Thursday 5th November - What small DFW things will you do today?

ClootiesMum

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:

ClootiesMum

Morning all.
Quick update from me at the moment as need to think about heading off to the workhouse.

Proactive MSE-ing

• All meals from stores
• Spend lunchtime trying to find out how to find out a NI number
• Car share to work - normally do this but DH is well late tonight but has arranged a lift home part of the way so will have to go out tonight at about 7.30 to pick him up
• Start having a think about other money getting adventures - I'm sure we have an endowment somewhere that we stopped paying into & should cash in - that sort of stuff

Winter prep

• Continue hunt for wee willie winkie candle holders and battery powered alarm
• Make list (I love lists - can you tell) of all things that need to go in the bug out bags for car. We have a 40 min drive to work and in the event of being stuck due to traffic/snow/zombie attacks I carry a rucksack in the car with basics - towel / gloves, hat, scarf / spare undies & toiletries in case we have to stay the night somewhere. Sounds like I'm a paranoid depressive but I'm really not - it's just that we live pretty rurally & have had to walk in to house occasionally after parking car up. Once you've done it once - you prep.

Christmas prep

• Ideas required for a small hamper of nice items for an aunt who has Alzheimers. I already have a nice handcream & nice biscuits on the list - all other suggestions gratefully accepted

Round tuits

• Clean out a last drawer in living room unit - done - woohoo. OK there are still shelves but they can wait (DVDs & CDs & stuff)

Good habit forming (28 days to set a habit into daily routine or something like that - I'm going for 1 a week)

• Post on here once a day 11/28
• Get up at 6 am on work days 4/28- just - but in my defence I had cleaned out & reset the fire before coming on-line as well as making my lunch & breakfast for work.

Happy cheapness and freeness

• Watch more of series 4 of "The Walking Dead" - probably - getting near the end of the season

Painful - but gotta be done

• Check banks
• Clean out another kitchen cupboard to up the Mins game total - have my eyes on a large cupboard that may not reap much for Mins game but needs to be done

Mins game - 24/465


Have a good day y'all and be careful out there

glass_half_full

Hi ClootiesMum,

Thanks for starting the thread. This daily thread is really helping me to stay focused.

Here I am recording my small DFW steps for today.

1. Keep posting everyday on the small steps thread
2. Listed a pair of shoes on e-bay that I bought on line pre LBM which are too big
3. Waterstones tell me a book I ordered pre LBM is not available, I have saved £25 by not buying it.
4. Keep going on the online shopping detox.
5. Keep walking past the coffee shops on the way to work
5. Cooling off period on all impulse buy impulses!
6. Not using the remaining credit card (I may cut it up today not sure)
7. Going round to in-laws for dinner this evening (feel slightly bad about this since this is a weekly standing arrangement and not about saving money bu I include for completeness)
8. Keep updating YNAB with every spend and try to keep to the 4 rules

Hope you all have a great day!!!

La_escocesa

Hello there everyone :wave:

I hope you are all good.

Clootiesmum - gosh you sound busy!! :T
Glass Half Full - glad to hear you're enjoying the thread. I've been here on and off for over 6 years!!

Big waves to everyone else :hello:

So things here have been a bit up and down - I couldn't sleep for thinking about an email I got about the flat I rent out. V annoying that the lettings agent emailed me yesterday at the 11th hour and then went straight home so I couldn't call him back about it!! That's twice that they've emailed me important stuff at night and ruined my evening! I think I'm going to try to rent it out for another year before I try to sell it, but might move to self-managed rather than fully managed by the EA. A flat downstairs from mine went for £5k less than my mortgage is so if I keep it for another year I can hopefully limit negative equity damage. Still got consent to let for it so that is one less thing to worry about. I lose about £100 a month on it with all the fees etc but that still seems better than realising my losses just yet... If I can rent it out for two years then the plan will be to remortgage this place and use some of this house's equity to pay off anything outstanding. Gosh, it's hard being a grown up sometimes.

Small things I can do today:
Take packed lunch :cool:
Smoothie brekkie
Freezer-dive type tea tonight
Free parking at work today courtesy of colleague on holiday :A
Find cousin's address - still haven't posted a card...
Teaching tonight - although the woman who owes £££ has emailed to say she can't make this evening...
Change address online for a couple of bits and bobs
Freecycle old carpet and old bedside table :A

Catch up soon!

xx

ziggy2407

Good Morning Everyone

Clottiesmum - Thanks for starting us off today
glass-half-full - welcome and well done on some great savings

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.

Woke up this morning to a lovely email - WON £100 WORTH OF ONE OF THE FOLLOWING: TUBE TRAVEL, AIR TRAVEL VOUCHERS, FUEL VOUCHERS - it's just filling a form in, can be entered daily and no purchase necessary:

https://www.lucozadeenergy.com/win-travel/

Today I will

Packed lunch for DH & DS
Bump all sale listings/freecycle/facebook
Check Banks
Continue purge on Emails
Craft
Cook tea at mums
Clean mum's flat
Continue decluttering
Enter a few comps
All meals from cupboards/fridge/freezer
Check https://www.freepostcodelottery.com - Remember there are now 5 chances to win
Check Lucky Phone

Have a good day! Love to you all!

C x

ziggy2407

Morning La E :wave:- hope you're well, you snuck in while I was messing about with my post :rotfl:

determined_new_ms

Clootiesmum you can fill in a form on the Inland Revenue's website and send it off and they will send you a letter with a NI on x

YORKSHIRELASS

Morning everyone

Paid stuff this morning. Might go to the local bonfire night do tonight, could do without the expense really but I think the kids want to go.

Packed lunch made, breakfast eaten, I am getting on top of the washing mountain but there is a bit of ironing to do. Need to update the spreadsheets later. Off to get ready for work now.

determined_new_ms

Morning guys :wave: thanks for starting the thread Clootiesmum! Your comment about heading off to the workhouse made me chuckle :rotfl:

La E 6 years? I think you were posting on the thread when I joined weren't you? Sorry to hear about the flat headache, hope it sorts itself out. My friend who rents properties using an EA to get the tenant in and then after that she deals with any ongoing issues x

Things not so good for me at the moment, had a mini breakdown yesterday spoke to my dd on Tuesday and then just worried about her and our situation all evening & yesterday, then after the interview I crashed and burned. Spent all evening crying. Think I need to go to the doctors...

Things for today:

* [STRIKE]going out for lunch with my db & aunt, my db is paying :A [/STRIKE](spoke to him yesterday as worried my aunt will expect me to pay which is fair enough because last time my brother paid and the time before she did but obviously I have no money. My db said it's fine not to worry he had an unexpected windfall and will get it this time and when I'm working I can treat him :A)
*[STRIKE] tidy up house -[/STRIKE] my brother and aunt will come back for tea/coffee in the afternoon. Feeling a little anxious about her coming to our house. Both my db and aunt have a lot more money than us
[STRIKE]* try not to spend any money while out[/STRIKE]
* going to fireworks display tonight. See if I can get advance tickets still to save a couple of quid ticket cost £10 for family ticket but would have been £15 on the gate
* hopefully get a chance to get in the garden. Want to plant onions, garlic, and some winter salad leaves. Will also finish washing pots & store in garage for winter
* list some items on fleabay tonight. Need to do this as haven't done any for ages!
*B/D from stores

Ok that's my lot. Hope everyone is ok x

lego_mum

Morning all & Clottiesmum, thanks for the start.
Dnms, I hope you enjoy your lunch today. You have so much on your plate its going to get to you sometimes. Be kind to yourself.
Ziggy, what a great way to start the morning!
Glasshalffull, all these little things really do add up.

Health & Fitness plans (lose this weight once and for all, no fad diets ever again!)
:starmod: Walk the boys to & from the bus stop
[STRIKE]:starmod: Gym class – aiming for 5 a week (works out to less then 80p/class!)
:starmod: Fill water bottle at the gym
[/STRIKE]:starmod: Walk at least 7000 steps to get bounts points
:starmod: Eat for health
:starmod: Drink water through the day
:starmod: Monitor fitness goals etc using my fitbit daily & adjust when needed:D


Daily jobs:
:starmod: Wash a load at 30 degrees load 1 in
:starmod: ironing not all done but made a start
:starmod: Check banks/update spreadsheet
:starmod: Delete junk from emails:D
:starmod: Clean & tidy fridge (make sure we don’t waste anything) use butternut squash and make soup for tea. Will pull some bread out of the freezer and make some cheesy croutons. Salvaged some lettuce that had been left out in the fridge by DH yesterday , googled and found that a few icecubes in a bowl topped up with cold water, add the lettuce and its as good as new used these in tomorrows sandwiches
:starmod: Use something out of the food use up box nope but have used up a few bits out of the freezer
:starmod: Plan today’s meals from stores
:starmod: Make families lunches for tomorrow
:starmod: Limit heating Need it on to get some of this washing dry as its very wet here

Tidy home = Tidy mind
[STRIKE]:starmod: Hoover carpets[/STRIKE]
:starmod: Clean the kitchen using minimal products
:starmod: Tidy at least one cupboard desk tidied
:starmod: Gather together items for the cs picture frames below
:starmod: Minsgame 4/465 #5 & #6 2 picture frames

Money making schemes
:starmod: Inbox pounds 5 searches
:starmod: Swagbucks hit target 5/30
:starmod: Check Fpl
:starmod: Check luckyphone
:starmod: Check for surveys
:starmod: Rm survey

Freebies/vouchers/offers
:starmod: Check 02 priorities
:starmod: Check tcb/quidco
:starmod: Check cos/shopit

Extras
:starmod: [STRIKE]don't take purse to swimming[/STRIKE]
:starmod:

Have a good day all
Lots now been taken off the list as 5 minutes after posting I got a call from school to say Ds2 had been sick & was very hot & clammy He's now home and asking whats for lunch :eek:

1PM UPDATE - Little man was fine and the school said he could go back in for the afternoon session so maybe I will get some things done after all

cat4772

So far this week is going (mostly) well.:D

Tuesday - I made a chicken stew in the slowcooker. I added 1/2 a cup of pearl barley (and forgot to add a cup of water to be absorbed by the barley. The resulting chickeny gloop was not well liked by the family. Leftovers into the fridge.

Yesterday:
I managed to spend £4 at the grocer's on fruit and veg that will last us until Sunday.
lunch was HM soup and dinner was gammon (quorn variety for me) with veg.

Today:
£1 on poppies (50p for each daughter to school).
made breakfast at work (porridge with a pear)
lunch - leftovers from Tuesday's slow cooker disaster
Dinner - spanish chicken from Jack Monroe's book - already prepped, just need husband to cook it and serve with vegetables tonight.
Updated Scottish Power with meter readings - we're still using less than they've estimated.
Charge mobile phone and Ipad at work.


I'm toying with the idea of changing my work hours. I currently compress my hours so I do 4 days 8.15-5.45 and have Wednesdays off. This was great when I had a child at home and could be mum. Now I've got two in school, I'm looking at the balance and cogitating... I could do Monday, Tuesday and Friday as long days and split the 8 hours 45 minutes from Thursday into 4 hours 25 on Wednesday and 4 hours 25 on Thursday (9.30 to 2pm). On both days I'd be able to take girls to school and pick up after school (and cook healthy dinner, help with homework etc). I'd lower my childcare costs (by £13 a week) but would increase car parking costs by £3 a week = gross saving £10 a week. In theory, I would have an hour on both days between getting home and picking girls up to do housework. Decisions...

Hope everyone has a good day.

Cat.xx