend day today, on newspaper and few groceries. We also did a big shop from the joint account as we have got into the habit of shopping daily for our dinners and spending lots. So hopefully have enough food in for at least the next week, although will need to top up milk and veg.

Freeby - hope pup continues to get stronger and is back to full health soon enough. It's so hard when our pets are unwell as they can't tell us what's wrong. Thinking of you and pup.

liltdiddylilt

Hellloooo lovely people. You have definitely got me thinking harder before I spend. There were a couple of bits I could have got today but decided against - we shall survive!:j

An update, the lady did indeed come to look at my books. I laid them all out for her to have a good nosey... A while later she came in & asked if she could take them ALL!!! I was happy - any she didn't want were going to the charity shop as we desperately need the room in the cupboard. £10 earned, which covers the £5 charge for the broadband and also some cakes for a trip to see my lovely friend tomorrow with baby-lilt. Tomorrow will be a spendy day due to this.

Have a lovely evening everyone; freeby hope the puppy starts to get a bit less fussy. Maybe it's this blooming hot weather?

Jelly_Biactol

Spendy day for me today,;) but it was planned that way.
Up early and made some pizza dough, from scratch (simple recipe, and in the food processor), so while that was proving, walked (didn't get the bus) to the Italian deli for some parmesan (the genuine article, £3.80 for 100g, but sooo much nicer than supermarket-bought; the deli owner travels to Italy every two weeks to bring back the foodstuffs for the shop), then the greengrocers for some fresh rosemary and flat mushrooms, for the piza topping.
Hope and trust that everyone is having as good a weekend:)

freebyfifty

Good Morning

Another small update this morning. Everyone must be out enjoying the weather


Beanielou – Glad you are enjoying this glorious weather Beanie, we deserve it after that awful winter. :T Well done on claiming NSD #5. :T They are rolling in for you:)

Dragon – You definitely are having a brilliant month so far. :T NSD #7 is an awesome number to be at. :T Really well done.:T

Evertheoptimist – Yay, NSD #5 and a free coke and curry. :T Sounds perfect to me. Well done. :T

If – Ha ha ha I liked your cartoon. :rotfl: I had corn on the cob on the bbq for tea tonight (piece of useless info) Well done on NSD #5. :T You are doing brilliantly. :T

Liltdiddy – A brilliant NSD #5 declared. Well done.:T I hope you managed to get your books sold. I have such a huge collection too, but no-one seems to want books these days. Good luck.:T

Marmite – Well done on that lovely NSD #5 :T You are on a roll. I am so pleased I have given up the fags and it is definitely easier than it was in the beginning.:) I am also regularly running 5k which I never was before so it is a win win situation.:D

ModestyB – I love the idea of going on a bus ride just to see where it goes. That is a fantastic thing to do. Well done on that NSD #6. :T I think your bus ride was definitely worth losing an NSD for. :T

Slowlyfading – NSD #4 in the bag for you. :T Great going. :T

freebyfifty

There are

42

of us taking part in the June NSD Challenge

and so far we have collected

122 NSDs

:T:T:T:T:T

IF

Afternoon all :hello:

IF

Hiya all and welcome to June's NSD thread :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!