Mon 21st July - What small DFW things will you be doing 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 Abbreviations Explained NEW ( Link )
• MSE Deals and Vouchers ( Link )
• MSE Wow Offers ( Link )
• My Supermarket ( Link )
  
• Nectar Points, AdPoints, Search Toolbar ( Link ) Currently AdPoints website is offline for maintenance
• 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 )

Morning DFW-Jedis,

I just had the first post-9am Monday morning lay-in I've had this year! What a free treat! Between us today my OH and I will:

Lay on sunloungers in the garden for most of the day.

Deep cleaning the Stairs and two Hallsways using minimal cleaning products (Stardrops, Baby Bottle Sterilising Tablets, hoover, hot water and elbow-grease.

Eat home-grown potatoes.

Forage for more raspberries in the glen, respecting the plant and other foragers by carefully only taking a few, even though they are very moreish.

Do i-Say surveys.

Washing is out to dry on the whirligig.


Happy Monday everyone....

cocoloco

Hello:wave: Can I join please?

I been a major lurker- I have read this thread every day(!) since August 13 but only just got my courage to join in.... :silenced:

I have a big 'fan' all of you guys and really enjoy reading your posts- it's often reminds me of things I have to do...:cheesy:

My list for today:

Fill out child benefit renewal form so that we can get 5 more months basic child benefit while our daughter is in college until she turns 18 in January 14 - where did time go?!?:question:

Todays B/L/D all from stores- homemade spag-bol with cheese, nom-nom.

Dig around in freezer and come up with meal ideas- we have a very expensive month and been living out of the freezer for last 2 weeks, still plenty there. Only obsticle is my OH who only likes 'fresh, just bought' things, so I have to be very cunning and sneak things by him otherwise he won't eat it!!! :eek: On the other hand I eat anything / eveyrything as long as it doesn't move LOL. :rotfl:

Check out supermarket prices via Mysupermarket- I ran out some everyday items, but keep spending to the minimal.

Collect free Leerdamel cheese slices I have a coupon for- I LOVE FREE FOOD! and it makes great lunch- cheese and ham rolls.

Get free tea / biscuits in work all day and charge phone as well.

Check what's showing in cinema tomorrow- Tuesday special £3 per movie inc 3D new releases- try to talk OH into park 5 min away rather that pay parking fees- my real bugbear- I hate paying for parking- with the road taxes and other taxis we are paying why should we paying for parking too?!? OK, deep breath, rant is over.

That's it all for now, will keep checking in durig the day to see how everybody is getting on. Hope everybody is having a good day! :T

solvencyseeker

Hello all. Thanks for the start Ally and welcome cocoloco - this thread has definitely helped me to stay on the DFW path.


I missed posting this weekend as I was mostly out in the garden trying to get it back into shape - everything growing like crazy. We are absolutely infested with slugs - OH collected a whole bucket of them last night - if only they were edible!!


I also went to town and into shops (looking for a gift), which is very dangerous for me, especially when the sales are on. But I was very virtuous and didn't do any spending :A(not even the gift....).


Today I have/will:


- catch up with the posts on here (I actually have got a head torch Ally but never thought of using it for meter reading - top tip!!)
- check bank accounts
- all meals from home
- lift to and from work
- finalise next months budget (OH gets paid on Wednesday). A danger month for us as we are having time off work (a staycation) and I know I will be tempted to spend money.
- walk dogs
- check out apprenticeships with son who is not now going to Uni and needs to sort something else out (actually had to make appointment with him to do this as he is never in!)


Off to eat packed lunch now. Best wishes all x

foxgloves

Morning all,
Today I have already:
*Pegged out laundry washed overnight on Economy 7
*Changed bed linen & set timer for another overnight wash. Thundery rain set to return here Weds, so want it all dry in the free fresh air by then!
*Rubber chicken. Had roast chicken yesterday. Have divvied it up & have sufficient to make a chicken salad with new potatoes tonight, fajhitas, stir-fry, some soup & a packed lunch. Carcass currently in slow cooker for stock.
*Bought 2 pretty pelargoniums for £1 each on the 'Plant hospital table' at local garden centre.
*Watered greenhouse & veggie garden.
Later I will:
*Cut more home grown lettuce & bits & bobs to make a salad
*Finish the front of the jumper I'm knitting for a gift.
*Round up library books ready for return tomorrow.
*Make tomorrow's packed lunch & work snacks.
This week, I will:
*Do all my usual energy saving measures.
*Get all the paperwork/receipts ready for Big Budget Day.
*Cut our basil crop & turn it into pots of yummy pesto for the freezer.
*Gather marigold petals from garden to make scones.
*Thin out greengage fruits on our tree so we get a better crop.
*Make some free plant staging for our courtyard using an unloved purple aerobic step & a box of ceramic 'slate' floor tiles.
*Update calendar. Evidence & experience is that we waste less money if we are really organised.
*Check in for surveys daily to keep those vouchers ticking over.
*Check online banking to see if my £50 Ugov money has landed yet. If so, transfer it into Bathroom Fund.
*Sort out the growing ebay pile in the spare room which is photographed but not yet weighed for postage prior to listing.
*Spend less time online......which is a shocking thief of time while I've so much to do in the garden......which is our future food, after all.
Have a great week, everyone. New start today, so let's really cane it with saving the pence.
Love from f x

MinnieMousesMummy

Good afternoon, I have spent most of today starting me diary on here, doing an soa and also doing a snowball.

Today's list for me:

Catch up with emails
Get a quick shower
Check bank and move money
Phone tax credits
M.S work
Raise invoices
Prep shopping list and do an online shop
Replant veg
Clean and tidy the kitchen
Do freelance work that is in for today
Sort Avon paperwork
Nectar adpoints
Do some course work

I think that is everything for today, Hope everyone has a good Monday x

carrielovesfanta

Evening folks!

Yup I've been awol again and the spending is getting a bit out of control. OH has finished uni now and is jobless so must be more economical.

With that in mind...

• B/L/D from stores
• Will not buy an more food this week. We'll have to make do!
• Put bread on tonight
• Put bucket back into shower to collect water for plants
• Water garden and tend to veg
• Work overtime!
• Placate OH after row about job interview.
• Share pie recipe on OS board in the hopes that karma will smile on me

Hope everyone is well

clf

jodles16

Hello!

Bit of a naughty morning, had a hot choc and cinnamon swirl at the train station, so worth it though! Train was all included and paid for by my work as was lunch and my return home! Minimal costs in fuel to and from station. So not to bad all in all. Not had to pay any fuel in my car for the last week which is huge as it was thirty quid a week at my last job!

Also went to see the house we are buying and love it so so so much! Its got four apple and one pear trees, already joking about making our own cider!

Happy Monday all!

Jodles :rotfl:

GettingOrganised

Hello everyone, I've haven't posted on this thread for a while, but read it almost everyday - hope everyone is well?

I was getting stuck in a bit of a rut with my list and even though I've been doing what I can, I felt like I was repeating myself over and over, but today I've done a few big things which I'd like to add (hope this isn't against the rules )

Home insurance sorted - half the price of what I'm currently paying and I've paid for it annually too
Paid balance on Next account - that's my first creditor gone for good
Bought some of DD's school uniform online - the embroidered stuff is nearly half the price of the local uniform shop and I used a £5 off coupon too
I've reached my £500 paid off the overdraft target today
B/l/d from stores
Posted 12 e bay items I sold (almost paid all of the home insurance - yeah)
Checked bank and cancelled two DD's which have now ended
Tidied up (although you wouldn't know it looking at the place now!)
Lunches prepared for tomorrow
Had a look at car insurance quotes, not within 30 days so can't renew just yet, but if the prices remain around the same next month, I'm looking at approx. 40% saving (fingers crossed)

I think that's it for today

ChopinonaBudget

I'm back on the wagon again after a shaky year involving a house move and a car that I had to buy on the credit card (don't even ask!)...

But tonight, I've made a pact with myself to stop buying books and stuff on Amazon without checking out the competition / freebies first;

So....

After working out which books I need to help with doing my own accounts (another long story), I found one from an Amazon seller at a couple of quid less than Amazon, and one on ebay for £9 less (hell of a lot on a £12 book!)

So I'm quite pleased with myself

ChopinonaBudget

Oh, and I applied for a savings account to start put savings by for tax for January. And once that is open, I'll open another one to get some by for moving house again so I don't have to dip into credit cards again. Hopefully.

Raspberry_beret

Hi, hope it's OK if I join in. I'll try and sort my sig out but I have around £6K of debt over 3 credit cards from maternity leave and separating from my ex husband .

Today I have/will be:

Making a salad for lunch with stuff I have here in the fridge at work

Getting the £2.47 I paid for milk and biscuits for work yesterday out of petty cash and putting it in my purse (I'm terrible at buying milk for work and forgetting to get the cash back).

Buying some coconut milk and curry powder at the Asian supermarket to do slow cooker beef curry tomorrow.

Checking bank balances and updating my budget spreadsheet - it has been a weird few months with tax credits going down massively (which was sort of good in that it made me really careful with money as I wasnt sure what was going to happen) then making a big payment when they received my renewal so I need to work out where I am and if I can make a lump sum payment to a cc.

My son will be eating at the childminder so no dinner needed for him and I still have a portion of meatballs and tomato sauce in the fridge for my dinner.