Thursday 23 October - What small DFW things will you do today?

ziggy2407 · 23 October 2014 at 8:05AM

When we start out on the DFW trail we do loads of "big stuff" that makes quite a difference to our situation. These include having our lightbulb moment, cutting up the credit cards and cancelling Sky and the gym .

But once we have done the bigger stuff, we often feel that we are not making the same amount of progress, when in fact the small steps are helping us form good financial habits and helping us get closer everyday to staying in control and becoming debt free, or staying debt free.

Examples could be hanging washing out instead of using the tumble dryer or leaving your purse/wallet at home to avoid the risk of spending.

So be proud of those small steps, they really are important :money:

ziggy2407 · 23 October 2014 at 8:15AM

Good Morning All

Dawn - Hope you're starting to feel better

Well done to everyone yesterday on some great moneysaving I made another small discovery - do not assume Poundland are cheaper than supermarket

Hubby fancied some Tunnocks teacakes so he picked a box of 6 up for a £1, when I checked in M's the same box was only 85p so would have been 15p in our pocket

Hi to all of the regulars and a BIG welcome to all the newbies, this is a really FAB thread with so many lovely, caring, considerate and supportive people. Dont forget we also have a small things on Facebook, if anyone wishes to join

Today I will:

Bake -
Check Banks -
Check swapits -
Packed lunch for DH & DS - Done
Craft -
Enter a few comps -
Sort emails (& unsubscribe where possible) -
All meals from cupboards/fridge/freezer -
Read book (from stash) - (Another win & another new author - The Strange Death of Fiona Griffiths - Harry Bingham)
Check https://www.freepostcodelottery.com -

Right, off to sieze the day

Have a great day, love to you all

C x

Jond · 23 October 2014 at 8:45AM

Morning Ziggy and everyone!

Going for a fourth NSD in a row today

And Payday has arrived a day early! Not that that means much these days in our post-LBM, post-YNAB state.
So today I will:

Eat a free main meal at work
We'll have sandwiches for tea
Check the freepostcode lottery
Earn a few SBs
Check banks
Look forward to paying off some debt tomorrow!

Have a great day everyone!

twiggy86 · 23 October 2014 at 9:53AM

Morning everyone

My small things for today are:-
1. Check banks
2. Earn SBs
3. Not turn the heating on

Not much else today - won't be a SFD as need to post a letter and I'm going to zumba later (can't wait - had a chest infection lingering so haven't been for a few weeks).

Can't wait for payday tomorrow and then I can shift some debts and update my signature! So excited by that - definitely caught the MSE bug!

peony40 · 23 October 2014 at 10:32AM

Morning all,

Feeling very lacklustre today, I really must get going.

Plans for today:

Prepare a bag of potatoes, carrots, onions and sprouts for the freezer.

Batch cook stew, so I will have some extras for the freezer.

General tidy up of downstairs.

It will be a NSD!

Have a lovely day all.

foxgloves · 23 October 2014 at 12:11PM

Bloody laptop just gobbled up my post, so this will just have to be a quick substitute:
*No heating on.
*NSD
*Do next week's meal plans
*Write shopping list.
*Investigate 'Two Together' railcard.
*Start pricing up mr f's Christmas wish list.
*Entered my recipe in cookery comp.
*Did surveys.
*Made loaf in BM
*Made dough for bread rolls.
*Chase an ebay buyer.
*Enjoy some leisure time, all free activities.
Sorry, my original post which got gobbled was more interesting than this, but got to go now as bread machine has just pinged.
Have a good day all,
f x (Quick P.S re pound shops. Same thing with cotton wool balls. 99p in 99p shop as you would expect, but 69p in 'Boyes' (North East Midlands/North East discounter chain)

solvencyseeker · 23 October 2014 at 1:42PM

Hello all,
Feeling guilty today as did not do any of the DFW things planned for yesterday evening. Also went to Waitrose to buy two gifts (plants and wine) and somehow spent nearly £50 :eek:.
I shouldn't be allowed out!

Today I am at work, having got a lift and all meals will be from home/the plan. Checked Bank Accounts - all is fine.

Did finally get an e-mail from energy company apologising for the delay in replying. They asked me to confirm the gas meter serial number so that they can investigate - I have already confirmed this twice, sent them a photo showing the number AND they sent someone round who has seen it in the flesh (so to speak). Apparently I have to reply to them within 5 days or they will close "the case". Bit rich seeing as it's taken them 12 days to send that pathetic e-mail. As you may sense I am getting really quite angry :mad:

Just to add to the different prices for the same thing debate. I have noticed that certain items are different prices in the same store depending on what section they are in (and not just the "foreign" shelf). For example, OH was cooking a special meal and needed some pine nuts (a luxury item I know). They have them in three places - in with nuts and stuff in the fresh fruit section, in home baking and in with wholefoods like lentils. All store brand in slightly different packaging. I guarantee they are all different prices and the cheapest is the one furthest from the door (the most expensive the one nearest).

Anyway, later I will walk the dogs, do laundry, read library book and NOT go to any shops!

Best wishes x

Bobarella · 23 October 2014 at 2:28PM

Hi All
What an interesting day for big retailers. Tesco announced they are down 92% on their profits. That comes hard on the heels of an interesting interview with Harry Wallop who's a bit like Martin if you don't know him, talking about the death of the 'weekly shop' I thought of all of you & our waste not want not ways. If we are even slightly indicative of the norm then the big retailers had better watch out going forward.

Ziggy you are right to be cautious with the bargain retailers often they will offer a cheaper price but for a smaller size. So not always pocket friendly as you say.
Other tips & tricks I have noticed by sainsburys is a garlic bread is 70p in the ambient section but 40p in frozen. For the same thing. Also walnut pieces are stocked in several aisles but the baking one is cheapest. And don't get my started on fizzy water costing £1 in a small sandwich fridge section but 40p for 2 litres buried deep in the drinks aisle.

Today I have totalled our spends for the month ready for tommorows pay day. We have chopped £100 off the overdraft which is brilliant. Total spend for groceries £217 vs £268 last month. So that has definately helped us push the OD down.
Went to the library for free books & a dvd
Have planned a bean stew style meal for tonight to avoid the supermarket
Walked as much as I could probably 4 miles ish.
no heating on

Still no reply from insurer. So so rude. I feel for you Solvency Seeker. It feels so hard to have to keep pushing at these big organisations even when you know you have right on your side. It makes you think how easy it is for them to rip consumers off because without a lot of resolve they win. Keep the faith, I will too!

All for now.
bob

DawnW · 23 October 2014 at 4:44PM

Hello

I am a bit late posting today as OH and I went to the next town (to ours) to visit the market and antiques fair. Didn't spend too much, just a couple of small bits for my sales unit which should double their money (not to get too excited, we are only talking £4 and £2.50 here :rotfl:) a couple of charity shop books to feed my obsession with cookery and gardening books

and a few ingredients for the new dish I want to make tonight (a Jamie Oliver recipe with partridges, which OH bought home the other day

)

Apart from that I have:

Cleaned a large and dirty item for sales unit - I will put some new things in tomorrow

Read meters and submitted readings. I am quite pleased with Ovo Energy so far, but then I was with Npower before, so admittedly starting from a low baseline.

Food from home, didn't even succumb to a coffee while out - well, it is only about 20 minutes drive away from home, so no excuse really!

Cooked some of our beetroot crop (there is a lot there :eek:). When it is cold I will chop into little cubes and freeze for winter salads.

Still to do:

Cook partridge dish It was gorgeous! I will definitely make it again
Walk dog (not very taxing as she is old and never wants to go very far :rotfl:) OH did this while I was cooking supper
Handful of corn for the chickens Done

Hope everyone is having a good day

GettingOrganised · 23 October 2014 at 9:13PM

Good evening everyone,

SS - sounds so frustrating about the gas supplier, why do bigger companies have such shoody customer services?
Bob - well done on the OD and saving on the groceries - I'm trying to get to grips with my grocery spending at the moment too
Dawn - your sales unit sounds very intriguing, is it like a concession within a bigger shop?

Back to a fairly normal day today, I didn't get round to doing a spreadsheet for my savings account yesterday and haven't done today either, so need to add to the 'to do' list!

Only breakfast from stores today - we planned to buy lunch in today at work, which is fairly rare, so was a lovely treat. Tea was McD's with DD - we had parent's evening so it was going to be a struggle with time. The money I spent will come out of my grocery budget.
Change into my sealed pot
No heating on today
Still to check birthday bingo and postcode lottery
Still to check bank account

Haven't really done much today and not a particularly MSE day either, I need to try and get some things done over the next week when I'm off work (yeah!)

Bobarella · 23 October 2014 at 10:32PM

Thank you Getting Organised. Funny enough I did the same with my son today. He had a happy meal for £2.29 & I had a white coffee £1.39 & small fries for 89p so a cheap date as they say

It's funny but food was always my 'thing' back in the days before we had a family. I would think nothing of spending £150 somewhere fancy. Although that isn't a factor in my debts but I couldn't imagine wanting to now. And McDonald's is our standard go to treat.

Thursday 23 October - What small DFW things will you do today?

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free