Sat/Sun 17th/18th Nov - What small DFW things are you doing today?

allydowd

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:

Hi everyone. Today I'm in my beautiful new-er home getting everything straight and working. I'm not up early; I haven't gone to bed yet. :rotfl:

So on today's list I will be following a make-do and mend schedule:

~Chatting to you lovely people.

~Fitting own electric cooker after isolating the mains. (NB Electricity kills; always consult a qualified electrician if you are unsure. It's best not to just google instructions and hope you get it right.! If you're not good at DIY go on an accredited course and save yourself a fortune; I did. There's some basic courses here starting at £10.) The socket is already fitted so it's just a case of correctly connecting three wires.

~Examine washing machine and plumbing to see what we need to plumb in the machine. (Safety first as above.)

~Fit draught excluder. The gap under one door is two full inches!

~Repair oven door handle after being damaged during move. (Over-eager teenager!)

PurpleFairy26

Morning Ally wow, I thought I was up early, but you're up very late :eek: hope you get some rest at some point today my list for today:

NSD as DD and I are at home, DH has borrowed car to help out BIL and will be gone all day. Absolutely chucking it down so no chance of a walk out even
Make some cakes
One load of washing to bring me up to date
Try and wrap some Christmas presents later, see if DD wants to help, may be more of a hindrance
Batch cook using mince and portion up to freeze
Check banking
See if I can use my supermarket to get cheapest groceries
Investigate sw@gbucks some more, if anyone gets anything for referral let me know
Think about starting a diary on here, desperate to have 9 months mat leave off, but also want to go back to work still debt free, thinking it may help me stay on track.
Quality time just DD and I may be last for a while - think were going to have a picnic on lounge floor for lunch and watch some Disney

Have a great weekend everyone, back later to catch up

determined_new_ms

Morning ally & jonno :wave: thanks for the kick off ally & the website for DIY training! Jonno have you started your mat leave already? That seems to have come round quick!

My day will look something like this:

* [STRIKE]update spends in diary - starting to forget at this point. I continue to try to keep a spending diary but I always forget things. I will double check with bank balances & ccs....
[/STRIKE]
* [STRIKE]check banking and ccs :rotfl:[/STRIKE]

* [STRIKE]going into town for 9 as a shop is having a sale and I saw something I want to grab for my bff for Christmas[/STRIKE] yay :j got gift for bff & mil - RRP £52 for £10 :T

* call in at the car parts shop where one of the guys is very lovely and see if there's anything that can be done by me with my car bumper before I think about taking it to the garage

* [STRIKE]go and collect item from freecycle[/STRIKE] this is the loveliest woman alive! Instead of 1 item she had 2 whole bags for me as well :A

* [STRIKE]call woman with kitchen for sale and (hopefully) pop round at lunchtime to look. If it works out the way I hope it does it'll save us several hundred pounds :T[/STRIKE]

* make cheese & onion pasties ala lemmings :A (for my oh & db while they are working on the kitchen ceiling tomorrow)

* make banana cake while the oven is on

* prepare veg for lamb stew and leave instructions for oh to throw in the sc tomorrow morning

Not so df (but very :j :beer: :j) I am going off to London for a friend's leaving drinks/party - can't wait to see my friends who I haven't seen since early summer :T

ok that's me, better get on then! x

rising_from_the_ashes

Morning all Ally thanks for starting us off today & can't believe you're still up!:eek: Jonno I highly recommend a diary I went through a spell of not writing in mine and I went so far off track it was unbelievable so they really do help keep you (well me anyway;)) on the straight & narrow ..... maybe it's because you're having to confess all :rotfl: DNMS Hope you get your bargains & have a fantastic time in London

List for today:

• Thermals on ..... heating off My feet are like ice blocks for some reason:( will have to go hunt for a big bowl & treat them to a soak in some nice warm water and see if I can find some warmer socks .... 1st time this winter they've been cold (have bad circulation)
  
• Don’t smoke Getting easier
  
• B / L / D from stores LO Risotto for lunch & Salmon and new potatoes for dinner
• Sort cats Done
• Tidy up Did kitchen!
• Look at DIY courses that Ally's linked to :T- electrics terrify me!:eek: Sometimes I hate where I live ....... nearest class is 100 miles away
• Check online banking - that should be all the d/debits out for the month now so it should remain static until payday (30th) OK - not a lot left tho'!
  
• See if there are any offers on the cat food I've got listed Nope!
• Wrap parcel of cat food that I've sold ready for collection by courier Done
  
• Hunt online for a cheap bookcase - also keeping an eye on Free*cycle for one but can't get anywhere to collect anything just now so prob a lost cause atm Found one but it's not cheap @ £30 - also (after popping into a neighbours for a cuppa), discovered the perfect solution to my under stair storage mess ..... that's another £20!:eek:
  
• Sort outside freezer so I can fit the 8 portions of Lasagne made yesterday in Done & fitted in!:T
• Make pasta bake from jars about to go OOD, portion up & freeze (if there's room!):eek: No chance this will fit!
• Copy mobile bills so ready to send next cashback claim in when December's bill comes out Downloaded & saved to pc - why waste paper & ink!
  
• Take photos & list a couple of items on e*bay Couple of things listed - been ages since I've sold anything
  
• Knit DMs Christmas scarf .... running out of time!
• Finish letter to Water Supplier & send
• Get to grips with S*bucks
• Ironing

Have a lovely weekend all

Free listing on E*bay this weekend

carrielovesfanta

Morning all, or should I say evening Ally?!

Ally - thanks for starting us off but GO TO BED!

jonno - enjoy your time with DD

DNMS - enjoy your jaunt to the big smoke!

RFTA - sounds like a busy weekend ahead

Well I have logged into the pc this morning only to discover that OH has left his facebook open. Would I write frapy statuses on his wall? Am I that immature? :whistle:

Too right I am :rotfl:

So today's plan is:

Housework. Lots of it. (Keeps me warm though - no heating on)

Make apple and cinnamon butter with free apples

Maybe make something else too with apples. Have some blackberries in the freezer that we collected in the summer.

Research some contents insurance online.

Check online banking (have to spend last 96p plus a bit more for ingredients for apple butter, is ok ish because have interest free £50 overdraft, but didn't want to go into it this month. Oh well, it's pocket money day on Monday )

Was very good last night and steered clear of alcoholic beverages even though I had to go to Asda and buy cider for the apple butter and a small bottle of wine for the risotto. As a result I appear to have magically lost 2lbs, taking me down to 9stone 9.5lbs

Think that's me at the moment. Have a good weekend all

crawley_girl

Morning people

My plans for the weekend involve:
* going swimming twice this weekend (making use of gym membership)
* trying to go to the cinema this weekend (making use of cinema card - want to see Twilight but not this weekend!)
* not smoking
* trying to source christmas presents online using discount codes etc
* not spend any money unless on petrol or christmas presents
* get up to date with my marking and avoid temptation of spending money

:heartpuls CG :heartpuls

determined_new_ms

carrielovesfanta wrote: »

DNMS - enjoy your jaunt to the big smoke!

ha ha I hear the streets are paved with gold

allydowd

carrielovesfanta wrote: »

Ally - thanks for starting us off but GO TO BED!

Research some contents insurance online.

Sorry, I'm still up! :eek: And I'm working at 7am tomorrow.

If you're with RBS or NatWest call them. They have a guarantee to beat existing insurer by at least £25 offer on til the end of the year. And they pay cancellation fees.

rising_from_the_ashes

allydowd wrote: »

Sorry, I'm still up! :eek: And I'm working at 7am tomorrow.

Seriously :eek:..... Oh my! _pale_ Go To Bed!
There may be a few of these:coffee:needed tomorrow!

ziggy2407

Good Evening my lovelies

ally - Thanks for starting us off, hope you have managed to get some rest

Hi to all the regulars and welcome to any lurkers and newbies :wave:, you've joined a FAB supportive thread.

Well not feeling that great again today due to lack of sleep, docs visit went well and I have started some new meds and am booked in for blood tests to investigate further (shame there not while 26th Nov),
stepson called and asked if he could drop his eldest off for weekend as him and his partner are struggling. Todays little list

Check Banks - Done (bit bleak)
Check swapits - Done
Return Library Books - Done(oops 10p fine as 1 should have been back yesterday)
General Tidy round - Done
Meals from Stores - Done
Update Food Tracker - in progress (35lb, so far)
Comps -
Read - in progress
Knit -
Check Christmas list and see how far I am -
Find: ally's post re: the past - Thanks RFTA
List few bits for sale on FB/netmums etc -

Have a great day all, love to you all :A

C xx

PurpleFairy26

Morning all

DNMS im 2 weeks from due, so officially still on holiday but wont be going back before bump arives youre right it has flown. Had a really productive day yesterday and did everything off my list apart from managing to get on mysupermarket and wrap some pressies. Will try again today. Also today:

Meals from stores
2nd NSD planned
Wait in this afternoon for gas man. See if he can fix hot water
Do some more batch cook
Make some bread I think
Maybe make some soup for week lunches
Update my shiny new diary

Think that's about all, will be back later. HAve a good day everyone