The Naughty but Nice November NSD Challenge

MissE001

Welcome to the November No Spend Day (NSD) thread!!

We are a happy (and some might say mildly insane) bunch doing battle with those retailers - and there’s plenty of temptation out there at the moment. We are seriously committed to saving money, but nobody said it can't be done with a smile on your face - so we organise riotous nights out and gatecrash any function going - all without leaving the comfort of our own imaginations or armchairs!

On a slightly more serious note, we are here to help each other avoid spending for the number of days we feel we can manage to try to take back some control over our hard-earned money. What you class as a "spend'" is entirely your choice; some people will try to shop on the days DD/SO etc are paid, whilst others will not include essentials such as rent. Have a look for a post from our sponsor (and godmother of this challenge) BigMummaF, this contains some guidelines and ideas for starting you off on the challenge.

It’s amazing how inventive you get when you’re determined NOT to spend - from weird menu ingredients to surprising DIY solutions - but you know what? 99% of the time those wacky ideas work.


Link to last month's challenge is below so any newcomers can see what we get up to (hmmmmm... on second thoughts, that might put you off...)


All-time Outstanding October NSD Challenge

MissE001

Okay lovely NSD gang. We agreed that for November, we'll allocate prizes as we reach our targets - which is just as well because I can't do the wee pictures :rotfl::rotfl:

If nargle or kerri notice the target achievement first, I think we'll get some very interesting prizes :beer:
Challengers:
AlexLK - 7 / 5
AnnieBox - 6 / 6
Beanielou – 14 / 17
beth2242 - 15 / 13
Bex296 – 7 / 6
Bottleofred – 12 / 14
Buffythedebtslayer – 10 /
Butti – 8 / 5
Candlewick - 14 / 7
Cardi80 – 13 / 11
debtfree future – 10 / 5
donna dynamo – 15 / 13
EverTheOptimist – 10 / 12
Fedupandskint – 25 /27
flubberyzing – 15 / 15
frugaldances – 10 / 4
getting-there-slowly – 10 / 9
iancrt – 10 / 4
jaxsmar – 15 / 15
joedenise – 18 / 18
Kate_fixing_it – 15 / 15 +1
Katzen – 20 / 1
kayester - 15 / 9
kerri gt - / 8
Knit Witch – 20 / 22
Learning2Budget – 8 / 14
LeopardPrintsAndTea – 18 / 21
Lovefullshelves – 20 / 16
Marmiterulesok – 16 / 17 + 16
MissE001 - 20/ 11
ModestyB – 10 / 13
mon1o - 25 / 3
Motoko – 14 / 15
Mucktub86 – 15 / 4
Mummy-of-2-boys – 12 /
Nargleblast – 12 / 14 +1
OutofDebt-NOT-OutofDanger – 15 / 4
Phanton_wolf – 10 / 2
Pinknfluffy28 - 15 / 6
Positivelypurple – 5 / 6
Rachel021967 – 6 / 1
Sazzie23 – 22 /
Saver-upper – 10 / 11
Slowlyfading – 18 / 19
Solventsoon - 20 / 7
SpottyKnickers – 8 /
strandedinaber – 20 / 11
stripeyjumpergirl – 10 / 10
Suziebabe - 17 / 7
Suzitiger – 15 / 2
Traveller – 25 / 6
x.nukke.x - 10 / 1

MissE001

This if for anyone who wants to set a target for a number of NSDs in a row. So shout up if you want us to add you here

Beth2242 nospecific target - achieved 4 in a row :j

Candlewick no specific target - achieved 3in a row :j

Cardio80 3 ina row

ETO no specific target achieved 3 in a row :j

Flubberzing nospecific target - achieved 3 in a row :j

Kate fixing it nospecific target - achieved 5 in a row :j

Kayester 4 in a row achieved 4 in a row target met :beer:

Knitwitch 4 in a row achieved 6 in a row target met & exceeded still struggling with prizes but very well done :beer:

Lovefullshelves 5 in a row amassive super duper 11 in a row TARGET well & Truly Beaten :beer::j:T

Marmite 4 in a row - TARGET achieved :beer:

Mon1o no specifictarget achieved 3 in a row :j

Out of Debt 4 in a row

PhantomWOlf 3 in a rowtwice achieved 2 in a row :j

Pinknfluffy nospecific target achieved 3 in a row :j

Sazzie23 5 in a row

Slowly fading no specific target achieved 5 ina row :j

Strandedinaber 5 in a row achieved 3 ina row :j

Suziebabe 3 in a row TARGET achieved & surpassed @ 4 in a row:beer:

Traveller 5 in a row[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]

MissE001

Hi lovely NSD gang:A
As you can see there is lots of activity on this challenge at the moment and it can be difficult sometimes to see how many NSDs you're all declaring on posts.
Could we ask you to highlight your number of NSDs in a colour and in bold so that we can see them easily when we whizz through the posts - red would be best but we don't really mind as long as we 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!

MissE001

So, that's us all set up and good to go.It won't be the same without freeby - hope you drop by to say hello when things settle down with you

I'll go for my usual 20 to start with

Good luck everyone

AnnieBox

Real life got in the way when I tried in September, lets give this another go!

I will play it safe and start with 6 please

OutofDebt-NOT-OutofDanger

Been away from this challenge for a while but now time to get things moving again.

I'll go for 15 and 4 in a row please

Sazzie23

Thanks MissE for taking up the challenge, and to ETO, Kerri & Nargle for figuring out how to make it happen.

Nov has 30 days so I am going to try again for 22 - didn't quite managed it in Oct so will be a challenge again

22 NSD &. 5 in a row

Perhaps I could help by trying keep up with the in a row updates ?

traveller

Hi, can I join please? I'm going to aim for 25 but hope for 30 :eek: I'm going to try for 5 in a row. I'll have to wait for my daughter to wake up to do the highlighting of numbers, as I'm not very technical Thanks

beanielou

Hi gang :wave:

Can I please go for14?

pinknfluffy28

Hi all, I have never really participated in such challenges before, but as a serious "impulse buyer" trying to amend her ways, I think its high time I did something about it.

So pretty please can I join?

I will be brave and aim for 15 DAYS no spend during November please.

I will not count any bill payments, my eldest dd's school travel/lunch money, or emergency repair or school associated costs. I hope I'm thinking along the right lines!