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Nifty November's No-Spend Days Challenge!

cathybird
cathybird Posts: 17,028
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edited 29 October at 12:54PM in Debt-free wannabe challenges

Welcome to Nifty November'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.  image.png

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  image.png

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, essential health spending such as dental checkups or medications, 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.  Untitled Image

November emojis

Off to a start:

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5 days:

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10 days:

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15 days:

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20 days:

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25 days:

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Target reached:

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Target beaten:

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Everyone welcome to join! 😊😊

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Comments

  • cathybird
    cathybird Posts: 17,028
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    edited 1 November at 2:24PM

    November 2026 NSD targets
    beanielou 19
    cathybird 15
    crazybeautiful 20
    Deb 4 15
    Doris17 10
    FrugalAspirations 15
    Honeysucklelou2 10
    InDebtEnby 13
    Janetober 15
    Jazee 10
    KajiKita 20
    laurenh1 18
    LittleMissDetermined 20
    loopylupin 14
    Mamma2004 14
    riverbluelion 10
    Rupacomp 18
    ThriftyPrincess40 18
    VickyA 2 15
    Wanna Bee Free 10

    🌞 🌞  Everyone welcome to join! 🌞 🌞

  • riverbluelion
    riverbluelion Posts: 25
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    Hello, I'd like to join to do 10 days

    Debt

    Oct26 -£13,776.69, Sep26 -£14,489.19

    Link to my DFD

  • cathybird
    cathybird Posts: 17,028
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    @riverbluelion yay! You're on the list image.png Looking forward to November now!

  • Jazee
    Jazee Posts: 9,749
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    edited 1 November at 7:46AM

    Morning. Please can you put me down for ten this month. Even that will be ambitious with 24 events/appointments in the diary for the month. Good luck everyone.

    Spend less now, work less later.
  • cathybird
    cathybird Posts: 17,028
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    @Jazee I've given you a target of 10, best of luck with it x image.png

  • cathybird
    cathybird Posts: 17,028
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    Untitled Image

    November totals updated here image.png image.png

  • beanielou
    beanielou Posts: 101,655
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Academoney Grad Mortgage-free Glee!
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    Starting with no 1 today.

    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.
    One debt remaining. Home improvement loan. 9 months left.
  • Mamma2004
    Mamma2004 Posts: 193
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    Please can I set my target at 14 for November 🥰

    Thanks, @cathybird 💞✨

  • Deb4
    Deb4 Posts: 469
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    NSD for today 1/15


    Make £2026 in 2026 #19
    February NSD 
  • laurenh1
    laurenh1 Posts: 1,226
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    One for today please 🥳

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