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Dazzling December's No-Spend Days Challenge!

Welcome to Dazzling December's No-Spend Days Challenge! This challenge is all about helping people to save money by setting aside days every month where you deliberately don't spend unnecessary cash. Over the short term, it can help you have a more frugal month. Over the long term, if you stick with it, it can help change your mindset because you get out of the habit of frittering money away and start automatically holding off from spending instead. It also helps you delay purchases, which in turn means you lose interest in a lot of things you might otherwise impulse buy.

Another good thing with this challenge is we're all in it together, and people will help you on bad days and cheer you on on good days, and the support and accountability can really help make it easier to keep going with it. And if all else fails, there's always next month

To join, just post the number of no-spend days (NSDs) you're aiming for this month and you are on your way!

Tips for the challenge:
1. It's totally up to you but if you've never done the challenge before, it's probably simpler to start with a goal of 10 or (at most) 15.

2. It is fine to exclude necessary expenses eg petrol, groceries, pet food, etc, when it comes to deciding what is and isn't an NSD. It is also completely fine to exclude automated or recurring payments such as bills, mortgage or direct debits.

3. It does help to post every time you notch up an NSD, or at least every two or three days ... it's easy to lose track! If you want to keep track of your NSDs in your MSE signature, that can be really motivating too

4. It also helps to bookmark the thread, it's much easier to find.

5. NSDs are trickier than they seem and easily derailed. It can work better if you notch up as many days as you can in the first half of the month, or think of the month in thirds so if you're aiming for 10 NSDs, try to do 4 days in the first 10, 3 in the second and 3 in the third. And if you feel that you're falling behind, there's no shame in changing your target! Sometimes life just gets in the way, and the challenge should be fun, not a grind.

December

Off to a start = image 

5 days = image 

10 days = image  

15 days = image 

20 days = image 

Target reached = image 

Target beaten = image

To see the updated results for December on phone or tablet, click here :)
«13

Comments

  • cathybird
    cathybird Posts: 15,980 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    December targets

    AuntieL 15
    beanielou 19
    BogStandardBob 12
    cathybird 15
    Dizzycap 20
    doingitanyway 12
    Doris17 15
    InDebtEnby 13
    KajiKita 18
    laurenh1 18
    leftatthetrafficlights 15
    LittleMissDetermined 15
    Pinkpieuni 10
    Prodigal50 10
    QueenJess 15
    short bird 18
    VickyA 2 15


    🌞 🌞  Everyone welcome to join! 🌞 🌞

  • Dizzycap
    Dizzycap Posts: 1,316 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Second Anniversary Photogenic Debt-free and Proud!
    Jingle, jingle, jingle and a Ho, ho,ho here we go!  :D
    ~ NSD 2025 - NSD December 1/20 (11 x💯)
    # Spectos/Royal Mail Monitoring and Posting Panel - On Rest - 2 x £25 Vouchers Redeemed, 29 FREE Books of RM Stamps & 2 x Presentation Pack.
    ~ Totally FREE Christmas 2025 - 🎁✉️🏷🎀💐🪪🗒🧺
    ⭐️Completed Challenges 2025:
    # No.36 Make £2025 in 2025 £1756.28 / £2025  (4) 💯💯💯
    # No.12 Save £2 a Day 2025 £730/ £730 💯
    # No.27 Save 1p A Day 2025 £667.95 / £667.95 💯
    # No.19 52 Week Env Challenge £1378 / £1378 💯 
    # No.34 Save £12k in 2025 £22,375.08 / £12,000 💯 (12) - Completed
  • Dizzycap
    Dizzycap Posts: 1,316 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Second Anniversary Photogenic Debt-free and Proud!
    Jingle, jingle, jingle and a Ho, ho,ho here comes December and off we go with a very early call for 1/20 NSD Monday December 1st!  :o:p:D
    ~ NSD 2025 - NSD December 1/20 (11 x💯)
    # Spectos/Royal Mail Monitoring and Posting Panel - On Rest - 2 x £25 Vouchers Redeemed, 29 FREE Books of RM Stamps & 2 x Presentation Pack.
    ~ Totally FREE Christmas 2025 - 🎁✉️🏷🎀💐🪪🗒🧺
    ⭐️Completed Challenges 2025:
    # No.36 Make £2025 in 2025 £1756.28 / £2025  (4) 💯💯💯
    # No.12 Save £2 a Day 2025 £730/ £730 💯
    # No.27 Save 1p A Day 2025 £667.95 / £667.95 💯
    # No.19 52 Week Env Challenge £1378 / £1378 💯 
    # No.34 Save £12k in 2025 £22,375.08 / £12,000 💯 (12) - Completed
  • Thanks for the new thread @cathybird :) 
    Kicking off December with one today
    LMD x
    Life gets in the way...PADding is addictive...Saving's better than spending...
    2025 1p challenge #41 | Cash envelope challenge #01 | SPC #017
    EF £1000/£1000 | Sabbatical £4055/£6000
  • beanielou
    beanielou Posts: 97,215 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Academoney Grad Mortgage-free Glee!
    Thanks for our shiny new thread @cathybird
    Starting with no 1. 
    I am a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on Mortgage Free Wannabe & Local Money Saving Scotland & Disability Money Matters. If you need any help on those boards, do let me know.Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any post you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button , or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own & not the official line of Money Saving Expert.

    Lou~ Debt free Wanabe No 55 DF 03/14.**Credit card debt free 30/06/10~** MFW. Finally mortgage free O2/ 2021****
    "A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of" Jane Austen in Mansfield Park.

    ***Fall down seven times,stand up eight*** ~~Japanese proverb.
    ***Keep plodding*** Out of debt, out of danger. ***Be the difference.***
    One debt remaining. Home improvement loan.
  • AuntieL
    AuntieL Posts: 446 Forumite
    100 Posts Second Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic
    Starting December with a NSD Monday 😁 (and a chocolate for breakfast 😋)
    Debt-free journey started August 2023. DF 02/09/2024 🥳 (except mortgage)
    December 2025 NSD Challenge 1/15

    MFW 2025 #45
    Jan 2016 Mortgage = £150,894 (23years 0months)
    Current outstanding = £93,038.66 (10years 5months)
    2024 Overpayment = £675.66
    2025 Overpayment = £710/£700
    2026 Overpayment = /£1000
  • beanielou
    beanielou Posts: 97,215 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Academoney Grad Mortgage-free Glee!
    AuntieL said:
    Starting December with a NSD Monday 😁 (and a chocolate for breakfast 😋)
    Me too with the chocolate for breakfast!
    I am a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on Mortgage Free Wannabe & Local Money Saving Scotland & Disability Money Matters. If you need any help on those boards, do let me know.Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any post you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button , or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own & not the official line of Money Saving Expert.

    Lou~ Debt free Wanabe No 55 DF 03/14.**Credit card debt free 30/06/10~** MFW. Finally mortgage free O2/ 2021****
    "A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of" Jane Austen in Mansfield Park.

    ***Fall down seven times,stand up eight*** ~~Japanese proverb.
    ***Keep plodding*** Out of debt, out of danger. ***Be the difference.***
    One debt remaining. Home improvement loan.
  • cathybird
    cathybird Posts: 15,980 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Yay for December! Not one for me today, been out for a festive lunch :):)
  • cathybird
    cathybird Posts: 15,980 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    December 2025 NSD challenge


    Off to a start = image 

    5 days = image 

    10 days = image  

    15 days = image 

    20 days = image 

    Target reached = image 

    Target beaten = image


    December targets


    AuntieL 1/15  image 


    beanielou 1/19  image 


    BogStandardBob 12 


    cathybird 15 


    Dizzycap 1/20  image 


    doingitanyway 12 


    Doris17 15 


    InDebtEnby 13 


    KajiKita 18 


    laurenh1 18 


    leftatthetrafficlights 15 


    LittleMissDetermined 1/15  image 


    Pinkpieuni 10 


    Prodigal50 10 


    QueenJess 15 


    short bird 18  


    VickyA 2 15  



    To see the updated results for December on phone or tablet, click here :)


    🌞 🌞  Newcomers welcome! 🌞 🌞
  • KajiKita
    KajiKita Posts: 8,802 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Fourth Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic
    Not today - bought a children’s book set (for me!!) and a new bottle of leave on hair smoother. 

    KK
    As at 15.11.25:
    - When bought house £315,995 mortgage debt and end date at start = October 2039 - now £228,473
    - OPs to mortgage = £12,345 Estd. interest saved = £5,863 to date
    Fixed rate 3.85% ends October 2030

    Read 71 books of target 52 in 2025, as @ 1st December 
    Produce tracker: £442 of £300 in 2025

    Watch your thoughts, they become your words.
    Watch your words, they become your actions. 
    Watch your actions, they become your reality. 
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