Thursday 21st April ~ What small DFW things will you do today?

lego_mum

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:

YORKSHIRELASS

Morning everyone

I have done 33 hours in the new job so far this month, it feels like much more than that! They owe me for March too so even after tax it will be a nice payment at the end of the month. I have no interest in spending it, I cant wait to pay it off my card.

However, DH picks up his van today after two days in the garage and I suspect it might be a hefty bill. In theory it should come out of his business account but the business account isnt looking too healthy at the moment. Ah well we will sort it out somehow.

We went out for a family birthday last night and spent £65. No wonder we dont eat out very often! That was budgeted for but with buying presents for two big birthdays this month it has been quite expensive. DS1, bless him, offered to contribute but of course I said no.

Sun is shining here and its a lovely morning, although I will be stuck indoors for most of the day. Have a great Thursday everyone.

crazy_cat_lady

Morning all :hello:
Thanks for the start legomum - I really hope that the dentist can get you sorted out today. Fingers crossed.
Fingers also firmly crossed for the van not being too expensive Yorkshire.
I'm tired this morning, had a rough night last night and a sudden epiphany that one of my Year 10 classes are a good 3 weeks behind the other 2, which has left me a bit :eek: DH has not even been to sleep yet, which is also concerning me because he drives for a living... Meh.
Plans for today:
:cool: Check banking and PAD
:cool: Use my free hour at work wisely to plan next week and continue to plough through this pile of test marking
:cool: Try not to get stressed
:cool: Definitely no heating
:cool: Minimal housework (dh will definitely not do anything today)
:cool: get dd to cheerleading
:cool: don't make any big decisions when I'm this tired
:cool: 7000 steps for my Bounts
:cool: aim for a very early night
That'll do - I'd best get on. Have a good day all :beer:

HelleBelle

Hi all,

Thanks for the start Legomum. Hope you get your teeth sorted.
Yorkshire - fingers crossed the van bill isn't too steep.
CCL - I feel for you. My DH used to drive for a living - I understand the worry. Hope you can both get better nights tonight and hope you both have good days.

My day started badly. My adorable 3yo son wanted milk and biscuit this morning so as usual, we say he can have it once he's dressed. He decided he didn't want to get dressed and went downstairs, used his step to get into the fridge (Hubs had neglected fasten the childlock) and brought up a half full 4pinter of milk which he then proceeded to pour on my bedroom floor. :eek: I'm in bed and can't do much as I'm on crutches at the moment and hubs is rushing round trying to get ready for work. Not good and he's wasted about 2pt of milk.
The house is a pigsty as hubs has been working long stressful days and I'm so limited on what I can do. It's driving me nuts!
Anyway, enough of the ranting. I'm sure I will be regaling the milk story and having a good laugh about it in due time!
Today I am wfh, minimal fuel as only need to pop to the next town for an appointment later.
All food from stores/meal plan.
Will attempt to do what I can around the house to make me feel better.
No heating.

have a great day everyone!

yasmin2

Morning all....


DFW for the day - nothing exciting but managed to pay a little chunk off my overall debt last night so that has increased my motivation a little.. So -


- found a couple of my boxes in the loft last night that need to be decluttered, some books so hopefully a few that can put on Amaflon..
- aim for another NSD today
- hopefully new banking books will arrive today so can get that sorted
- food from cupboards today
- bag to charity shop ready which will drop off tmrw on way to work - save petrol
- need to find £181 by the end of April as want to get my debt below £8000 by then so need to look at my finances and see if can squeeze/find that money in next 10days. Expecting some money from Ebay/amazon so hopefully not too much to find..


Hope everyone has a lovely day today.. the sun is out here today so hopefully will stay like that

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)
  
• Cooking On A Bootstrap, cheap recipes ( Link)
• eBid ( Link )
  
• Freecycle ( Link )
• Free Postcode Lottery ( Link )
• FreeStuff ( Link )
  
• FreeUKStuff ( Link )
• Income Tax Calculator (Link)
  
• i-Say Surveys (Link)
• List of online newspapers. At bottom of the linked page. ( Link )
• LuckyPhone free lottery with loyalty rewards (Link)
  
• Marriage Tax Allowance (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 )
• Wombling Guide (Link)
  
• You Need A Budget site and App (Link)

Checked 7 April 2016.

DawnW

Morning all
Thanks for the start CCL - hope your OH is ok - is it time to refer back to the MH team?
Legomum, hope the dentist sorts out your mouth problem, that sounds horrible
YL, bless your DS1 - I remember though, when I was about 15, my mum accepting a couple of pounds offered out of my holiday job wages towards something or other, and the huge sense of achievement that it gave me that I was contributing - I bet he would be made up if you did accept a small contribution. He sounds a lovely lad, anyway

Well, I didn't post yesterday (though I did read the thread) as I didn't really do anything except entertain baby GD So I really ought to make an effort today!

Used up half an apple left by GD with my breakfast porridge (not as horrid as it sounds as I had cut it in half and wrapped in cling film)
Dog walks x 2 for free exercise
Go to the market in the next town and buy some veg (we are going there anyway)
Sort out some items to take to sales unit on the way back, to minimise fuel use
Move money to cover humungous bill OH had for his truck yesterday (almost as much as Foxgloves' recent garage bill, which was a shock as I had expected much less I am sure OH would have known exactly how much it would be but 'forgot' to tell me - we don't need this vehicle now :mad: but he seems very resistant to the idea of getting rid of it.
HM meals from stores
Chop up and freeze some cooked beetroot that is lurking a bit too long in the fridge - can't afford to waste food AND pay nearly eight hundred quid garage bills :eek:
Read meters and submit readings to energy provider's web site
Heating off
Cleaning - the whole house needs a proper cleanand turn out, so I am going to start with the dining room today

Well, that lot should keep me busy! Hope everyone has as good a day as possible

allydowd

Hi April Awesome-ees,

Thanks for the starter LegoMum.

Beautiful day outside today but a huge amount to do indoors. Boo! Mainly need to fully plan the weekend. :cool: Two people, one night away, how hard can that be? Very! The logistics of this are going to be most complicated.

This list will grow as I think of things.

Debt Free-Nillionaire Continuity Plan Month Eleven:

* Checked payslip. Wasn't online yet. Will check again later. This is a bad omen, when it's not online by 7am it usually means one's wages have been incorrectly processed. :mad: Anyway, not going to panic about that yet, it might resolve. Phoned work. It seems the online payslip system is offline, but I will be paid properly tomorrow. Phew.

* Checked bank balance.

* Raised an invoice for 6 week's work on behalf of my OH's business. I really hope her contract is renewed for a third time this month...she loves the job and it brings in so much money, for a one-day-a-week venture.

* Approached friend's husband for a quote to fix our garden tap so we can use a hosepipe with it. The garden water tap for our garden hose that was once connected through the kitchen wall to the pipes under the kitchen sink. When our "dear" Housing Association fitted the new kitchen, just before we moved in, the plumbers disconnected the smurfin' tap! The HA will not entertain the idea of paying to re-connect it as it "isn't essential". Jury rigging a housepipe to the peculiar shaped kitchen tap fitting when we want to use the hose is frustrating us so we're going to pay for the work ourselves. This guy comes recommended to us.

* Pressure-washed car at home and hoovered it. Hate this job. Nozzle on hose fell apart. Repaired with superglue and jubilee clip from supplies.

* Posted off eBay item OH sold. Accepted less than it was worth as it's been up for sale for weeks now and she is losing patience. Found the cheapest courier via Pacel2go.com. Half the price of the Royal Mail, again.

* OH potted up fuchsia cuttings. Free plants!

* Prepared work gear for Fri and Mon so I'm not late.

* Begin packing for the weekend. Hate this job too!

How about you guys?

PurpleFairy26

Good morning frugal pals :hello:

Thanks for starting us of Legomum hope your DH is ok cat and your not too tired. I'm also off to the dentist today to repair a tooth, luckily it's covered under 'guarantee' as its less than a year since it was last done. We had some friends round last night so we have some left over food. It was a great evening and we don't know when we will all be together again due to geography so worth a bit of a spend on food for all. Much less than had we gone out for dinner.

My list today will be:
Dentist
Pop to market whilst in town and get a couple of bits of fruit
Get excited over YNAB I finally managed to get my head round it last night. I think I'm going to love it need to load on to DH phone too
Left over food for meals
Check banking, surveys and FPL
Finish tidying up from last night, did a big clean of house in the end before everyone came so no too bad
WFH so no commute

Will check back later with some more.

Baileys_Babe

Thank you Lego Mum for starting us off today.

Today I plan to:
NSD Done
Post on this thread for support, motivation and inspiration Done
Open curtains fully Done
Close curtains before it gets dark
Turn off lights and appliances not in use Done
Post letter today so it can go 2nd class Done
Take meter readings Done
Submit meter readings Done
reusable sanitary wear Done
Stick to meal plan
B/L/D from stores
Renew library books Done
Reserve library books Looks like the book I am looking for is in stock no need to reserve
Check and reconcile bank accounts Done
PAD into saving £3.66 -1p Done
Cancel dd no longer needed I have decided to wait to the weekend after discussing it with OH
Cancel subscription I have decided to wait to the weekend after discussing it with OH
Soak porridge overnight
Set DW to run overnight Done
Set WM to run overnight
Wholesale order arriving today I need to:
Pay wholesalers The accounts department was closed when I tried, I'll put it on tomorrow's list
Put our order away Done
Sort out other people orders for them to collect Done
Bill other people for their orders
Check FPL
Educate children for free Done
Entertain children and us for free Done
Do not wash hair Done
Walk everywhere Done
Keep using cut open toothpaste tube Done
Dry laundry outside Done
Keep heating to a minimum, nothing downstairs, upstairs thermostats turned down low, we have jumpers and blankets Done
Light the stove, burning free wood, only if the temperature drops dramatically Not bothering too warm
put kettle on stove for free hot water, put water in flasks if boiled before ready to use and refill kettle, water used for making hot drinks (we drink plenty of these, cooking rice, pasta etc, washing up etc) Too warm for the stove
Ongoing project:
Cull 100 emails Done
Looking after what we have (cleaning, repairing, maintaining)
Empty toaster crumb tray Done
Clean dehumidifier filter Done
DW - filters, clean inside and out, run empty very hot Done

make_the_change

Morning all....

Well the sickness bug is back, again! OH was throwing up last night, DS1 had an upset tummy and now DD woke throwing up. Plus I had DS2 screaming all night in pain with his teeth and unable to breath due to his cold. No doubt my neighbours will have something to say but what can I do?? I am shattered and now have a mountain of stinky washing!

The weather has changed again, chill in the air and very cloudy.

The joys of being a mummy!! x