The Awesome Amazing August NSD Challenge

freebyfifty

Good Morning :T

Just a flying visit to hello and make sure we are all on the NSD straight and narrow

NSD #17 in the cauldron for me, soon to be joined by a couple more I hope.



Have a great Tuesday everyone

freebyfifty

HeadAboveWater

fedupandskint wrote: »

...after I went to uni to hand in my dissertation and now it's all completed.

:j:j

Spendy day today already Lack of food in the house so had to buy lunch. But in saying that, I opted for smoked ham sarnies from £land, rather than a £3 subway That has to count for something!

Can't decide if I'm going to keep the trousers I bought yesterday or not! OH and the girls thought they looked great (and OH can be shocking blunt so I know he's not lying!!), but I'm just not sure....!

EDIT: Here's a pic of the trousers. They are lovely. But they're sposed to be ankle cut whereas they're half way up my calves coz I'm tall Plus they're tight/slim fit on the legs which is grand, but feel loose round the front pockets. I know chinos aren't mean to be tight but the larger size was hanging off me and just did not feel nice at all.... What to do....

Anyway, have a great day everybody

IF

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!

joedenise

A definite spendy day today - we're having salmon for dinner tonight and I've only got one piece left in the freezer and had a phone call from DD1 this morning and looks like I'll be having DGD for a few days. I'll have to do something like pasta with salmon & tuna through it for DGD as she doesn't like a "lump" of salmon on her plate, fussy moo!

Denise

HeadAboveWater

Denise: We would have salmon tagliatelle quite often.

Usually we'd use one salmon fillet between the 2 of us. A slice of bacon. Peppers. Red onion. Tagliatelle. All cooked then mixed together. White sauce. And maybe throw in a wee bit of pepper sauce too. Sprinkled at the end with parmesan. And served with garlic bread.

beanielou

Great news fedup&skint :j :j

lilian1977

Declaring today as NSD#8 as no money in the purse and I don't need anything. Having to cancel yesterdays NSD as needed to go to Tesc0 on the way home but I did womble a £1.84 Price Promise voucher so a bit of a saving!

Lurkerderp

Bagged NSD 8 on Sunday.

cardi80

Afternoon all.

Today won't be a NSD for me although will be a very low spend day!