Monday 21st December - What small DFW things will you do today???!

Candy0107

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:




Hope everyone is OK, hugs to those who need them and hello to newbies. Monday morning already - it doesn't feel like I have had a weekend.

Today I have/will:

• checked online banking - all as it should be
• checked investments & reinvested
• update my signature to show new balances
• meals from stores
• read papers online
• charged my phone via the PC/TV
• drove at 50mph on the way to work
• downsized my morning coffee at work, saving 25p (our Costa is subsidised, so a Massimo is only £1 which isn't too bad, but that is still £20 per month). The coffee in the machine at work is nasty !
• have a low spend day

think that is about it for me, take care everyone

Candy xxx

PurpleFairy26

Morning everyone, thanks Candy for starting us off :hello:

Hopefully today's traffic will be better as the children are off, we'll see. Right quick post as I need to get showered get the girls up and get out within the next 30 minutes or so :eek:

Today I have/will:

Take coffee to work in big travel mug (keeps hot for about h4 hours which means I don't have to buy one when there as I'll just have water later)
Check banking, no PAD until DH gets paid, is due Friday so hoping we get it Thursday (not to spend, just to PAD )
Meals from stores, lunch to work from freezer
Update banking spreadsheet
Washing done overnight, just put on airer, second load in, still on cheap

Think that's about all, hope you're all ok. Been thinking of you Cat x

allydowd

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

• Benefits check-up ( Link )
• Coupon Shop Forum list of money-off coupons (Link)
  
• eBid ( Link )
  
• Freecycle ( Link )
• Free Postcode Lottery ( Link )
• FreeStuff ( Link )
  
• FreeUKStuff ( Link )
• i-Say Surveys (Link)
• Jack-At-A-Pinch, cheap recipes ( Link )
• List of online newspapers. At bottom of the linked page. ( Link )
• LuckyPhone free lottery with loyalty rewards (Link)
  
• MSE Boost Your Income page. Gateway to lots of money-making links. ( Link )
• MSE Abbreviations Explained ( Link )
• MSE Deals and Vouchers ( Link )
• MSE Wow Offers ( Link )
• NHS Minor Ailment Service article (Link)
  
• My Supermarket ( Link )
• OnePoll ( Link )
• Quidco ( Link )
• Reclaim PPI at no cost to yourself ( Link )
• Resolver tool. Helps you draft a letter, send it, monitor replies and then escalate it to an Ombudsman or key complaint body if it's not sorted. (Link)
  
• SayNoTo0870 cheap phone number finder ( Link )
  
• Survey sites that pay for your opinions ( Link )
• Swagbucks ( Link )
• Swapit ( Link )
• Tesco Orchard product testing (Link)
  
• Tickety Split cheap train tickets (Link)
  
• Toluna ( Link )
  
• TopCashBack ( Link )
• You Need A Budget site and App (Link)

Revised 31 Oct 2015.

Bobarella

Morning All

Candy- thanks for the start. Not long till the break now.

Jono- hope the traffic is good to you.

Just listening to a report on the BBC that said 50% of people will go over budget this Christmas. Isn't that scary.

Hope everyone is doing OK.

Bob

DawnW

Morning all
Thanks for starting us off Candy

My list for today:
Heating off downstairs, but will probably light the wood burner later
See to hens as soon as light enough
Walk dog x 2
Loaf of bread in BM
Put in a load of washing, hopefully to dry outside if not raining
Go to sales unit to tidy / check if more stock needed
Go to local department store for a last minute item (not an expensive one I promise!)
Buy some bananas while out
HM meals from stores
Quick final tidy of loft conversion / spare bedroom as brother arriving at around lunchtime to stay for Christmas
Get some cash out as OH and I are out tomorrow (Bro will dog sit)
Any surveys, FPL etc

I am sure there is more, but it is just about light eough to see to do the chickens
Hope you all have a good day , and thinking of CCL.

maria3104

Morning all

50% over budget. How sad. That said, it is easy for me now, no small children with lists.

My Christmas is being delivered tonight by Mr T, around £80 and this includes the week groceries as well. I am desperate to not have food waste. Last year I did really well, but did have a huge house full of people eating,. This year is much smaller.

Christmas Jobs include:
Not spending, other than on hot chocolate if out
Mucking out chickens. They are beyond wet. Look like bedraggled dinosaurs.
Giving farm pups a run daily, saves the men a job.
Listening to Zig Ziglar 3 hours on you tube. Love this man.
Jim Collins at least 3 hours, then draft ideas into business plan for 2016. We can not keep doing the same stuff, we need to be more innovative. Target our marketing at the right people. This is a long job that requires time and then thinking time and then more time!
Swim at least 3 times.
Be kind to DH who is waiting for test results and is not confident they will be good.
Try not to anticipate any bad news, enjoy our now.

crazy_cat_lady

Morning all
I didn't check in last night because I was just too tired by the time I got home. It was a long day all in all - tutoring, followed by a Christmas party, followed by a bit of crafting, followed by visiting dh.
I'm pleased school is out for the holidays, I don't know if I could cope with this on top of work at the moment. The hospital is a 40 minute drive away so it's a long journey to visit him. DS and I went yesterday for an hour.
Not too much MSE stuff going on - much more like a to-do list for the time being...
:cool: Try and find out some of the practicalities of dealing with dh stuff while he's in hospital
:cool: Make a blanket for my niece's birthday on Wednesday
:cool: Contact dh work with sicknote
:cool: empty rubbish and recycling
:cool: get the kids to tidy their rooms
:cool: Hoover through
:cool: Present wrapping is getting urgent
:cool: Check banking and sort budget
:cool: Visit dh
:cool: Aim for a nap (this will never happen)
:cool: watch some Christmas films with the kids
Think that's it. I know I've gone a bit quiet on here, but loads going on....

twiggy86

Morning all

CCL - I really hope you're ok.

Today I have/will:-
* Check banks
* Take lunch to work
* Not bother with make up today as only one at work!
* Update work expenses
* Check FPL
* Earn more on OnePoll
* Write list of xmas day food to check I've got everything covered!
* Try to find present for brother and his gf!
* OH's dinner from stores
* Dinner with friend tonight but try not to spend too much

Think that's everything but doesn't seem much today! Will try and think of some more!

chocolatelover93

Morning everyone thank you Candy for the start

Bob - wow 50% is a lot!! We've not done too bad this year I don't see why people spend lots of money just for one day thb the main thing is the family spending time together we've bought people what we can afford this year but stuff we know they will use rather than a novelty that will just collect dust. Sorry I will stop waffling now haha.

CCL - Sending hugs your way, thinking about you all xx

List for today:
FPL
Lucky phone
B/D from stores
Low spend lunch at work
Survey/s
Check for MS's
Enter a few comps

That's it for today
Have a good one

La_escocesa

[FONT=&quot]Hi everyone :santa2: [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Thanks for the kick off Candy [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Big hellos to everyone else :hello: [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]CCL sending you big hugs – you are a superstar for keeping up the smallest of things atm so well done you :T [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Here’s me: [/FONT]

• [FONT=&quot]Brekkie at home[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Packed lunch [/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Drove to work so saved on tram fare[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Budgeted what to do with money made last night – i.e. didn’t just stick it in my purse and fritter it away [/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Finishing off Christmas pressie buying – have a list and am not going 50% over budget [/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Check banking[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Update YNAB [/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]List table on gum tree – forgot this weekend... [/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Night in tonight knitting :cool: [/FONT]

foxgloves

Morning Festive Fairies,
Quite a productive day so far. NSD as mr f has the car at work & it's raining far too hard for me suddenly to fancy waiting soggily at bus stops or walking to any shops.
*Did laundry overnight on cheap tariff. Not a chance of getting anything dry outside here today, despite it being windy. It's just tooooooo rainy, so it's all on heated airer.
*Repaired dehumidifyer again with brown parcel tape. How useful is that stuff? And string! So much stuff can be mended with those two cheapo low-tech commodities.
*Made tonight's pasta sauce using last bag of our home grown tomatoes from freezer, also a bag of spare pumpkin from Hallowe'en.
*Washed out & trimmed up an old tin that had chocs in it originally & have used it to present the cranberry & orange cake I baked for my Dad. Looks quite nice in there. Free & something recycled rather than buying a cake tin which he won't use anyway.
*Decorated our Christmas cake. Spent ages turning out kitchen looking for my china cake decs. Then suddenly remembered exactly where they were.......London. Hmmmm, only about 140 miles away, then. Riffled through baking cupboard & found 3 old little silver fir trees & some red bows recycled from some Christmas crackers. Had already bought a silver ribbon from local indie cheap shop to go round the edge. Looks really nice.
*Two baths from one lot of hot water this morning......then as it was still hot, used it to soak cat's blanket. Cat now sulking.
*Leftovers for lunch.
*Surplus of peppers in the fridge again. Regular occurrence because a single pepper often costs 60 or 80p, but you can usually buy a pack of 3 for 99p, so buying one is an expensive way to do it. Have left 2 for mr f's lasagne-making session this week, & done the others into slices & dices & frozen ready for fajhitas & pizza in the new year. Can't bear food waste!
*No downstairs heating on until much later. Didn't have it on at all yesterday. It wasn't cold enough. I'd rather save it for if we do have a cold snap than waste money cranking it up now when it's so mild. If people are careful & the mild weather continues, I think there should be a few little rebates or reduced monthly payments around next year.
*All free leisure today - have updated my blog, intend watching a recorded TV prog & am really enjoying my library book, so will fight cat for the sofa & carry on with that. Might even do a bit more of my sock. Lacy spiral pattern on this pair (for me) so have to concentrate a little bit harder.
OK, time to get signed out. Love to all.
CCL - You're doing really well just keeping everything going. I think the way forward is to concentrate on the present, enjoy the time with your children as much as you can, look after yourself & see what the new year brings xx
Bob - I can well believe that overspend. I've done it myself for years. Not so much these days, though. We watched the Christmas edition of the saving money on your shopping programme (with Greg Wallace & friend) this week. I thought mr f was going to need a cardiac massage when he heard what that family spent on Christmas food!! And mr f has been a worse spender than me & is a big guy who likes his food!! If you get a chance to see it, I can just imagine what you will say, lol x
OK, cheers all,
f x