Wednesday 4th May - 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:
Still have that feeling - like something bad is about to happen. I'm re-reading through all of my CBT notes to try and rid myself of it. Don't like it but may just have to ride through it until it decides to do one...
So, best plan is to keep busy:
:cool: Check banking and PAD
:cool: Aim for NSD
:cool: All meals from stores
:cool: Minimal housework - just hoover, wash up and washing
:cool: Read Martin's email
:cool: Make time for crochet
:cool: Make time for exercise, which will make me feel better
:cool: Full day of teaching
:cool: Meeting after work
:cool: Mark a set of books
:cool: Remind myself not to stress out
Have a good day everyone

Bobarella

Morning All

Thanks for the start cat Hope you feel better in yourself today.

My exciting thing for the day is they've asked for my meter readings. After frugal April I am really looking forward to this month bill.

Hideous night. DD had a temp and was awake on and off for what seemed like all night. Plus son was awake with a sore throat.

Have a great hump day all


Bob

PurpleFairy26

Morning all :hello: thanks for the start cat hope you feel better today. Bob hope the smalls are better too.

Lovely and sunny again here. Beautiful my today will look like:

Chicken and bacon casserole in slow cooker - done (add a cut up tomato that was left from our weekend picnic)
Load of washing on, DH can hang out when I'm at work
Soup and snacks to work (hm bread pudding using OOD dates and malt extract for sweetness)
Check banking, FPL and surveys
Ask DH to try and find the elusive shoe as the weather supposed to be nice this weekend
Builder coming tonight :j

Think that's about all for now, will check back later. PF.

foxgloves

Morning CCL & all who follow,
Have woken up with a headache today -am still getting over my lergy. Just had a big coffee & some toast so hoping I will soon start to pick up & get lots done. My MSE list for today looks like this:
*Peg out laundry & get another load on to make use of the sunny weather.
*Pay Saturday's grocery shop off the CC (used to maximise vouchers) & update grocery budget.
*Jacket potato night...as in stick 2 tatoes in the oven & select what we fancy from the freezer to go on top. Makes great use of meals where we've squeezed a 3rd portion out of whatever we were cooking.
*Two things ready for a big pick in the garden - sorrel, so I will make cream of sorrell soup & rhubarb. I'll blanch & freeze some & make some into compote.
*Check plantlets as they had their 1st night outside hardening off last night.
*Top up worm composter with scraps. Got to keep that free liquid plant food coming!
*Make tomorrow's packed lunch.
*Prune & feed all the plants which have over wintered in the conservatory. I plan to use them in my summer containers instead of buying new. (Soending £40 to £50 every season to plant up a couple of tubs used to be a regular thing for me during the Spendy Decades).
*Work on my knitting order. Should be finished this week.
*Continue thinking how I can brighten up the courtyard (too shady to call it a patio) without spending more than about £6.
*Check pantry to see if we are now on top of the Furry Little Visitors problem.
Headache already feeling like it's starting to lift. I may yet get into town. I'll see. Wishing everyone a peaceful productive day.
F x

OrangeFairy

Happy Wednesday MSE'rs

I hope everyone is well. I feel knackered- I keep dreaming really vividly which is exhausting me.

List for today

Lunch is tuna sandwich from stores
Home early to get back to DD
Jackets for dinner
Portion up 10kg of chicken that arrived yesterday.
Send one fleabay sale
Breakfast at work
Check surveys
Check tcb
Check FPL
Reconcile spends
Pay off remainder of our holiday
Continue using Xmas toiletries- haven't bought any shower gel this year
Work out remaining disposable income left
List 2 items for sale.
Plan cake for DDs friend

OF x

foxgloves

BaileysBabe - Re your comment yesterday on garden tools. I completely agree! I find standard spades too heavy for prolonged use, also too tall, as I'm only 5' 3 & a bit. I've never bought the smaller women's sized tools as I don't want to pay out for 2 sets (mr f is 5' 11" & built like a brick privy). I'm a very keen gardener as you know & the tool I use the most is a long handled small fork. It's one of those where the fork is the same size as a normal handfork but the handle is as long as a rake or hoe. I get on really well with that. It's much lighter & doesn't require lots of bending.
F x

DawnW

Morning all
Thanks for the start CCL, hope you feel better soon
Bob, sorry to hear about your bad night. My DD has just phoned to let me know she too has been up all night with GD, so she has phoned in to work and will be going back to bed with her instead of bringing her over here for the day for me to mind, as is usual for Wednesdays I told her to ring later after they have had a sleep, if she wants me to go over, or do anything.

So, plans for the day will involve waiting around to see if I am needed:
Confession time first of all - I have put the kitchen radiator on as it is freezing in here Will turn it off as soon as it warms up a bit though!
HM meals from stores
Wipe out the small freezer in the conservatory that I defrosted last night. I can manage with just the freezer part of my fridge freezer at the moment, so have switched off the other one to save electricity
Put a couple more bits on ebay
Check banks
Look for surveys, check FPL etc
Cleaning - deep clean bathroom today (at least!)
Recount to check a bag of coins, and pay in to bank along with a cheque
See if any of the garden pots or seedlings needs watering
Plant a few bits - I have a couple of herbaceous plants I bought at a car boot sale at the weekend, a few sweet peas and some supermarket parsley that has outgrown its pot
Get OH to put up a couple of pictures that have been lurking around for a while - I love pictures (flowers and animals are my favourites) and have loads of them, and need to decide where these ones should go. Luckily I have big plain walls with high ceilings This isn't an expensive indulgence by the way, as they all came from junk shops, auctions and car boots. The cheapest was 20p, we aren't talking old masters here

OK, better get on and do something - hope you all have a good day

determined_new_ms

Morning guys :wave: thanks for starting the thread cat, sorry to hear you are feeling anxious. I have suffered with anxiety for years (it's a form of PSTD from supporting my dd with condition. She got herself in so many scraps and dangerous situations regularly that I worried all of the time about what was going to happen next). I have a couple of calming meditations when I have these feelings, they only take a couple of minutes each and can be done anywhere. One is I imagine I am on a deserted island lying on the beach facing the sea. I go through what I can see, how it feels with the sun on my skin, smells, sounds. There is a large circle drawn around me that nothing can get through and I chant (in my head) I'm safe. It has really helped, look online for guided meditations for anxiety until you get the hang of it on your own x

Bob hope the little owls are better soon x

Quick list for me today - the weather is glorious again :j saw something online that said weather is going to be in the early 20s by the end of the week :j

* All meals from stores - make cakes/muffins/soup today as didn't get a chance yesterday
* load in the machine and will put on line - had a disaster with a jar of coffee grounds I've been saving for the compost heap :eek:
* sow more seeds - need to get some bigger pots for my aubergines, peppers and chillis. Will pop to the pound shop for these, not sure if that'll be today
* return some bits to B&Q as didn't need them in the end
* reply to manager's email about starting work an hour early on Friday. Still haven't had a response about whether I can withdraw my resignation Saturday is my last shift if I can't....
* job search & job application

Ok think that's all I need to do today - doesn't seem much!

Foxgloves/Dawn I have a gardening question. I'm worried that my soil isn't great condition and I am wondering about putting some manure and possibly topsoil in the bed to improve fertility. But don't know if that's a good idea so close to planting. I've tried looking around online but can't find the answer. Do you have any idea?

La_escocesa

[FONT=&quot]Hi guys :wave: [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Happy star wars day! May the 4th be with you [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I hope I get this gardening bug soon... I don’t even want to cut my grass and the rest of the place is just a mess. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Thanks for the kick off Cat. :A Hope you start to feel better soon. I like your plan of keeping busy. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Here’s me: [/FONT]

• [FONT=&quot]Brekkie at work – free milk :cool: [/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Free tea at work rather than coffee at home :cool: [/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Leftovers for lunch :A [/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Jacket for tea tonight – sounds like it’s the day for it with foxgloves and OF too [/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Checked banking – all looks ok, if a bit scary... [/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Need to send voluntary work back to ombudsman office – then I’m going to email them to give it up – really brings me down and I only do it for CPD so not worth it any more... [/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Decide whether to use freepost label for ^ - feel slightly guilty as you are meant to pay and then claim back – but can’t really see what the difference is and I don’t want to be out of pocket as it is a heavy file... [/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Giving OH a lift to further-away train station – then he doesn’t need to change trains and saves money on his ticket too :A [/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Not sure about tonight – will be working late I reckon – so that will keep me out of spending trouble [/FONT]

ziggy2407

Morning All

CCL - Thanks for starting us off today, hope your anxiety starts to ease soon.

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.

Gosh I don't have a clue what's up with me, I feel so blummin emotional everything is making me burst into tears. So today I'm going to just do what I can:

Packed lunch for DH & DS - Done
Check Bank - Done
Washing & line dry -
Ironing -
Bake -
Upload receipts to COS -
Continue purge on Emails -
Complete a few surveys -
Read -
Enter a few comps -
Check https://www.freepostcodelottery.com - Remember there are now 5 chances to win -
Check Lucky Phone, numberplatelotto, Ashleigh, etc -

Have a good day! Love to you all!

C x