Thursday 17th July 2014 - What small DFW things will you do 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:

MONEY MAKING AND SAVING SITES AS OFTEN MENTIONED IN THIS FORUM:

• A Girl Called Jack, cheap recipes ( Link )
• Benefits check-up ( Link )
• Birthday Bingo, daily free game ( Link )
  
• eBid ( Link )
  
• Freecycle ( Link )
• Free Postcode Lottery (Link)
• FreeStuff ( Link )
• FreeUKStuff ( Link )
• i-Say Surveys (Link)
• List of online newspapers. At bottom of the linked page. ( Link )
• MSE Boost Your Income page. Gateway to lots of money-making links. ( Link )
• MSE Deals and Vouchers ( Link )
• MSE Wow Offers ( Link )
• My Supermarket ( Link )
• Nectar Points, AdPoints, Search Toolbar ( Link )
• OnePoll ( Link )
• Quidco ( Link )
• Reclaim PPI at no cost to yourself ( Link )
• SayNoTo0870 cheap phone number finder ( Link )
  
• Survey sites that pay for your opinions ( Link )
• Swagbucks ( Link )
• Swapit ( Link )
• Tesco Clubcard Free Movies and TV Shows Online ( Link )
  
• Toluna ( Link )
  
• TopCashBack ( Link )

allydowd

Morning DFW-Jedis,

Day three of being "between employment contracts". So today I have a medical consultation about my "dodgy" arm during which my OH is going to do the food shopping and is, hopefully, gonna stick to the list!

Today I shall be:

Discussing our new situation with my OH and agreeing what to do next

Getting a Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit form from the council offices.

Earning Nectar AdPoints.

Checking my online banking.

Washing is out to dry on the whirligig if/when the sun comes out.

Eating homegrown mini salad leaves and potatoes.

Doing i-Say surveys.

For newbies:

Have you seen these great pages elsewhere on this website?

Sign up for Martin Lewis' weekly email. "The 'Martin's Money Tips e-mail'. The site's designed around the free weekly e-mail. It ensures you don't miss out as many loopholes are short-lived and need speedy grabbing. Over a year, follow the info and you'll give yourself a money makeover." You don't get Spam as a result of signing up, just good advice and information. (Link)

Do a Money Makeover. "Taking a day to cut your bills, treating it like a job, saves many £1,000 over the year. And unless you earn £525,000+, that's the best paid day of the year. This isn't by 'cutting out cappuccinos', it's by systematically working through all bills & products to ensure you've the best deal on everything. This is a five-step plan to overhaul your finances and save £1,000s." There is also a 5 minute video of Martin on Watchdog showing you how to do a Money Makeover. (Link)

Do a free Benefits Check-up. Take 10 mins answering an online questionnaire to find out if you're claiming everything you're entitled do. You don't need to go near the DWP to do it and you can choose whether to enter your postcode for a more accurate forecast. You might be entitled to some benefit even if you are working. (Link)

ziggy2407

Good Morning All

ally - Thanks for starting us off today

Hi to all of the regulars and a BIG welcome to all the newbies, this is a really FAB thread with so many lovely, caring, considerate and supportive people.

Just a little list for me as will be taking it easy due to the heat that is forecast:


Packed lunches for DH & DS - Done
Check Banks - Done
Check swapits - Done
Nectar Adpoints -
Sort emails (& unsubscribe where possible) -
Bake -
All meals from cupboards/fridge/freezer -
Re-list bits for sale - Done
Read library book -
Check www.freepostcodelottery.com - Done


Have a great day, love you all xx

C xx

foxgloves

Good morning Campers!!
Absolutely delicious sunshine here in the generally quite murky Midlands.
Today's small money saving things:
*All my daily little energy saving measures.....trying to build as much credit as possible on our energy account to go towards winter bills.
*Bottled the Indian lemon pickle I made the other week with my bargain lemons (one jar will be put aside to go in someone's Christmas hamper)
*Did next week's meal plans.
*Rounded up veg in fridge that needed using. 1lb 'spare' carrots which I blanched & froze, half a cauli & some cabbage which I will stir-fry with garlic & spices tonight. Pretty much the ONLY food thrown oout here is when we get an orange that's gone furry overnight & even then it goes on the compost.
*Topped up worm composter unit with more kitchen scraps. Looks like bottom layer of compost is ready to use.
*Tend veggie garden & greenhouse - that's our future food out there! Weeded the leek bed. Will feed with free homemade comfrey liquid later.
*Did some surveys. Not many Onepolls, but lots of Tolunas around this morning.
*Made tomorrow's packed lunch.
*Knit present.
@Ally - Yes, re your comment yesterday, I am a big fan of 'Stardrops'. I can think of barely anything I'd less like to spend our money on than cleaning stuff!! I do have a few dregs of things I won as a prize, which I'm currently using up, but my basic cleaning kit is:
1)Stardrops (I use it neat on hard to clean things, but for everything else, I dilute it in an old spray bottle & use for floors, surfaces, bathroom, kitchen sink, practically everything. 1 bottle lasts me about a year...& yes, I do clean our entire house properly each week!)
2)Soda crystals, as in a bag from the 99p shop or similar. Used for tougher cleaning jobs such as the cooker, soaking off stains, clearing blocked sinks & drains.
3)Washing up liquid. Used for washing up obviously, but also to pre-treat stains on clothes & neat on a non-stick scourer to clean off grease. I also do the windows with it by just making up a solution & squeezing in half a lemon or a dash of vinegar (polished off with scrunched up newspaper)
4)Washing powder - Aldi 'Almat' is as good as the similarly boxed big brand I used to use & is so much cheaper.
5)Beeswax polish for wooden furniture....not the sprays where the beeswax has been wafted over the top in the factory (if you're lucky) but the proper stuff, which is often little more than beeswax, turpentine & lavender oil for fragrance. (Lovely honeyed smell lingering around furniture all week....)
6)Loo cleaner, own brand or sometimes I buy a big 5L container of the thin bleach which is very cheap in the discounters.
I don't use anything else. The cleaning aisles in the supermarkets depress me....different sprays, mousses, crud for specific rooms, surfaces, unguents in 3 different formats, all adding more chemicals into the waste stream & tons more plastic to landfill....that's without the crap we're breathing in when we use them, so my decision was to buy as few products as possible & to use them sparingly.
OK, will stop ranting, & head off into the sunshine now, especially as Gotterdammerung forecast for the weekend!
f x

MinnieMousesMummy

Good morning everyone, it is a lovely sunny day here today.

Ally – Thanks for starting the thread off this morning

My list for today:

• Get a quick showerDONE
• Take paperwork to clientDONE
• Have a NSDDONE, been and I am now back until work tonight
• Nectar adpoints I have tried to do this but it is not taking me to the correct page - is anyone else having problems with this site today?
• Check online bankingDONE, officially skint until tomorrow
• Phone csaDONE, just need to wait 12 - 16 weeks now
• Find paperwork for contract that starts next week and read over it
• Look into money makeover - Thanks Ally for the link
• Do benefts check up - Thanks Ally for the link
• All meals from storesDONE
• Scan and send information to clientDONE
• Do a meal plan for the rest of the month
• Catch up with emailsDONE
• Spend an hour looking for freelance workDONE
• Sort through and schedule Biology course work so that I can get it done in time
• Sort through and schedule chemistry course work so that I can get it done in timeDONE
• Feed all the animalsDONE

I think that is everything that I need to get done today, Hope everyone has a good Thursday x

jodles16

So I have missed a few days as I have been away on training, this was useful as they paid for the journey and all meal whilst there! Though I have been wasteful buying naughty snacks that I really dont need, not only a waste of money, its not good for my waist!

I will do a bank skim later, have also done a few low paying surveys but it all adds up!

Off out for a free walk with my dogs in a bit, beautiful weather so looking forward to it! Had a look on freecycle earlier as thinking about getting a new TV stand for when we move house, its all lovely oak in the new lounge so thought would keep my eyes open for bargains!

Have a great day everyone!

Jodles

solvencyseeker

Hello, hope you are all enjoying the sunshine. It is scorchio here!


Today I have/will:
- Breakfast at home
- Lift to and from work
- Packed Lunch
- Check bank accounts
- No spending
- Walk dogs
- Laundry on line
- Jacket spuds for tea
- Do meal plan for next week and shopping list
- Water herbs and other pots


I keep meaning to look for some Stardrops, not that I am keen on cleaning. I usually find a bucket of soapy water and my husband (bless him) can deal with most things.


Best wishes all x

allydowd

Late entry:

Walked through the glen. Foraged for elderflowers (cordial now on the go) and raspberries. Didn't pick toxic yellow-staining mushroom!

Sunshine22_2

Hi all

Late one for me today

* Took lunch to work, dinner from freezer
* LSD (ruined by buying team at work ice creams - I'm a good boss / needed to shut the whinging up!
* Checked emails - no vip slot for next sale (must be a good thing as can't have spent too much with them this year!!)
* Hopefully no spend day tomorrow as the bank is fairly bare!

Off to do some knitting on the 1st Christmas present!

S x