What small DFW things will you do this week? Wc 24/10/16

determined_new_ms

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:

determined_new_ms

Morning guys new week new beginning and all that! Hope you all had a lovely relaxing weekend

welcome back CLF I also was thinking about you the other day and hoping all was well

Really need to focus on a few things today and get them done rather than a massive list which I don't!

* [STRIKE]check work email to see if my payslip is through and *hopefully* will see my tax rebate[/STRIKE] Yippee £170 winging it's way back to me :j
* [STRIKE]super speedy hour flyladying[/STRIKE]
* MS assignment earning me £25 opps cba! Cancelled it
* [STRIKE]go to the allotment and do a couple of hours of digging[/STRIKE] much more fun than msing! was rewarded with 500grms runner bean, 350 grms turnips and a few thinned out beetroots which I will use the leaves as spinach
* dig out gift,[STRIKE] card [/STRIKE]& wrapping paper from stash for a birthday party madam has tomorrow
*[STRIKE] submit meter readings[/STRIKE]
* sort out paperwork and see if I can find paperwork for my self assessment. If I've got it spend an hour sorting this out. If not call tax office and get them to reissue (hope this won't be a problem!)
* all meals from stores - sausages out of the freezer for dinner ok didn't find the paperwork, but I looked! (and while I was at it minimalised a load of rubbish will rind tax office in next couple of days to see how I can sort this out!
* make a batch of BNS soup to use up last of the massive BNS
* make a batch of cinnamon buns and freeze majority

Right those are the things I need to do. Hoping to carve out a few hours of leisure (other than allotment) too

determined_new_ms

I have a question for those with dogs. We have been considering getting a dog for the longest time and wanted advice from those already with one. There are two areas we are not 100% sure on:

1. being left alone - I have found someone in the local area who would be willing to spend a couple of hours mid day with our puppy so it wouldn't be on it's own for longer than 3 hours and other than that I think between oh coming in at lunchtime to spend time/walk with it I could organise my 1 day every other week where 1/2 day I work from home. Do people think this is sufficient/fair to the puppy? I'm assuming at a certain point it will be able to spend 4ish hours on it's own with a dog walker at lunchtime

2. insurance is a mind field! what companies do you use. What level of protection have you gone for? & how much have you paid

really appreciate your input!

katy_ann

Morning all! Thank you DNM for starting the thread this week! I was up and showered early today as had to give my OH a lift to work as we had not released that the MOT on his car had run out last week! Whoops! Therefore I'm picking him up at lunchtime so he can get his car in for an MOT! There's my baby brain for you! I don't have a massive list for today:

- Check bank accounts
- Paint nails - Saves paying someone else to do it!
- Pick up OH so he can take his car for an MOT
- All meals from home
- Put on a load of washing which will have to go in the dryer, the weather here is not nice!
- Quick tidy up at home
- Watch some more of my box set and chill out this afternoon!

Have a good Monday everyone! x

NorthernMonkey1

determined_new_ms wrote: »

I have a question for those with dogs. We have been considering getting a dog for the longest time and wanted advice from those already with one. There are two areas we are not 100% sure on:

1. being left alone - I have found someone in the local area who would be willing to spend a couple of hours mid day with our puppy so it wouldn't be on it's own for longer than 3 hours and other than that I think between oh coming in at lunchtime to spend time/walk with it I could organise my 1 day every other week where 1/2 day I work from home. Do people think this is sufficient/fair to the puppy? I'm assuming at a certain point it will be able to spend 4ish hours on it's own with a dog walker at lunchtime

2. insurance is a mind field! what companies do you use. What level of protection have you gone for? & how much have you paid

really appreciate your input!

As long as you get to see the dog every 3 hours, even if it's for 5 minutes to say hello, let him out to do his business, then that's OK. Leaving him in the house for 6 or 7 hours isn't fair. A small dog (we have a minature sausage dog) is easy to find a dog sitter for the day. If you're long term plan is to pay someone to come to the house every lunch time to walk the dog, I'd question if it's a good idea

I don't have insurance. With 1 dog and 3 cats it was going to be £60 a month. Have an emergency fund or credit card and be prepared to repay if the worst happens.

If you're DFW, then dogs are probably more expensive than sky or the gym long term.

foxgloves

Morning Campers,
Lots on the list today....aside from my usual money-saving stuff, I have some Labour Party admin & a CRB form to fill out for my new role on a local charity board plus emails I need to deal with. Anyway, on with the list:
*Shifted some funds around to keep budgets straight.
*Paid 50p into my sealed pot.
*Rounded up a bowl of windfall apples.
*Did rubber chicken. (Roast dinner last night, chicken salad with spicy couscous tonight, Mexican-style chicken pizza topping on Weds, & all the gribbly bits in the slow cooker for stock). Leftover gravy, leeks & a parcel of chicken meat also frozen to go in a stew at a later date & enough for a lunchtime sandwich too.
*Laundry done overnight on cheap tariff. Pegged outside, where it should at least get semi-dry. It can finish overnight on the heated airer. Washer re-loaded for same again tonight....unless forecast is rainy.
*Did quick project for an online brand forum I'm on at the moment.
*Make tomorrow's packed lunch.
*Bake a cake & more wholemeal apple scones.
*Bake diabetic cake recipe for guest tomorrow....have found one in which I can use pears & blackberries, both of which I have, & all other ingredients appear to be in stock.
*Wrap birthday present using paper/tag from my recycled wrappings stash.
*Knit more sock (Christmas present) & blanket squares.
*Quick house clean, as guests tomorrow, but I believe people can take me as they find me, so will be spending 30 mins max on this.....i.e a quick flick over the bathroom & hoover downstairs.
*Free entertainment......watch recorded tv prog over lunchtime, listen to audiobook while baking, knit, write my journal, etc.
*NSD as I don't have the car & have no time or inclination to mess around with the bus or walk nearly 2 miles to town.
OK, just my 2nd coffee of the day to finish & I shall be back in the kitchen grating orange zest & beating up cake mixture.
Have a good week, all.
F x

foxgloves

DNMS - I can't really help with the D.O.G question, as I am absolutely 100% a cat-girl. I did used to know someone who insisted on getting a dog despite everyone in the house working full time (& full days) & can tell you that informal arrangements didn't really work with its care (midday walks, being let out into the garden, etc) so relatives ended up having the dog every day (I think they felt they had no choice as it wasn't fair to leave it on its own for such a long time) You will have to go with your conscience on that one, as I have no idea how long a dog can be left......& wouldn't want to clean up the consequences if it was too long.
On Pet Insurance......When I adopted my first cat, I didn't bother at first. He was gorgeous, such a charmer, but also a scrapper & I was soon making frequent trips to the vet to get him stitched up after fights, then he was very ill & needed surgery....suffice it to say that after just over £1000's worth of vet bills in one year, I took out insurance! The slight downside in waiting was that because he had by then needed gastric surgery, the insurers wouldn't cover him for anything else that was gastric related (thankfully he didn't have any further trouble there, so it didn't cost me, but it could have done). That cat & our 2nd were both covered with Petplan. I wouldn't say that they are the cheapest but I have to say that they paid out every time I put in a claim. I challenged one payout as I didn't think they had paid us enough & they found in my favour, as I was able to supply evidence. Our 2nd cat developed problems which required a special diet (to dissolve bladder stones) & as our Petplan policy said it would pay 50% of medical diet food if it was part of the treatment, we were able to claim for 6 months of special cat biscuits as well as the treatment & 2 overnight stays at the vets. As the animal gets older, the amount you have to pay increases......the excess increases, as well as the percentage of the remaining cost that you must fund. It can be quite a steep rise, but I still kept paying the policy as it felt more manageable than the alternative which was potentially paying out a huge amount if cat became ill.
For our current cat, we swapped to Sainsbury's Pet Insurance. I can't tell you how good it is because I haven't had to use it yet. We felt we'd been well-treated by Petplan (although other users may have other experiences)....what tempted us to swap to Sainsbury's was simply that they were offering £25 of nectar points to new policy holders.
I'm not sure that any of this has really helped you. We tend to adopt adult ex-street cats & boy, are they scrappers! I feel more secure with pet insurance but its usefulness is only really put to the test when you have to put in a claim.
F (& naughty cat) x

carrielovesfanta

Morning all!


Thanks to DNMS for starting us off. I'm very touched that people had thought about me and wondered where I was

Today's mission
*Work hard

*Make MSE suggestions to the management in hopes of saving job!

*B/L/D from stores

*Crossfit at lunchtime in order to make lots of use of my membership. You may remember I started this last October. I've kept it up and it's been the best thing EVER. I've dropped a jeans size, pretty much without even trying and my arms and legs look all toned

*Keep heating off. Should be easy as just me in tonight.

*NSD

Have a good one all

clf x

Bobarella

Determined A puppy would need quite a few weeks with its new owner before you could start leaving it at all. My friend had a dog walker admittedly c.london and it was costing them £100 a week...depends on breed too. Some need 3 walks a day.

Also if you get a rescue dog you have to be very careful about temperament as you have your DGD to consider. Rescues aren't always allowed to go to homes with small children for that reason.

ziggy2407

Good Morning All

DNMS - Thanks for starting us off today, and am very interested in responses to your dog queries (as we too are contemplating one but our circumstances are a little different to yours, shame we don't live closer)
CLF - So glad to see you back, we have missed you

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.

Eldest grandson is here this week and we also have daughters two dogs for the day. Today's list:

Check Bank - Done
RM Survey - Done
Wash & Line dry -
Bump listsing on freegle/ebay -
Fit new light & blind in bathroom -
Bake -
Clean front yard (after 2 tip runs yesterday and recycling collection today we only have bath left to dispose of) & repot plant that's pot got broke last week -
Craft -
Declutter -
Bump Sale Posts on FB -
Walk at least 7000 step for Bounts points -
Continue purge on emails -
Surveys -
Enter a few comps -
All meals from cupboards/fridge/freezer -
Check: Lucky Phone, Ashleigh, Numberplatelotto, FPL -
Read -

Have a great day!

C x

determined_new_ms

ziggy2407 wrote: »

Good Morning All

DNMS - Thanks for starting us off today, and am very interested in responses to your dog queries (as we too are contemplating one but our circumstances are a little different to yours, shame we don't live closer)


C x

Isn't it a shame! Would be great to do a dog share with someone you trust