Back to being a DFW..AGAIN!

Poppycat1

No I don't have a diary. When I separated from my husband (with a five year old and 8 months pregnant) I had no choice but to be frugal, eg no presents apart for my kids, no heating for three years, no tv licence, making laundry gloop, no car etc.

I do have a mortgage. I have joined the MFW for 2017 to help pay off £15,000 this year. Ambitious, considering I have just resigned from my job.

I am normally pretty good but fall off the wagon regularly. But looking back I don't spend that much.

My boys are pretty good and haven't really known any different. They have even taken to veganism and now prefer vegan food - apart from vegan cheese, lol.

I wish you all the best. Posting on here really helps. I am too lazy to keep posting on my own MFW thread but love reading other peoples journeys.

amber03

Now Xmas is out of the way I have sat down today and gone through my budget for January ( feels good to get back to normal ). Want to do a lot of saving the next year, hope I can stick to my plan. Cutting back on my weekly food shop is one big task I want to do this year and have just found a load of cd's nobody wants that I will send off to music magpie. Will be reading your diary to see if I can pick up any of your tips.xx

WantToBeSE

Afternoon Everyone!

Thanks Poppy and Amber for your posts Good luck to you both of paying mortgages and saving!

I am putting every penny i got for Xmas and every penny of leftover Christmas budget money, towards debt in January. So i will have, fingers crossed, about £500 in January to pay off. That all depends on if i can be SUPER tight/frugal and go without any extras and just pay the bills.

I am determined to just get my head down and pay as much debt as i can in 2017.

NYE i am having my best friend, her husband and their 2 kids over. Not having a 'party' as such, just a bit of a get together. So will spend a bit extra on food Tomorrow, as i'm doing nibbles and drinks (non-alc).

WantToBeSE

Evening All!

Making fish pie for tonight's dinner. I had everything i needed already in the kitchen, apart from prawns. Put my coat and shoes on to go and buy some prawns and then thought "sod it, i'll just chuck in an extra bit of fish instead' so saved myself some money there.

All the fish was frozen, so cheaper (£2.40 for 4 smoked haddock fillets, £3.50 for 3 frozen salmon fillets) and will last at least 3 meals betwwen us.
I also didnt have celery, so subbed it for half an onion.
Also didnt have fresh or frozen chillis, so used a small amount of dried chilli flakes.

I hope it turns out OK! It's in the oven cooking away, and smells good!

I went food shopping today and only spent £40.80. I was hoping for £40, so not bad at all!

I wrote a meal plan before i went, and based it off everything i already have in the house. So thats why i didnt spend so much this week.

In other news...i need recommendations for what to watch on Netflix!

Bobarella

We have just watched OA which is amazing. So other worldly and unlike anything else I've seen. Stranger Things is also incredibly good. If you watched Breaking Bad then it's spin off Better Call Saul is fantastic, two series of that to enjoy. So much to mention!

WantToBeSE

Bobarella wrote: »

We have just watched OA which is amazing. So other worldly and unlike anything else I've seen. Stranger Things is also incredibly good. If you watched Breaking Bad then it's spin off Better Call Saul is fantastic, two series of that to enjoy. So much to mention!

Thanks Bob

I've already watched all of those, except Better Call Saul, so thats next on my list

Is anyone doing anything nice for NYE tonight? Honestly, i think it's going to be a very quiet one here. I was planning a get together, but myself and my son aren't feeling very good, so i cancelled it.
Instead we'll just get some lemonade and have a chilled evening, watching Frozen Earth (or is it Frozen Planet?) on Netflix.

I might buy some healthy snacks..but I'm going to see what i can make out of what food i already have.

littleskintdragon

We're visiting my brother, he's having a small party in their house. Not sure ill be awake at 12 mind at the rate im going.....

WantToBeSE

littleskintdragon wrote: »

We're visiting my brother, he's having a small party in their house. Not sure ill be awake at 12 mind at the rate im going.....

Have a great time, LSD!

WantToBeSE

:dance:_party_

Happy New Year!!

_party_:dance:

What are your 2017 goals?

WantToBeSE

Morning All

The boys are back to school today, so that should mean i can spend a little less on food! We've run out of snacks and the boys are constantly asking when I'm going food shopping. I am hoping not until Friday.

I feel so mean. We have plenty of food for meals (breakfast, lunch and dinners) but no snacks at all. Am i being mean? They are constantly looking for food (and by 'food' i mean snacks) in the kitchen..even straight after dinner.

I am trying a new thing where i ONLY go food shopping once a week (Fridays) and if they eat all the snacks in the first day or 2, they will have to go without until the following Friday.

Someone tell me i am not being a cruel mother who starves their children? My 17 yr old was saying that he is starting to get fat last night...he told me this while moaning that we dont have any unhealthy snacks in the house.

In other news, i paid off £330 of debt in December. My debt is now below £7000! Will update my signature in a minute.

Hoping to pay off another £330 at least in January..if i can be extra careful and stick to the budget.