Wednesday 11th June - What small DFW things have you done today?

delmar39

Had a good look at my outgoings today and managed to cut down in a few areas. Freed up a bit more to pay into my ISA ready to pay my cards off October 2015. Already have the money to do so, but if I paid in full now I wouldn't have any rainy day savings, so saving hard to have a decent rainy day fund in place once I've paid them off. May even do a balance transfer and keep the money in the bank. I'll see what the figures look like nearer the time. Also got my wife's 40th to save up for next year, so see how this goes!


Other things:


- Bike to work as often as I can.
- Packed lunch.
- Check budgets and monthly/annual spending often, planning ahead as much as possible.
- Check for best deals for utilities, phone etc regularly.

ziggy2407

foxgloves wrote: »

*Decide what to do with a box of the dark slate-coloured ceramic floor tiles leftover from new bathroom. Had intended to back them with felt & use for table mats as I've seen similar ones selling for as much as £16 for two, but it turns out that the tiles are too big & I wouldn't be able to lay the table without them overlapping, so am thinking again. They are nice ones & I'm not wasting a 'free' resource!

Table top
Get Mr F to make you a butchers block?
sell
mosaic

delmar39

Oh yes forgot, a NSD here!

foxgloves

Thanks Ziggy & Clootiesmum for tile upcycling ideas. I shall be spoiled for choice! I have a butcher's unit but I like the idea of a cheeseboard or even a board for centre of the table with bread, olives, cheese, anything really, on it. I also have a stash of bricks from when conservatory was built & I wondered if I stacked them up in a block on our courtyard, I could top them with the tiles & use for BBQ-ing or just things like coffee cups, bottles of pinot grigio or tea lights. Didn't think about getting them cut down. We don't have a tile cutter but yes, perhaps a tile shop would do it & I could progress the table mats idea. Thanks for the ideas - feeling quite inspired now as I hate wasting stuff & love upcycling.
Solvencyseeker - Did you do cookery O'level? (you are probably younger than me, I pre-date GCSEs!) We spent ages on pastry. We learned short crust, flaky, puff, rough-puff, suet & choux! Our teacher was proper old-style & a bit of a character. When I start my blog later this month, I'm intending to share some of the tales from those lessons. We did have some laughs.....not least when she was found in the pantry swigging the cooking sherry!
Fx

determined_new_ms

foxgloves wrote: »

When I start my blog later this month, I'm intending to share some of the tales from those lessons.
Fx

Oooooooo I love a good blog! Make sure you share with us x

I'm totally with zigs on the getting-the-tiles-cut-down idea

solvencyseeker

foxgloves wrote: »

Solvencyseeker - Did you do cookery O'level? (you are probably younger than me, I pre-date GCSEs!) We spent ages on pastry. We learned short crust, flaky, puff, rough-puff, suet & choux! Our teacher was proper old-style & a bit of a character. When I start my blog later this month, I'm intending to share some of the tales from those lessons. We did have some laughs.....not least when she was found in the pantry swigging the cooking sherry!
Fx

I did do O'Level cookery and my teacher was a real character too. Rumour had it that she used to be a female wrestler...I remember asking her if it was true. I spent quite a lot of time standing in the corridor. When in lessons I learnt lots of skills that have been so useful. I just wish we'd had money management lessons in school

foxgloves

Solvencyseeker - Yes, I agree about money management skills. The old O'level cookery course was so useful for cooking from scratch economically. I can remember our teacher (who drank like a fish & sounded like a sergeant major) saying "I don't care if none of you ever make stock even once in your lives, but when a question comes up in your exam about leftovers, you will write that you would put them in your stock-pot NOT throw them in the bin". When I left home to be a student, I was an extremely competant cook, had a good grounding in gardening from my Mum & was more than adequate in make do & mend skills........so why didn't I use them? Instead I spent money like water & was in debt from age 19 to into my 40s! What a twit! Never mind, I've reformed now & hopefully won't go back to being a naughty girl!

solvencyseeker

foxgloves wrote: »

Solvencyseeker - I spent money like water & was in debt from age 19 to into my 40s! What a twit! Never mind, I've reformed now & hopefully won't go back to being a naughty girl!

Ditto here. I am a few years behind in terms of the LBM (more of a gradual dawning in my case) and sorting my life out but I very much hope to be where you are now in a few years time. Great to know that it's never too late to change your ways.