Friday 25th December - What Small DFW Things Will You Be Doing On Christmas Day?

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:

allydowd

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

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• FreeUKStuff ( Link )
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• 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 )
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• 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.

allydowd

Hi all, :wave:

I woke up at 4am and couldn't get back to sleep so I'm up and trying to be productive with the aid of a cup of coffee.

:coffee:

So what's on the list today?

* Going for a free ParkRun at 10am. I've missed a month's worth through ill-health; hopefully the snail will make it round the course today. It's not raining (yet), so that's a good omen.

* The meat is still defrosting. OH bought a four-bird roast at a discount, which'll last us a couple of days. OH thought it best cooked from frozen, but we'll save an hour of cooking time if we defrost it first. At this rate I think it's going to be semi-defrosted.

* I'm going to open my wee gifts at a rate of one and hour to make them last.

* Sharing some wintery photos with friends across the world via Facebook.

* Watch lots of 'new' DVDs mainly bought secondhand. These will get watched and re-watched throughout the year.

* Link to a seasonal greetings card for you all. (Link)

Merry Decemberfest everyone.

:rudolf::rudolf::rudolf::rudolf::rudolf::rudolf::rudolf::rudolf::rudolf::rudolf::rudolf::rudolf::rudolf::rudolf::rudolf::rudolf:

Bobarella

Morning All

Hi Ally hope your 3 bird roast is really lovely, whenever it is ready. A run will be refreshing.

So our day started at 5ish the Christmas present hunt lasted an hour and was lots of fun.
We've just finished our bagels with cream cheese and smoked salmon. A real treat for us grownups!
The turkey is on. My OH loves the stuff so we have a bird that is supposed to serve 8 to 10 for the 2 of us and a 7 year old....but as everyone has rightly pointed out it won't be wasted not a scrap. I popped the turkey neck into a pan with herbs and the onion skins from the onions stuffed inside the turkey, to make gravy.

So far am pleased with the quantity of Christmas food we purchased and think it will get us through the 2 days without being too much or too little.

Have tidied away the wrapping paper which was all recycled anyway, we never go in for immaculate styled gifts at home. It's just money into the bin isn't it.

Will go and pack away dry clothes shortly so the dining room can be tidied before lunch.

My mum sent a cheque for £60 to split between me and my son. Will add that to the wombling score she also gave DD some presents.

My husband bought me a new hair brush which I really needed as the last one was truly ancient. We are very romantic aren't we

Right well I don't think I've done anything else small thingsy yet today.

Yorkshire - If you are around, I dread it when my son is old enough to be out at night and would have been exactly the same as you lying awake worrying. I hope you have a lovely Christmas together.

CCL - I hope you and your family have a good day today. You deserve it so much.

Merry Christmas all.

Bob

determined_new_ms

Morning guys :xmassign: wishing each and every one of you a lovely Christmas x

I've also been awake for hours! I was so tired last night I fell asleep after Eastenders and woke up at 4.45 as there was still a present for dgd to wrap up and her gift from her great grandmother was in the car so needed to go and get it in.

She got up about 7.30 and despite thinking we were going to open a present an hour she had different ideas! :rotfl: She has loved all of her gifts and is happily playing with them now :grinheart

Turkey in the oven, I'm about to go and jump in the bath before getting on with the rest of the dinner.

Oh got me a speaker for an ipod/phone as I have been saying since the birth of phones/ipods we don't have music playing in the house anymore :A

I got him tickets to see a comedian he loves.

Might pop into the local village pub this afternoon when we go out for a walk

Will also be putting away washing and hanging up more washing

Hope you're all having a lovely day x

carrielovesfanta

Merry Christmas to all

Woken up at 8 by a text from my brother. OH still fast so I crept downstairs and made cinnamon walnut buns with a crunchy sugar topping. mmm. OH appeared just as they were ready so we had them warm from the oven with a barraquito.

Good pressies all round. I fared well in the dvd department. Unfortunately OH's sushi kit missing the rolling mat so will have to email them.

Off to the in laws now! Have a great day all

clf x

Candy0107

Evening all,

Happy Christmas to you all x

Had a relaxing day - hubby cooked a lovely meal (and then realise that he didn't buy me a card )

Today I have/will:

• meals from stores
• checked online banking - no change so its all good
• checked investment and reinvested
• watched winning the lottery changed my life - getting inspiration for when i win the lottery tonight (you have to believe)
• dropped off a christmas present to a friend
• nsd - avoiding online sales.....i don't need anything
• had a healthy dinner - loads of veggies & potatoes cooked in oil rather than fat
• had the obligatory afternoon nap
• watching bits on the sky box
• read papers online
• simple tea - something like a cheese and tomato sandwich/beans on toast etc
• christmas pud for pudding !

Think that's my lot today

Take care all, Candy xx

crazy_cat_lady

Merry Christmas everyone :D:D:D :xmassign::xmastree::santa2::snow_grin
I couldn't let a whole day go by without coming on here to post on my diary and the dfw thread. It's been a busy but fabulous day all in all.
I didn't get much in the way of presents with the current situation at home, but the very best presents for me were having dh home and seeing the kids so happy with their gifts and their dad being home. And seeing him so much improved to how he has been recently. He made me a couple of cups of tea, played with the kids and didn't mention drink even once.
My favourite presents are a cook book that dd bought for me out of her own money, and a bar of milka chocolate from ds.
I was 5 hours in the kitchen preparing a Christmas lunch to feed four that could quite easily have fed 24...:rotfl: Leftovers for ever and a day... I'm planning on trying a couple of recipes that I saw on Eat Well for less (coronation chicken for sure).
Merry Christmas to all of you. x

maria3104

Happy Christmas everyone xxxxxxxxx
Had a fun filled but quiet cheap day. Virtually no food waste.
Lots is socks

princess_pea

Merry Christmas everyone. Glad you've all had a good day! :santa2:

Not a NSD for me as I bought mam's birthday present half price in the sales - so money saving in the long run

We've had a quiet but lovely day just the two of us (plus poochy and the chameleon!)

Night all

lego_mum

Merry Christmas all xxxxx