The "Just Keep Swimming" July NSD Thread

mismatch

Aaaaaannnnnnnddddddd she's off :j

NSD 1

phew finally managed to get off the mark. Hoping its the first of many more. The plodding is starting to work :rotfl:

IF

Hiya all and welcome to July'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!

beanielou

Still not managed no 1 :eek:

solventsoon

Front page posts updated up to the end of today
1st Target Met 2nd Target Met 3rd Target Met

Target Exceeded



The July Challengers

beach-holiday - 10/

beanie - 14/

Red - 14/3

busybumblebee - 12/

Cally98 - 8/

Candlewick - 14/

cardi80 - 10/1

charleybear - 15/1

debtfree future - 15/1

ETO - 12/

fedup - 20/3

flowerofscotland - 12/

getting-there - 12/1

hanb - 7/

HeadAbove - 14/2

Helyonnaise - 15/1

heyjude2013 - 14/

hummingbird - 5/

IF - 17/2

jaxsmar - 12/

Jelly - 15/1

kathy - 12/

kerri - 14/1

kirstybean - 9/

Knit Witch - 10/2

lilian1977 - 14/1

liltdiddy - 15/2

Lizzie Bennet - 15/2

lovefullshelves - 15/3

Lurkerderp - 7/

marmite - 18/2

mismatch - 15/1

MissE - 15/

ModestyB - 10/2

Motoko - 12/

muffin man - 15/1

Nargle - 15/

Oodnood - 22/1

purplesarah - 20/

Sazzie - 23/

shellyosborne - 10/1

slowly - 17/2

Sparkles87 - 20/

spoon - 15/2

stripeyjumper - 10/1

suzitiger - 12/1

wildcherry - 15/

zenshi - 20/1



The In-a-Row-ers

Red - 3

busybumblebee - 3

Candlewick - 4

heyjude2013 - 4

jaxsmar - 4

Jelly - 3

Knit Witch - 3

lilian1977 - 3

liltdiddy - 3

Lizzie Bennet - 3

lovefullshelves - 3

marmite - 4

muffin man - 5

Oodnood - 5

purple.sarah - 7

Sazzie - 5

zenshi - 4

solventsoon

There are

48

of us taking part in the July NSD Challenge

and so far we have collected

42 NSDs

:j:j:j:j

solventsoon

HeadAboveWater wrote: »

Easy on the crimbo trees please guys! I'm still trying to sort a summer holiday out first!!! :rotfl:

No more crimbo trees from me, honest... I was just humouring Red

HeadAboveWater wrote: »

Ummmm.....

I do eat good 90% of the time so I allow myself junk at work when the tummy rumbles!!

Well in that case I'll let you off

HeadAboveWater wrote: »

Happy hump day all

Hope you had a good one too :T

HeadAboveWater wrote: »

EDIT:
Unexpected NSD #2 for moi! :j Was meeting a friend for coffee and was expecting to at least pay for my own, if not both, but she paid instead! Just means it's my turn next time ;)

Woop woop!!!

HeadAboveWater wrote: »

Posted fleabay stuff for OH which he's already given me the money for.

As it should be....

HeadAboveWater wrote: »

And a £1 to Barnardo's does not count as a spend in my book (regardless of the fact I got a bag of choc covered honeycomb cinder toffee for my effort )

Agreed

bottleofred wrote: »

:T:rotfl::rotfl:I knew you'd see sense eventually spoony:D

Hmmm... I think that might be taking it a bit far, Red, I was humouring you :p:D

lovefullshelves wrote: »

woohoo NSD#3lots of veg picking, cooking, avoiding step-step chidren(bad LFS) but no shopping or money spending..thats 3 in a row but I know tomorrow will be a spendy one!

Woohooooo... well done you, brilliant start, LFS :T:T

lovefullshelves wrote: »

solventsoon -I'm a member of the SHTF group:D and it would seem we collect toilet paper 'in case of ...(fill in emergency here)' and its easy to get lost under all that loo roll!! Hence toilet paper tunneller!! (I've stared to hide my stash of paper products so I don't get told off by OH!)

Ahh... I see:D...... I seem to think we had a couple of loo roll hoarders here at one stage, they must have got lost in the midst of them somewhere :rotfl::rotfl: Thanks for the explanation.. and please call me "spoon", or "spoony", everyone else does and it's a damn sight easier to type than the full version

solventsoon

Me again... sorry

Just thought I’d have a quick catch up with some of you as we haven’t had an update tonight..

IF - I love that picture, it really brought a smile to my face... in fact, I think it may be my new desktop picture:D:rotfl:

Helyonnaise - woohoo to NSD no 1, off the starting blocks now. :j:j Well done for avoiding the film rental and for blocking those online sites... their emails are a recipe for ruining NSDs... as I know to my peril!!:eek:

cardi80 - another one off the starting blocks with NSD no 1, woohoooo!!:j:j Trying to nab NSDs is definitely a good way of avoiding unnecessary food spends, it’s worked for me so I hope it works for you as well:T

jedsonack2 - hi and welcome :wave: As marmite says, just post the number of NSDs you’d like to aim for and you can join in with the fun and games:)

marmite - the first of lots of NSDs to come this week, fingers crossed:T

fedup - 3/3... great start for you, well done!!:T:T

Red - 3/3... a great start for you too, well done!! :T:T Rant away, we’re here to listen. I hope it helped and you feel a bit better now x:A

charleybear - off the starting blocks, yay indeed. Fingers crossed for lots more to follow:T:T

Lizzie B - woohoo to NSD no 2, that’s a great start for your first month and you’re sounding very organised. :T:T Having no money is definitely a good way of avoiding those unnecessary (but delicious) spends at the vending machines:D

mismatch - woohoo to NSD no 1, off the starting blocks now. :T:T The plodding definitely works... we’ve all tried it

beanie - to quote your words “keep plodding”. It’s early days yet, you’ll get there hun xx :A:A


No NSD for me today, I've been a naughty spoony and spent money I don't really have:o:o.... but we did need what I purchased.... honest:D I'll be good tomorrow, promise

muffin_man_7

2ND NSD THIS IS FOR WEDNESDAY


for me and not a planned one so even better


Still cant get the colour thingy to work or the size anyone any ideas i followed instructions on previos post and it worked but not now

getting-there-slowly

NSD 2 yesterday, with a bit of luck today will be number 3;)

beach-holiday

Finally got off the starting blocks with NSD #1 under my belt for yesterday :j

I managed to stop myself from buying the chocolate bar I was craving, so that's a benefit for my weight and it's meant an extra little PAD for today .

b-h