Sat 5th April/Sun 6th April - What small DFW things will you do this weekend?

ziggy2407

When we start out on the Debt-Free Wannabe 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:money:

Imbroglio

I'm working a 48 hour long shift so that makes 2 no spend days in a row. I also get meals provided so saving a few pennies there too...

double_mummy

went for a little walk to the park then took the kids to an artisan bakery and got make your own rolls and cookies

(bakery was my living room with LOs being the shop keepers with rolls and cookies we baked this morning filled with bits left in the fridge and cupboards)

foxgloves

Afternoon Savers,
Not much from me today but thought I'd still post to show I'm keeping the faith.
*Did grocery shopping which came in just below budget. Shopped around: Co-op, Aldi, local market for fruit & veg, 99p Shop for toothpaste & toothbrushes.
*Free coffee from loyalty card. Shared a cake, so only a very small spend.
*Bought 2 big packs of yellow-stickered rolls for freezer as they will be perfect for picnic over Easter when we have family staying.
*Saving a bit of energy by sharing bath water, not having any heating on, etc.
*Pot on more baby plants in the greenhouse - mostly grown from free seeds.
*Bought a book I'd decided to get for friend's birthday present as spotted it in local bookshop this morning with £10 off its rrp. (Remembered to use Presents Piggy funds for this!)
*Updated budgets.
*Going out for a meal tonight with big group of friends. Will be using money from our Leisure/Entertainment Piggy, so will not be touching our bank account (thank goodness, as tighter month than usual).
That will do for today, as to be honest, once I've finished my gardening jobs & glammed up for tonight, there won't be much day left.
Positive weekend wishes to everyone,
F x

allydowd

Hey Debt-Free Wannabe Jedis, time for my weekly post. Still don't have time to post daily at present.

Thanks for the starter Ziggy.

OPERATION APRIL
I am continuing work on Operation April. The plan is to get all the issues in my life sorted by the end of April with the exception of one credit card debt. MFW-journey was quite simple until November when suddenly lots of companies let me down simultaneously resulting in me turning into a new type of super-hero: Complaints Woman! So here's this week:

I have made progress! I resolved two issues.

Entertainment
:female: Went to the cinema yesterday and took drinks and sweeties in with us.

:female: Too wet to spend £10 on petrol at a weekend driving to the mountains and walking to spend £4 in a local comfortable cafe. Again, enjoyed free entertainment and used their free WiFi to download free podcasts to enjoy later.

:female: Free coffee at Ikea yesterday. (Just window-shopping.)

Mobile Phones
:female: Downloading a free App to tell me when my mobile phone battery is fully charged.
Still need to wrap up the contract with the old company but can't do this for two more weeks.

Credit Card Shuffle
:female: Balance transfer actioned to new 0% credit card. Old card destroyed. Issue resolved.

Missing TopCashBack Credit
:female: £29.30 missing credit for insurance purchased through TCB is now showing. Still waiting for payment.

Utility Switching
:female: Switch to Co-op Energy actioned. Now with new supplier.
Still need to wait for bill to allow me to settle nPower account.

Old Credit Card 1 Complaint
:female: Small compensation cheque arrived and banked.
Still waiting for it to clear.

Old Credit Card 2 Refund
:female: Received £175 cheque.
Still waiting for cheque to clear.

DWP Debt
:female: Had a small debt to the DWP from my JSA-claiming days. Arranged a payment for the remaining 25% to leave next week. Still need to wait for payment to be taken and need to call them next week about a baffling letter they've sent me.

NHS Dental Treatment
:female: Had a post-operative check-up. Paid bargain NHS price of £4.50 for x-rays. Treatment ongoing. Pain managed with 69p generic ibuprofen pills.
Still need to complete HC1 form to get a reduction on future NHS treatment and a partial refund.

New reading glasses for OH
:female:OH is shopping around for new specs which can be bought when HC1 form has been processed.

Income Tax Refund
:female: Applied for an £800(!) refund. HMRC have now decided they won't process it until I have my P60 after 5th April. Waiting for P60 to arrive.

Complaint to bank 1
:female: Complained about misinformation from bank. Complaint made using wombled envelope and free stamp from RM surveys.
Still waiting for a response. Perhaps they'll send me a gesture of goodwill, though an apology would do.

Complaint to bank 2
:female: Just about to complain (again) having called Telephone Banking to get details of a branch location. Received directions, drove to branch, found it closed down two years ago! :mad: Complaint made using wombled envelope and free stamp from RM surveys. Sent them a petrol receipt.
Awaiting a response and a refund for wasted petrol.

Ongoing IT issues
:female: Ordered new ink cartridge from Refresh (Link) at the cost of £13 rather than £26 in Tesco. Arrived and installed. Issue resolved!

'The Debt'
:female: Have kept up with all the repayments and will be able to pay off some extra today when I've done the Maths.


OTHER STUFF
Also been trying to life the DFW-dream in DFW-style So here's this week's other stuff:

*OH took advantage of cash back offer with bank account if she shopped at Morrisons.
House cleaned using minimum products and washable cloths.
*Doing RM surveys. They also sent me free sellotape, which is ace as you don't often need to use it for the surveys.
*Taking a packed lunch and a flask to work.
*Charging phone in the car whenever possible.
*Reserved a book at the library rather than buying it.

yorpington

Our local craft shop is closing down This is sad, but my gosh the sale is good! I got a huge bag of fabric, embroidery silks, buttons, stamps and all sorts for £30. It would have been £20 if I hadn't told the lady she'd forgotten to carry the 1, but I think these things come back to bite you, don't they? This way my karma balance is in credit!

I also got a huge pile of yellow-stickered stuff for the freezer from Mr S on my way back. Very satisfying.

Today I've been looking at my collection of crystal animals to see if it's worth selling. They are a huge pain to dust - but it turns out only two of them are really worth anything. I might sell those two and keep the others. I have been collecting them since I was a child, after all, although it's a very long time since I had a new one!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend

DD265

Hi all

I've listed a few things on eBay today on one day listings - planning to relist any that don't sell tomorrow. I have some other items to get ready as well.

Today is going to be a no spend day.

solvencyseeker

Hello DFW's

I have been looking for alternatives to bread rolls/sandwiches for lunch boxes and found a recipe for cheese and potato pasties. Had all the ingredients (potato, onion, mustard powder, cheese and flour/fat for pastry). Made a dozen - two have been tested and a definite success. Now thinking what else can I put into a pasty?...

Also had a tablespoon of the filling left. Have saved it to make a potato cake and poached eg breakfast for OH tomorrow

Also made a big veggie lasagne and a pot of soup.

As you may have realised my money saving journey is very focussed on feeding 3 hungry men, as healthily and cheaply as possible. Healthily comes first!

Also went to www.allaboutdogfood website (thank you Imbroglio) and found out I can feed my dogs decent quality food for the same price, or less than the big brand I have been buying. Just need to decide which one to try. Seriously I would recomment this to any DFW dog owners - gives cost per day alongside ratings - really good website.

Hope you are all having a good weekend.

Imbroglio

Yay! I'm really glad it helped, it's completely changed the way we feed our dog, and the vet commented that she was in great condition and thoroughly approved when we told him our choice of food. It's so nice to know you can give them something good quality that doesn't have to cost the earth

Imbroglio

telling you about that site was the reason I came out of lurking

princess_pea

Hello Everyone,


I went into work today to work on the dreaded dissertation, and am planning to stay late Monday - Thursday next week to get a chunk of it done.


Planning on two NSDs this weekend


Boyfriend bought some little bits from Mr S to add to things from freezer and cupboards - makes a change from me doing this!


Keep checking/ doing surveys


It's free insertion weekend on Ebay so I'll have a look to see if there is anything I can sell but I don't think so Probably better off planning to do a car boot


Checked budget to make sure I have enough petrol money to visit my family t'up north for Easter - really looking forward to this and have set the goal of getting x-amount of my dissertation written before we travel on Good Friday


I got a slow cooker for Christmas but haven't used it yet as I don't know where to start! Will have a think about what I can attempt to make in it next weekend - maybe there is a slow-cooker recipe thread on here somewhere...........?


We'll be taking our dog out on a lovely long walk somewhere tomorrow so hopefully it isn't going to chuck it down as I don't have a waterproof!


Have a lovely weekend everyone