Back on the straight and narrow

lilian1977

Good morning all.

My things for today:

1. Check online banking
2. Check Quidco - still only 60p so can't withdraw.
3. Free paper on the train and coffee from home.
4. Free mOma bircher muesli for breakfast (link)
5. Free Higgidy pie for tea (link)
6. Lunch and snacks from stores
7. Wearing free Benefit foundation (link)
8. Collect free seeds from The Works (link) - needs a members card, but you could print this coupon and pick one up in store then collect?


I think that's everything. Happy happy DFW days all x

lilian1977

Hi all

It's my fourth wedding anniversary today and I have been putting £10 a month aside since last year (not every month, but enough to have saved £80), plus my lovely mum and dad have paid in £50 "to get a few drinks" - so we are going out for dinner tonight! Hoping to keep a fair bit back though as we'd like to go away for the weekend for our fifth anniversary so it would be nice to already have something in the savings for that. Will be putting £20 a month away from next month too.

Anyway. My other things:

1. Checked online banking - no movement
2. Checked Quidco - still only at 60p so can't withdraw
3. Freebie hunting:

1. 200 free Nectar points for registering with each of First Group's companies - potential of 1000 if it works!
2. Redeem my Krispy Kreme voucher
3. Free £2 Amazon Android Appstore voucher.

4. Check wombled McDonalds Millions stickers - no prize, but found one for free fruit bag so will tuck that into purse for day out tomorrow. List spares on Ebay.
5. Breakfast and lunch from stores - posh tea out!
6. Try and finish library book so I can return it before long weekend
7. Second Benefit sample used today along with free perfume sample.
8. Free paper, magazines and coffee from home on the train.
9. Freepostcodelottery and BirthdayBingo


I think that's everything. Will post up anything else later. Have happy DFW days all! x

lilian1977

Hi all

Haven't posted all weekend as it's difficult to get onto the laptop without my son wanting to see the CBeebies website! All spends over Easter weekend from budget thankfully - £30 left in grocery budget and £15 in entertainment until Monday (payday).

My things today:

1. Check online banking - all fine.
2. Check Quidco - £2.96 in there now so withdrawn and will pay off CC when it arrives in my bank.
3. Check Ebay - a few small sales so check bill then withdraw the rest - pay off CC when it arrives in my bank.Post items using RM survey stamps.
4. B, L, D and snacks from stores.
5. Submit Mystery Dining report - £30 reimbursement to go to OH as he paid bill on his CC.
6. Finalise change to SIM only deal - should save me around £20 a month and also £60 Quidco payment if it tracks!
7. Check over spreadsheet for payday - shift extra money into driving lessons savings as lessons start next week (first 3 hours free).
8. Freepostcodelottery and Birthdaybingo.
9. Inbox Pounds clicks.
10. Enquire about whether old mobile contract pre-payment will be applied to new bill.

I think that's everything, have happy DFW days all x

lilian1977

Hi all

I;m fiscal fasting for 4 days this week as we only have £66 food money to last us three weeks - every day I don't spend it is one less day it has to stretch for!

So, yesterday I didn't spend anything and actually made £3 doing some market research on the street - got two muller yoghurts to eat as well so that meant I didn't need the yoghurt I'd brought with me. Had stew and couscous for lunch - in each portion the following costs apply: 7p for the cous cous (50g of a 500g 70p bag), 8.5p for 1/4 tin tomatoes, 6p for 1/4 tin baked beans (sauce rinsed off), 2p for 1/4 carrot, sprinkling of italian herbs, couple of free pepper sachets from a cafe, 1/4 of an onion (5p?). About 30p a portion and really filling and warming, plus includes veg, protein and carbs. Will have this for the rest of the week at work (I work 4 days). Fruit is grapes that we already had, a handful of frozen berries (foraged then frozen) with my yoghurt, plums that I got YS on Sunday. Dinner will be ratatouille from the freezer.

Planning to have really frugal lunchbreaks too so yesterday I did the market research survey and today I'm going to walk over to Boots to pick up the free mag as it has a sachet of my shampoo and conditioner in; great for holidays.

Going to peruse the vouchers board now to see if I can find anything else for free Good luck all xx

lilian1977

Hi all

Could do with Ald1 today as I need night time pull ups for DS and eggs - but we have two pullups left and 1 egg, so enough for tonight/tomorrow - I think I will try and hold off going until tomorrow, and perhaps even Friday - although I will HAVE to remember to go on Friday as DS not dry at night yet! Can manage without my breakfast egg on Friday.

Have posted on Freegle to see if anyone is getting rid of any pullups.

Lunch today is my stew and cous cous again, didn't have a banana for breakfast as none in the house, I had a look on the floor for pennies on the way to work and thought if I found some I could buy one, but it was not to be. I still have grapes, frozen berries and plums though so OK for fruit really.

Driving lesson tonight, £30 ugh. Test next week though so will really concentrate and hopefully this will be an expense that will no longer be coming out of my budget after that!

Have happy days all.

lilian1977

Hello everyone

Completely forgot but I'd been given an Abel and Cole free box code (no commitment, no restrictions so I got the large fruit and veg box!) and the box arrived yesterday - definitely not worth £26.50 (!!) but I got:

5 bananas
10 apples
3 onions
Head of brocolli
Bag of cavolo nero
2 small butternuts
Punnet chestnut mushrooms
Punnet plums
Bunch of celery

All great for me and I'll use it all so it will really help to stretch the budget this week.

I also got an email from Tesco saying they are sending me a £10 moneycard due to a genuine complaint so that will help too.

Found 3p on the way to work too!

I will have to go to Ald1 today as only two pullups left and I don't want to risk forgetting to go - so that will be £2.99 out of my budget gone. Suggestions for where I can get the cheapest free range eggs?

lilian1977

Hi all

Been forgetting to post, but I'm back today. I have £2.50 per day in my "fun" budget (basically my disposable income) and £1.68 per day in my food budget, this is to last until 28th November. However I also still have quite a lot of debt so I need to ensure I don't add to this.

Today I have ordered my dad's Christmas present and some epsom salts to make some bath salts for my mum (from my son), used a TopCashBack Amazon gift certificate to pay for both.

Brought in pasta for my lunch from home and will eat it in our staff break room whilst finishing my library book.

Paid £3 off my credit card - every little helps.

Got myself to £10 on InboxPounds only to find that the payout level is actually £20!

Hope everyone is well, don't know if people are subscribing or reading this but it helps me to track where I'm up to and also read back on what mistakes I have made.

lilian1977

Morning all

I've gone and bloody done it again. I should not be allowed to have a credit card. I always use a 0% on purchases one to buy my train pass and tell myself that will be all - and in 4 months I have managed to rack up three times the amount the train pass costs

So currently looking at almost £3,000 to pay off. BAH. It's interest free so not the end of the world but definitely will be hard to pay off by the time I need to get my next train pass in December. So I need to batten down the hatches again.

Problem is, I think I've already battened down as much as I can without giving up my savings accounts, which I don't want to do as they are for things like birthdays, Christmas (already saving Shop and Scan Amazon vouchers for that as well), holidays (DS starts school this September so holidays are about to go through the roof), car maintenance, house maintenance, emergency fund etc.

I'm finding that the pay per click sites (Swagbucks, Inbox Pounds etc) don't pay as much as they used to, and with Nectar Adpoints out of the window as well there just doesn't seem to be as much online earning potential as there used to be. Does anyone else find the same thing, or am I not looking in the right places?

Anyway. I'm very much back on board the good ship debt free if you'll have me.

My small things today:

• Bump some bits on my local Facebook selling site
• Chase up collection of some of DSs old clothes
• Look at spreadsheet for next month and see if I can tweak it at all
• Buy a cheap card from Card Factory for a friend's new home - haven't got anything suitable in the card making stash unfortunately.
• Look into National Trust membership for cheaper days out over the summer - and research days out at alternative locations that don't require a membership fee
• Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks from stores
• FreePostcodeLottery etc
• Enter codes from McDonalds Millions wombled stickers - still nothing
• Pick up DS early and take him to surprise CBeebies show - managed to get tickets for £1 through work.

I think that's everything. Have happy DFW days everyone xx

lilian1977

Hello, if anyone is reading

Well yesterday wasn't a NSD but it was quite a low spend. I got some free (was told they'd be £1 but no one asked me for any cash!) tickets through work for the CBeebies show so picked DS up early and used my train pass to get into town. Picked him up a Subway sandwich, drink and snack deal (£2.99), saved the drink and snack for the show and he ate the sandwich then and there. Then went across to Ben and Jerrys to get the free ice cream (although put £2 in the collection pot for charity) which we ate in the park. Went to the show then used train pass to get home after spending £1.39 on some chips to share.

So. Not free, but much cheaper than it could have been!

Other things today:

B,L & D from stores
Check online banking - all ok
Enter codes from McDonalds Millions wombled stickers - still nothing
FreePostcodeLottery etc
Bump some bits on my local Facebook selling site - sold a couple of things
Chase up collection of some of DSs old clothes

Think that's everything. Have happy DFW days everyone xxx

lilian1977

Hi all

I'm taking part in Live Below the Line for the next 5 days so I will by fiscal fasting by default! I have my meals planned for the next 5 days (£5 for 5 days), and am going to extend it by not spending on anything at all for myself.

My son goes to a craft class on a Friday morning which I have already put the £4 aside for and his swimming lesson is a Friday afternoon which is paid by direct debit, but apart from that we won't be spending a thing.

This morning I have had my free Waitrose coffee but am not going to visit the Virgin Lounge as I feel like that's cheating on my Live Below the Line rules. So I will be doing free things at lunchtimes from work. The weather looks like being awful over the next few days so I will take my library books back tomorrow and have a good browse. I will visit the art gallery on Wednesday and download some iPlayer things for Thursday lunchtime in our staff room. Today looks like being ok weather wise so I will go for a walk.