The march to financial freedom

Ali-OK

mizmir wrote: »

Wow - I am exhausted just reading all this! :rotfl: Well done - you sound like you are on top of things and making good progress.

Looks like there are some new free money making sites out there to find out about since I was last here.... freepostcodelottery and InBoxPounds?? I could do with all the help I can get - even pennies!

You and me both :rotfl::rotfl: I went to bed complete with a swimming head from it all

Yesterday was an amalgamation of organising vouchers, checking use by dates, planning and having a comprehensive list that I stuck to

Have a look on the Up Your Income board for money/points making sites too. When I read diaries, if I come across someone reporting doing surveys/making money, I have a google and join if it looks good.

Not sure how good Inbox Pounds will be as just started that (min £20 payout so could take an age).

Nectar points are a good staple without having to buy anything - have a look at nectar.com for ways to earn including search toolbar, watching videos, completing surveys and offers like the 750 points for buying a £1.49 min e-book (a profit when you work out the points are worth £3.25). I save those for Christmas turkeys and half price clothes shopping

Another good one is P!(i)necone Research - you have to apply for it but each survey is worth £3 (I've had roughly one a month) and initially they paid in Luncheon Vouchers that you can spend in food stores, but they now pay cash to Paypal.

Hope that all helps

Ali-OK

Good evening

A good work day and also a NSD. :j

The extra milk in the weekly shop last Thursday was opened today, so that has saved 50p compared to buying same volume at our local corner shop.

The monthly use and pay off CC payment went out yesterday and is showing up today, so all good there.

Financials:
Bank account checked
freepostcodelottery checked
Nectar - no increase on anything and the search bar has stopped accruing points, there's a notice on the nectar website about difficulties.
Nectar card value - £27.25

Inbox Pounds -up to £3.67, looks like plenty of surveys to get cracking on with.

I've filed a pile of paperwork tonight as well, so that is slowly being worked through.

I've swapped the meal plan around a bit too, as am going to be working later than planned tomorrow and will have DB arriving about 30 mins after I get in the door! So baked pots were tonight and we'll have the lattice chicken (from the freezer) with new pots and beans tomorrow night. Will do spag bol on Thursday.

Hope everyone has had a good day

Ali-OK

Just read Martin's preview of his weekly email and joined the new Tap4deals website to get 2 Cineworld tickets for £11. Seems to work fine, have redeemed the code and got the codes to buy the tickets

As they are valid until mid-March, I'll use them to take DS to our local Cineworld during the Feb school hols. One activity sorted!

Ali-OK

Pleased to report another NSD today :j

A good work day and enjoyed a cuppa and catch up at a friends where DS went to after school. Quick dinner and then DB was here for a couple of hours. He came bearing gifts of biscuits, then proceeded to eat some of my Christmas chocolates. I'm too slow to eat them up apparently and should be thankful for the help :rotfl:

I've been playing email ping-pong with TV Licensing to sort moving it from quarterly DD to save £5 a year. Going to leave it for now though as it'd be due next month as an annual payment, when I have alot of other big one off bills such as car tax. I've got more leaway financially in May/June, so will pay the next quarterly DD on 1st March and then re-visit it.

Sticking to meal plan and have the mince out of the freezer to make a batch of spag bol tomorrow night. Will need to write a new one for next week before doing the shopping list and weekly shop at some point tomorrow.

No changes on any of the Nectar stuff and not had chance to look at Inbox Pounds.

So a short update for a change and an early night

Ali-OK

Another hectic work day and haven't had chance to do much other than the weekly shop in Ald! tonight and check my bank account and freepostcodelottery. I'd have left the food shop until tomorrow, but only had a smidgeon of milk left. Not even enough for a cup of tea after dinner tonight :eek:

Grocery spend was £21.30, taking me up to £59.19 for the month, so just about on track. It did include a big bag of dog food, so I think I can get this back down to £15 a week for the last 2 weeks and throw another £10 at the CC. That's the plan.

Batch of bolognese made tonight, had one for dinner and 4 more have gone into the freezer. Batch of chilli to make on Saturday. Freezer stocks are good, cupboard is fairly bare, but it only contains what we do use regularly. Just goes to show how much I didn't need to buy but got in as 'stock'.

Meal plan for next week:

Sunday - beef brisket and roast trimmings
Monday - beef casserole, mash and veg
Tuesday - stir fry beef, veg and noodles
Wed - cheese and onion potato rocks, carrots and peas
Thur - spag bol
Fri - fish fingers, chips and peas
Sat - Chill, rice and garlic bread

Got to work out how to slow cook the brisket next! Have updated Grocery Challenge in sig and posted on the thread.

Will check all the nectar bits shortly, but search bar still isn't working so stuck on 57 points there.

Have started to compare gas and elec prices - looks like the best deal for me is to go to separate companies for them and an anticipated saving of @ £20 a month based on last 12 months usage. Current deal ends 28th Feb.

Glad it's Friday tomorrow, my head feels utterly frazzled again from work and I am having another early night. Work should settle down next week, though it's good to be this busy.

Hope everyone has had a good day.

Rollercoaster_Rach

Oooh your menu sounds nice!

I also can't wait for the weekend

RR x

Ali-OK

Thanks Rach,

I maybe being a little optimistic that the beef will stretch to Wednesday. It looks quite a big piece - a Yellow Sticker bargain on Christmas Eve in Tesco Express in town - so fingers crossed.

If not, I've got some frozen duck I can use up. Yum!

Ali-OK

The end of the week, oh how I'm looking forward to 48 hours of rest!

Not such a long work day thankfully and a NSD too. Expecting the weekend to be NSDs as well, as the plan is to chill out a bit and pamper myself - hair colour needs doing and have a few in stock from when I picked them up 3 for 2 on offer, but will try Poundland when they run out.

Usual other weekend tasks are underway and the washing is done. Elec and gas readings to do in the morning and update website and figures.
Might get a bit more decluttering and filing done in the study

HM pork mince and onion burgers in buns with chips went down very well with DS tonight, he is really coming on in trying new foods and liking them. 2 burgers spare, so will freeze those for another day. Amazing how much extra food we've accrued from batch cooking.

The good today:
- bank account checked
- freepostcodelottery checked
- Nectar adpoints - up to 68
- Nectar canvass - 80 point survey done tonight
- Nectar search bar - back working again tonight and up to 62
- Nectar card value - £27.25 still
- Inbox Pounds - up to £5.64
- reimbursed myself work expenses
- booked some more work into February
- according to the freezer inventory, I have a chilli in the garage freezer, but have already taken the mince out to defrost to do a batch tomorrow. :doh: It's a big 750gm pack, so I might split it between chilli and a cottage pie.

The not so good:
- have trapped a nerve in my neck I think, will take some painkillers and hopefully it'll be better in the morning
- Doglet No.1 has a rather red patch on one of his paw pads and was noticeably keeping it off the ground today. Fortunately, I've some vet wrap that I bought from eBay a few years ago, so have bathed, creamed and wrapped his paw to stop him chewing/licking it. Fingers crossed it'll heal on it's own, if not, it's a trip to the vets.
- Talk Talk DD didn't go out as it should have done yesterday - I suspect this is down to me changing the package with them, so need to check online billing and see what's what

Early night again here and looking forward to sleeping in a bit longer in the morning. Have a great weekend.

Rollercoaster_Rach

Hope your neck feels better...hate that niggly pain...a nice hot bath might do the trick

Ali-OK

Rollercoaster_Rach wrote: »

Hope your neck feels better...hate that niggly pain...a nice hot bath might do the trick

It's the sort that catches you out when you move a certain way! Ouch!

Going to try my fluffy covered hot water bottle and then I can take it to bed with me