Nifty November's NSD Challenge

SpekySquarehead

No NSD for me. Had to get passport photos printed (£6), milk for the office (£1.40), a new poppy (50p) and petrol (£50-odd).

But, for sure no planned spends today, thankfully.

shopaholicnumber1

Not sure if yesterday was a NSD or not! I bought petrol which I don't count as it's in budget, but needed lemsip as feel awful - technically came out of grocery budget. So I'll let the independent adjudicators on here decide! If it was a NSD then I'm on 8/15. Today should be as well as I just want to crawl home to bed after work to feel sorry for myself - and to drink my lemsip!

cathybird

Well done MoneysavingmadGem, bestlifenow and SSDD23 :T:T:T Wow everyone is firing on all cylinders! It's great

Speky, I'll put you down for 5/15 because you've got no planned spends for today so I'll assume today is an NSD - well done! Let us know if anything changes obviously. :T:T

shopaholicnumber1, if groceries is one of your exclusions and the lemsip would normally come out of your groceries budget, I don't think it should count. I normally buy painkillers as part of my grocery budget. Rest up and get well soon, by the way!!

cathybird

I just wanted to say again that if anyone wants to exclude things that are a regular expense that is necessary (for instance, petrol, medications, pet food, groceries) then that's okay under the terms of this challenge - I don't include bus and train fares, for instance, because I catch the bus most days so would pretty much never have an NSD if I included them. However you can also go really hardcore and say that any kind of expense at all means that it isn't an NSD. It's much, much harder if you do that though! The rules as to what counts are up to participants though.

cathybird

Groceries is kind of an interesting one as I think it depends how you shop. I have a strictly planned shop to buy regular items, which I technically exclude, but then it also tends to fall on a day when I have other spends, so it's not usually an NSD for me anyway. However if I buy any food over and above this (treats, like random chocolate, or if I decide to make something I don't normally make and go out and buy the ingredients) then it does count. What do people think? ... Food is a big challenge for a lot of people so it's an important category of spending, it seems to me.

cathybird

Not an NSD for me today, some Christmas expenditure today, but I am trying to keep it to a budget this year, it's too easy to get carried away and get in enough food to feed an army, etc.

[Deleted User]

cathybird wrote: »

Groceries is kind of an interesting one as I think it depends how you shop. I have a strictly planned shop to buy regular items, which I technically exclude, but then it also tends to fall on a day when I have other spends, so it's not usually an NSD for me anyway. However if I buy any food over and above this (treats, like random chocolate, or if I decide to make something I don't normally make and go out and buy the ingredients) then it does count. What do people think? ... Food is a big challenge for a lot of people so it's an important category of spending, it seems to me.

I exclude groceries as long as I stay in the money we have set aside in the budget for it each month - same with petrol

cathybird

SSDD23 wrote: »

I exclude groceries as long as I stay in the money we have set aside in the budget for it each month - same with petrol

Yes, that's how I think about it too, SSDD32 ... although if I buy a random treat/chocolate bar when I'm out and about, then I don't consider that an NSD even if I'm still within the food budget, if that makes sense!! I try to keep that sort of purchase down.

beanielou

NSD no 10 today.

cathybird

beanielou wrote: »

NSD no 10 today.

Well done beanielou ... you cannot be stopped :T:T