Wednesday 17th February- what small DFW things will you do today? :)

crazy_cat_lady

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:

crazy_cat_lady

Morning all :wave:
I'm not as tired this morning as I was yesterday - I'm still grumpy as ever though. I forced myself to ignore all feline protests and stay in bed until a little after 8am which was lovely. Then up to feed to feed the cats, set a load of washing away and tackle a pile of washing up so big it was almost walking out of the sink itself.
After a late start, here's my list for today:
Check banking and PAD
Minimise use of heating - weather is miserable but not cold
Catch up with really good friend
Low or no spend day - depends if I go out to buy pizza toppings for kids to make lunches
Do one survey
Make time for crochet
Exercise
Try not to stress (if that is possible)
Do not get distracted and think I need to do housework when I don't
Grab 10 minutes on my own, to myself, just me.
It's due to rain here for most of the day - so I predict that the kids will be hyper as they aren't able to get out and about.

Aegean

Good morning DFWs!

I'm extremely tired today so I was lazy and didn't make my lunch. :mad:

The things I can do today to help me save a bit despite this are:

• Transfer £5.75 from Prolific Academic to my savings account
• Add my £3 to the £1 a day savings pot to get me up to date
• Stick to a tin of soup for my lunch (avoid the sandwich bar!)
• Drive carefully to reduce petrol useage
• Buy kale to make soup for lunch tomorrow and Friday
• Make a big batch of curry for tea to freeze some for next week
• Message my mum to let her know the radio she bought for my Birthday is faulty, arrange for a refund

Not much, but it's a good effort

twiggy86

Morning all!

So last night I thought I made it to the summit of Mount Laundry only to find that overnight there had been more snowfall so now have to sort out that! OH on the other hand must have got caught in an avalanche (well that's what his side of the bedroom looks like anyway!) :rotfl:

So on to today, I have/will:-
* Check banks
* Take photos of shower as small part broken (doesn't affect use just slightly annoying) so have emailed company I bought it from to see if they can replace part or know where I can get replacement
* Sort out post to see if anything of interest arrived
* Check RAC renewal date and put in diary
* Check Mr C vouchers to see if I have enough for RAC renewal (I don't )
* Load of washing on ecowash
* Put bleach down loo before leaving as will give it a few hours to work before anyone is there to flush it away again!
* Take mince out of freezer for dinner
* Take lunch to work
* Check FPL
* Earn more on OnePoll
* Charge phone in work
* Dinner from stores
* Do some housework as per Flylady (kitchen today)

Think that is everything for today. Hope you all have a good day!

maria3104

Hi All

Have survived my conference, family weekend, and back to work with a late meeting last night, bed at midnight! Strangely feel OK.

Beloved DD just went to AL*i last night for me and spent £16 on milk and bread and we are now Ok until the 23 feb. I am incredibly hopeful of staying in budget. I must simply not go near a supermarket myself. I give her a list and she sticks to it.

Danger area AL*i do not sell custard powder, I have run out. If I go near a shop that pot of powder could cost me hundreds!!!! Oh yes, I really am a grocery addict. All other budget areas I find easy, groceries kill me.

Plan is to cook from freezer this weekend and live from my preprepared ready batch cooking this week. Should be easy, as long as I forget about the custard!!!

Keep well everyone.

Maria.

Baileys_Babe

CCL thank you for getting us started today.

Last night I wrote a reply to the thread when I pressed send everything crashed and my post disappeared off into the ether.

I'll pop back later with my list hopefully.

La_escocesa

[FONT=&quot]Hello, [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Quiet round here with half term holidays... [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Have you guys heard of Bullet Lists? I thought of you when I looked at them on Pinterest. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Here’s me [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Breakfast smoothie – using up wilting spinach but it was fine :cool: [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Packed lunch – veggie wrap with roast peppers and houmous [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Roasted peppers when dinner was cooking anyway [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Updated YNAB [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Got onto OH about updating YNAB [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Putting cash into the bank before other dds come out :A [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Night in tonight – tidying, cleaning, reading...[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Biz stuff – updating website – big job! [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Signed up for free future learn course [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Lots of free online study to do – first aid, nutrition, mindfulness... [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Oh, for anyone going through rough times...I started reading a great book last night – Journey to the Dark Goddess – highly recommend it if you are interested in an ‘alternative’ read. [/FONT]

ziggy2407

Good Afternoon All

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.

Well, Ds still not 100% but adamant he was ok to go back to school and not have anymore time off. Today I hope to

Packed lunch for DH & DS - Done
Check Bank - Done
Ring mum (wont visit as she has a date for her op on Thursday) - Done (she has lots on her mind at min - her op tomorrow and my elder brother is in hospital at min with lung cancer/breathing complications)
Bit tidying in attic - Done
Wait for builder/handyman - he came but made me feel uncomfortable and didn't listen to what I wanted and left me with a list of what to buy so don't think we'll be using him, have rung someone else for a quote - Done, another coming tomorrow
Craft - 10 Christmas cards made
Declutter - bag of craft stuff for pre-school, ipod dock to friend
Read -
Continue purge on Emails - Done, quite a few
Complete a few surveys - Done a few
Enter a few comps - Done a few
All meals from cupboards/fridge/freezer - Done
Check https://www.freepostcodelottery.com - Remember there are now 5 chances to win - Done
Check Lucky Phone - Done

Have a good day! Love to you all!

C x

foxgloves

Hello Frugal Friends,
And here is today's list of money saving efforts......albeit not overly impressive today. Have had to do some prep for a meeting tonight & it took up more time than I'd hoped :-/
*Last of this week's laundry dried overnight on heated airer, which needless to say was switched off this morning as soon as the cheap tariff ended.
*Nipped out to village garden centre to buy seed potatoes. Way cheaper than buying them mail order or via TV shopping (which a year or two ago featured the most expensive seed potatoes I have ever seen......10 tubers for £15.99 plus p&p!!!! We've spent half of that & have got a 6kg sack. Don't be lured by the presenters' claims that 'these are so easy that even a beginner can grow them'. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced grower, you chit your tatoe, put it in a container of compost or the ground & it grows. End of!
*Caught up with Onepoll surveys, which was frustrating as although there were quite a few, the site seemed ridiculously slow today.
*Postman brought latest £15 Sainsbury's giftcard from Toluna surveys (updated signature).
*Checked online banking for our mythical goodwill gesture payment. Nope! I will give it to the end of the 4 weeks they said it could take, then it will be a written letter Assertiveness Level 3.
*Rounded bank account down by PAD-ing £3.45 into the Car Fund (updated signature - Car Fund total does not include the sum I intend to add in from our WTSHTF fund, as we are obviously hoping to minimise eroding that too far, but we will have to use some of it)
*Checked ebay listings - a couple of watchers - not that hopeful as most of these items have been listed multiple times already, but past experience has shown that they do often find a buyer in the end, & we do only list when it's free to do so.
*Knit 2 more cats.
*mr f is giving me a lift to & from my meeting tonight, which will save me paying car park fees.
OK, that's my lot. I'd better have a good day tomorrow, I'm not exactly impressing myself today, let alone you lot! Would have liked to have spent some time in the veggie garden but it hasn't stopped raining yet today, & I don't want to go to my meeting looking like Crystal Tipps (with crazy frizzled hair for all the scarily young people on here who can't remember her!)
Bye for now,
f x

Bobarella

Hi all

Very quick post to say I managed to pay another £25 off today. Hoping the get to under £2k by the end of the month.

Back later

Bob

DawnW

Afternoon all
Horrible wet day here again today
I'm with you on the seed potatoes Foxgloves - mine came from the local pound / cheap shop (as I only need a few) and I got 16 for £1.78
And onepoll is really slow today, and the surveys really boring - who on earth writes this stuff, and what can they possibly get out of it (sorry, research methods bore here :rotfl:)
Not done much today - DD came round with her LO this morning, and I have been fruitlessly waiting for a freecycler again this afternoon. Now it appears she isn't coming till tomorrow :mad: Why do I do this, and not just take the stuff to the charity shop? From now on I will! Much as I admire the idea behind freecycle and its ilk, it is too much bother!

However, my list, such as it is:
Minimal heating on, though I will be lighting the wood burner soon as it is really miserable, cold and wet
Managed one dog walk so far,early on before it started raining. I need to go to the post office, so hoping to coincide this with a second one, depending on the weather - free exercise at least
HM meals
Surveys, FPL etc, just onepoll today, which was dire
Look for a new suit for OH as we have a wedding to go to in April and he has 'outgrown' his current one. Anybody got any ideas where you can buy suits for shortish, fat men? He is absolutely hopeless at any kind of shopping that does not interest him :mad:
Take chickens to DD's this evening - two of them were / are hers, and I have decided that all 3 can go back to her. They are causing a few problems at the moment, and she can give them more space than I can. A bit sad, as I have had chickens for ever, but it will give me more space for plants, and I will not have to worry if we want to go away, so not all bad We will dismantle their house and also take that to her, but on a dry day!
Must also put boxes of sales items away in the loft cupboard - I have already got them up to the top floor, so not too much of an effort

Well, a most unsatisfactory list today - must do better tomorrow!