since joining DFW I have.....

~evanesco~

Since joining I have...

-Reclaimed most of my bank charges,with the last lot waiting for me to file my AQ (which I will do at the very last minute, bit more interest for me )
-Paid off 3 of our debts completely
-Tried to switch providers of gas & electricity (having bit of a nightmare with this, will be sorted next week though)
-Lowered our tariffs for our mobiles, saving £15 a month
-Budgeted to within an inch of our lives for the next 6 months
-Learnt how to meal plan effectively, which is also helping our FFW mission
-Done mystery shopping to earn extra pennies to throw at our debts
-Given my friend our CC's which are in her freezer, even less temptation
-Discovered the joys of snowballing, and seeing our debt reduce each month, instead of increase
-Realised that sometimes a purchase is wanted more than needed, if I need it I will wait and see if I still need it a week later

Somethings can't be avoided and it's important to know when to draw a line. Last month I had to take some time off work, so because of the lower wages, we were really skint, so we had to increase OH's overdraft to enable us to eat. To make up for this I have done overtime this month, which will enable us to reduce the overdraft this month. Again, next month we have to pay 6 weeks rent and again the month after, so I've signed up for more overtime to cover this, without it causing to much of a hassle with our budget. I think my Mum calls it 'swings and roundabouts'.

Evans. xox

Karmacat

This is a great idea. Since joining this site, I've:
- started to sell on Amazon.
- joined freecycle - got the packaging for the Amazon sales from there!
- am already on payg for my phone, but am buying top ups at Boots to get points there rather than on my credit card as I used to.
- saved £90 when I renewed my building and contents insurance.
- started using pigsback, mutualpoints and rpoints: going to spend my first John Lewis voucher in Waitrose today (I'm addicted to their basil pesto).
- started doing surveys.
- just changed gas and electricity provider - cashback and cheaper tariff should be a saving of £360 a year !!!
- saved a friend £70 when *he* renewed his car insurance.
- have started to get my head around matched betting, even if I haven't done it yet.
- learnt to focus on making steps each day (also thanks to a hypno thread, lol!).
- found out about Starbucks giving away their used coffee grounds - my garden has been abandoned for years, it desparately needs organic matter.

I think thats the lot - its been absolutely brilliant to be able to do these things, and the site and the community on it has given me the ideas and the confidence to use them.

prophecy_grrl

I discovered this site last Autumn, but hid from my LBM until after Christmas! Since facing up to things I'm sooo much more positive about my situation, and feel 100% in control of my finances.

So far I have:
*Completed DFW Fly Lady 31 Day Challenge
*Reduced grocery shopping to £100 pcm (pre LBM was £300+ pcm for me, DH, 2 cats and small dog :eek: )
*Cleared 1 of 3 CCs and closed account
*Transferred CC debt to 0% APR cards
*Cleared DH's large student overdraft and closed account
*Now in the black on both our bank accounts (current account and bills account)
*Did an SOA (didn't post it here but still helped), and now have set up standing order after every payday so all DDs are covered from bills account
*Worked out DFD
*Joined RPoints (£16.06 claimed to date), Pigsback (£20 claimed), YouGov, ValuedOpinions, Brain Juicer
*Started saving for Christmas 2007
*Reduced debt by £1373.87
*Started budgeting (and sticking to it!)
*Started £2 coin savings
*Started Ebay / CBS Challenge to make £500 this year (see sig for progress)
*Changed gas and elec providers to save money, with cashback
*Cancelled PPI on loan (saving £310.52 overall)
*Started matched betting


I can't believe how far I've come in just a few months now I've sat down and thought about it!

hypno06

What a fantastic amount of progress we have made.

Thank you to everyone on these boards for support, and thanks to Martin for starting it.

Keep up the good work - we will get there!

:j :j :j :j :j :j :j :j :j :j :j :j :j

shamu95

what a great idea. since joining i have gone from being -£781 short per month of meeting all minimum repayments to now breaking even or better each month. done this by:
Bringing mobile bill down to £35 per month instead of £80
Checking all my interest rates and transferring balances. although has cost initially at least i can now afford to pay. ths alone saved me nearly £300 a month.
managed to get 1 interest free card will apply for more in october.
have made nearly £100 on ebay
Claimed back charges of £380 and more pending.
Started an extra job and increased hours at main job
have joined mystery shopping and ipsos surveys.
cancelled ppi and taken out income protection. trying to claim lpi back.
saved £150 on car insurance-didnt realise i could of got cashback too. next time!!
also joined pigsback recently and dont understand it at all just yet.
set up a diary so i know when all my payments come out or go in.
i also have a diary to track ebay sales and extra income and a seperate debt diary. how sad!!
made £124.10 on carboot
and most important of all i have actually got the belief that i can and will do this. i have gained tons of inspiration and i feel that i have somewhere to turn during the bad times.

If anyone knows of any sites that i could register on to earn pennies please let me know.

JET34

Since discovering this site I have:
Had a Energy Saving Lightbulb Moment (the regular one kept blowing)
Joined Quidco/Pigsback
Became Debt Free
Joined £2 coin savers
Started saving sliver coins
Had a debt free christmas (almost every thing I brought had been reduced already)
Opened new saving account's and have started to save for the first time in my adult life whoooooo
Not been overdrawn and still have money left at he end of the month
Up graded my bank account
Told everyone I know about MSE
Helped my Sister to Budget

Storm

The most important thing I've done since my LBM last September (and the 2nd one in January :rolleyes:) is to actually open my bank statements when they arrive - before I wouldn't actually look at what I'd spent the money on, just whether there was anything left!

Also...
- signed up for Pigsback, Quidco, Greasypalm etc
- got a load of freebies sent through
- sold some stuff on Ebay (not masses unfortunately)
- paid off 1 overdraft, my next account & my mum
- met a load of fantastic people!

The most important thing though is that it's made me think about money very differently. When I'm debt free I'm intending to try and continue saving the same amount I'm currently paying off each month so I might actually be able to buy a flat before I'm 35 (4 years time!)

Shineyhappy

I haven't been a memember long but I have truly had my lightbulb moment. It didn't flicker it blinded me!

I suppose for the first time in my life I have to be responsible now and only I am responsible for the mortgage and bills.

So far I have:

Set up internet banking and check it daily (before I never opened them)
Started selling my old books on Amazon (75 profit so far)
Started selling on Ebay (made about 75 profit too)
Paid off my Lloyds credit card
Taken packed lunches every where
Cut my food shopping down
Joined Pigsback and Quidco
Become aware of my financial situation and drawn up a SOA

In the future:

Trying to reduce my mobile bill (in a contract though)
Sort out my overdraft and reduce the limit once the transfer of my flat has been sorted.
Monitor my spending closely
Keep up my newely learned MSE ways
Try not to sing MSE ways to people who aren't interested
Try and pay off the mortgage when the cc and od are gone