Sat 25th/Sun 26th - what small DFW things will you do this weekend?

PurpleFairy26

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:

PurpleFairy26

Morning :hello: just a quick post to get me focused for a busy but enjoyable weekend and I need to get on shortly.

We're at a weekend today and baptism tomorrow (both not near home or each other:eek:) so have a bit to do before I leave:

Make packed lunch for today to eat as we won't get wedding breakfast until late afternoon - take cake I made last night in bread maker from items in use up box (thanks legomum and some left over hm popcorn
Load of washing out to dry on airer before we go
Pack a bag for us and a bag for girls
Remember presents and cards.
Ironing clothes for next couple of days. Will do school uniform too so I don't have to do it on Sunday. Will turn off before end
Need to pop out and get nail varnish remover :mad: my 'kit' has gone awol and I really need to do my toes before I go luckily I have some varnish elsewhere.
Hopefully both days wont be too spendy. I won't be drinking an awful lot, so I'll be on water rest of time. Will keep costs to a minimum anyway.
Quick tidy around before we go, as well be straight in to Monday when we're back.
DIY facial and eyebrow shape this morning with products I already had.

Has the sleep helped the decision ally - hope Mrs D is ok today.

Probably won't check back today but will be back on tomorrow. Enjoy your weekend folks. PF.

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.

foxgloves

Morning Frugalistas,
Not written an official list out for today. Mr f has had to work, so I'm just planning to potter around clearing a variety of jobs. The money saving things are:
*Leave yesterday's soggy laundry on the line to see if I can get it dry before the next showers.
*Put ham hock in the slow cooker. It will do tonight's dinner, another meal plus provide stock for some lentil soup for the freezer.
*Pick bunches of herbs for hanging up & drying. Might postpone this if they are feeling too wet.
*Clear backlog of surveys - just done that, not too far off my next Toluna voucher, but have been prioritising Ipsos as am saving John Lewis vouchers to help with buying a new cooker.
*Veggie garden maintenance, including watering & feeding greenhouse veg, tomatoes, courgettes, etc.
*Put crate of homegrown garlic outside for drying (lifted yesterday, good crop)
*Pull some more rhubarb for freezing.
*Postpone tomorrow's trip out (saving petrol) IF weather forecast looks dry, as need to unpack tent & dry it out properly, plus do a bit of maintenance on that & some of our camping equipment.
*Wash hair & allow to dry naturally.
*Do the ironing (backlog from camping trip) if I can get the current load dry. Will only be ironing the stuff which really needs it.
*Cut down a few plants in my border which have finished flowering & fill spaces with containers to prolong displays without spending money.
*5 x 50ps paid into my sealed pot.
*All small change rounded up for shrapnel jar.
That will be enough & it's only something to aim at, I don't have to do it all today.
Have a good weekend, all.
F x

YORKSHIRELASS

Morning everyone

Did my budget for July last night. I need to go through all our outgoings and cancel one or two things. We have a couple of small charity donations that we realistically cant afford at the moment for example.

So today. I have been to my gym class this morning. This is a bit of a quandary for me at the moment. I do 3 classes a week which costs me £14 and I know this is a lot given our financial circumstances. The gym classes are really important to me because its the only thing I do socially, it helps with my mental health and I enjoy it. Life is fairly tough at the moment and I am reluctant to give up one of the few things that I actually enjoy doing. Hey ho.

Lots of laundry to get done and hang out in the sunshine and I will be using up more freezer leftovers for meals. Oh and I will be working on job no. 2 today so earning some extra cash.

Have a good Saturday everyone x

Bagpuss741

Good Morning everyone:)

Today I have/will:

1. Checked online banking
2. Set budget for next week
3. NSD
4. Cleaned bedroom
5. Meals from stores
6. Clean cat bowls and food mats
7. Surveys
8. Water veggies that need it
9. Watch football
10. Update programs on laptop and scan with free antivirus

allydowd

Hi June Jubilatants,

Myself and "Nadia Comaneci" are hoping to make a break for freedom today with Mammoth-Strength painkillers in tow.

Debt Free-Nillionaire Continuity Plan Year Two:

* Checked online banking.

* Did RM Surveys.

* Do July's budget. How can it be nearly July already?

* Deep clean the back hallway. Looks like The Glastonbury Festival in there.

* Deep clean the bathroom.

* Go to local town and buy a secondhand picture frame. I want to put some postcards up on the stairs.

* Discuss a career opportunity with "Nadia", not going into details, it's complicated.


How about you folks?

datlex

My small change over recent weeks is a change of my coffee habits of a morning. I was going to Costa every day on way to work in part because it kills the time. I also enjoy the coffee they make. I have changed from 5 a week to 1 a week, I am not going without instead I have changed suppliers and spread out my business. The drink I got at Costa cost £2.35 a day or £11.75 a week (budgeted for). I now treat myself to one or two sausage buns with hot drink per week at Greggs for £2 a day and one or two teas at local cafe for £1. Works out to a saving of about £150 a year without making any sacrifice. Small change big saving.

Baileys_Babe

Purple Fairy Thank you for starting the thread this morning. Enjoy your weekend.

YORKSHIRELASS wrote: »

So today. I have been to my gym class this morning. This is a bit of a quandary for me at the moment. I do 3 classes a week which costs me £14 and I know this is a lot given our financial circumstances. The gym classes are really important to me because its the only thing I do socially, it helps with my mental health and I enjoy it. Life is fairly tough at the moment and I am reluctant to give up one of the few things that I actually enjoy doing. Hey ho.

Here's my thoughts, I think you should NOT cut down or cut out your exercise classes as they are good for both your physical and mental health. You do a lot for others, working 2 jobs, running a house, being a carer to your son, supporting your DH whilst he has reduced hours and poor health. Prioritise yourself you need your physical and mental health to allow you to support others. If you do decide that these need to go the rest on the family MUST all make huge sacrifices. I wish you luck with the tough decisions you face.

Today I plan to
LSD
Post on this thread for support, motivation and inspiration
Open curtains fully
Close curtains before it gets dark
Turn off lights and appliances not in use
reusable sanitary wear
Stick to meal plan
B/L/D from stores
PAD into saving £3.66 -1p
Soak porridge overnight
Set DW to run overnight
Set WM to run overnight
Check FPL
Educate children for free
Entertain children and us for free
Do not wash hair
RM survey
Dry washing on airier, only if the weather changes
Dry laundry outside, hopefully the weather will stay good
No heating, we have jumpers and blankets
Ongoing projects:
Cull 100 emails
Keep up to date with destroying confidential waste
Continue making scrap/note pad with used envelopes, the back of used paper all held together with a bulldog clip

We are having friends and family over later for birthday cake, so currently trying to get the place suitable at the same time as making cakes:cool: Also we need to pack :eek:

We are away from tomorrow for a few days, I have just checked and one of the places we plan to visit next week the children get free entry with their Blue Peter badges :cool::money:

I am also popping out to get my legs waxed in an hour, I usually do my own but as we are so busy this weekend I can see myself putting this off and then not doing it as we are out of time. This way it will happen.

princess_pea

Morning all, thanks for starting Purple Fairy

Yorkshire I agree re. the exercise classes. You need to do something for yourself and it's good for your physical and mental wellbeing so please keep doing them

I had a study day yesterday to work on this blinking assignment. It was lovely to roll out of bed at 9am and start work, rather than dragging myself out of bed at 6.30am! I wish my workplace was more open to letting people work from home. We also had a NSD which is good as I have approximately £9.86 left in my account until Tuesday

The plan for the weekend is:

NSD both days
All meals from stores
4 hours overtime at work tomorrow
Possibly a trip to the cinema with unlimited cards tonight (we went last night too)
Banking to check/ spending diary to update
FPL and surveys. I have enough to cash out £10 on valued opinions but I'm going to save up for more so I can get enough to replenish my makeup stores
Chase an Amazon seller who hasn't despatched an order for my wedding yet even though I ordered it last weekend
Housework (boo)
Ironing (boo)
Poochy is with the ex until Sunday evening but we'll still go out and have a nice walk somewhere
Re-read Martin's email as I want to change my bank account after I'm married so want to work out which is the best deal for me
More work on this assignment

We STILL don't have our deposit back from the wedding venue that let us down. He assured us he's meeting with the insurers on Monday, and that we will get our £500 back soon. As he was a friend of my OH we're in a difficult position. Our wedding insurance won't pay out as he hasn't gone into liquidation. I contacted HSBC who emailed me a chargeback form to complete and send off. The problem with this is he doesn't have the money according to him and I paid on my debit card rather than credit card so not covered by Section 75. I think what we'll do is give him a couple more weeks and if he still doesn't pay up we'll go down the CCJ route. OH doesn't want him at the wedding anymore.

plainandsimple

Happy Weekend, folks.

Soggy start to the day here, but brightening up now.

DH taking baby boy out today to let me work the whole day as we overspent a little this month and I want to catch up and get back on track before the month ends. I will also work during nap times tomo. Other than work:

- All meals at home
- Check ebay as have a few listings ending this weekend
- Pack items I've sold for posting on Monday
- Low / no spend weekend
- Date night at home tomo
- Check bank daily
- Dry washing on airer
- Have a good, deep talk with DH over coffee or tea (at home)
- Go for a walk
- Start to meal plan for July (mostly thinking up some new meal ideas that are quick, cheap, healthy and suitable for the three of us).
- Choose joy, count my blessings and work on my patience