What small moneysaving things will you do this week? W/C 11 December

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:

carrielovesfanta

Morning!

Yep it was also my birthday on Saturday. Dawn - your new family addition matched me in birth weight too!

Birthday was ok I guess. Was on my own for most of it as OH sleeping then gigging. All my mates let me down cos of the weather and am too healthy to get hammered on my own these days :rotfl:

Can't possibly be mse in this level of cold. Heating will def be on. Although not when we're out... that's the best I can promise!

Have a good one all

clf x

DawnW

Morning all
Thanks for starting the thead DNMS
Happy belated birthday Carrie I often think it is difficult having a birthday so close to Christmas - one grand daughter has hers on the 16th Dec, a sister in law on the 17th and my younger daughter on the 5th Jan, and they all moan about it!

Went to bed early and slept late after all the weekend's events, so nothing done except breakfast yet this morning :eek:

Raining outside, no ice as forecast
Today's plans:
Cooked HG fruit from freezer instead of bought fresh fruit
Wrap another ebay parcel Done
Post office with ebay sales plus Christmas cards that need to go to France Done, had to queue for ages due to the cards - I use the Drop and Go service for parcels
Write a card for cousin who has had a bereavement Must do this!
Post all cards (except French ones) with free RM surveys stamps Done
Check sales unit while out and about in town Done, managed to squeeze a few more bits onto my shelves!
Look through chest in dining room for items needed for sales unit or to ebay before I put the Christmas tree on it! Opened it, had a quick look, and shut it again Might pull stuff out of it till after Christmas and put in empty storage boxes
Take GD if DD needs me to No SOS calls today!
Tidying, cleaning and decluttering, unless I end up with GD, in which case it will be the opposite! Not much of this done Consigned an annoying Christmas card holder to CS pile. It is quite pretty but annoys me as it doesn't hold the cards very well. Having siad this, it is pretty enough to use as a hanging ornament without cards. Anyway, it is going!
Check banks Still to do
Check for surveys And this!
Better get on with some of it, slow start this morning!

determined_new_ms

Morning guys opps truly running late this morning!

Gosh just got back from the school run - it is bitterly cold, windy and raining. I feel a bit shell shocked if I'm honest! Probably going to be doing nothing for the next 1/2 hour to just warm up!

FVD exciting stuff re the small business grant. Fingers crossed for you!

Day off so a day at home for me today! I was hoping to go for a run but the weather forecast says heavy rain all day This is now messing up my running schedule :mad: If there's a break at some point I will go otherwise I will do a zumba youtube vid at some point

all meals from stores - jacket pots for tea. Steak out of freezer for oh. will roast hg parsnips while oven on for pots

do minimal meal plan

I've doubled booked social events for the weekend and don't know what to do?! 1 is a 40th birthday party for a friend of a friend and the other is xmas drinks with a colleague/new friend who I have so much laughter and fun with. I honestly would rather do the drinks but feeling bad for cancelling the 40th.... Need to decide today....

Tidy/clean house & listen to audio book - jeez will this one ever end????

Do meal plan/shopping list for next week/over xmas

finish sock 1 of xmas gift for oh. Time is ticking!

check banks/log on to cc and make sure everything is straight!

friend coming for coffee here rather than going out and buying one

Ok that'll do...

Have a great day guys

PurpleFairy26

Morning all :hello:

decided to work from home so one less car on the roads
I have got the heating on though, am drying washing to to make double use of it.
Something from cupboards for lunch and tea
Some more wrapping tonight, nearly done
Write last of cards
Call window place and tell them we'd like the rest of our windows replaced now we've saved enough
Hibernate after school run later under blankets
Plan what I need to do when between now and Christmas, such as baking and making
Think about planning next years month by month to do list

Right must actually do some work and not get distracted on here. stay safe in the changing weather peeps. Purps.

FatVonD

DNMS, can you take your friend to the party as a plus 1? If not I say do what you'd rather do, I'm waaaaaay past doing stuff I don't want to do just to keep other people happy

Evening gang!

No snow has settled here but the trains are apparently in chaos as Waterloo due to a trackside fire so I am doubly rejoicing that I don't have to commute.

I had lunch with my mum and then stopped on the way back to look for job ads, I only got two and it was freezing cold!

Amazon have finally sorted the glitch that was stopping me from replenishing the stuff they lost so it's now on its way. I printed out my label and all my eBay ones at my mum's as I still haven't bought printer ink.

Dinner tonight is going to be sausage and mash which I already have in so no spends needed.

foxgloves

Evening all,
Congrats to Dawn on birth of newbie gs! And belated birthday wishes to CLF.
Decided to embrace that Monday feeling today. Had a number of local political tasks to do which took quite a long time, but have been a bit moneysaving too:
*Two baths from 1 lot of hot water & also managed about half a laundry load before full-price elec tariff kicked in.
*Baked Christmas cake.....actually, thisis quite an expensive cake to make so only really money-saving when compared to what I'd have to pay for cake of equivalent size & quality. I did use last year's leftover candied peel from the freezer, & leftover sultanas & apricots will be used to fill snack boxes.
*Zizzed up some old bread & froze ready for making Christmas stuffing.
*Cooked, peeled, chopped & froze chestnuts for same. They were awful. Looked fine on the outside but about two thirds of them were bad inside & I binned them. Considered taking them back but then realised I hadn't been given a receipt.....seemingly a peril of paying contactless. I'm the only one who likes chestnut stuffing so there will be enough.
*Did a few surveys & a longer project for an online brand forum I'm on at the moment.
*Did rubber pork. Roast dinner yesterday. Enough for hot pork cobs & apple sauce tonight, chinese rice tomorrow & a stew.
*Made tomorrow's packed lunch.
*Knit. Currently msking mr f a big pair of boot socks to wear while slobbing around the house. Am using a load of leftover aran yarn from my stash.
*Wrote tomorrow's job list, which is heavily based around doing my mid-month budget check-in.
Am by the fireside now....well as close as I can get as cat is hogging it.
Talk to you tomorrow,
F x

Happy_Kitties

DawnW congratulations on the birth of ur DS, what a lovely early Christmas present. Considering he didn't want to come out, I can't believe how quick things happened and how quick DD was home

MM welcome to a great thread, lovely people and it keeps me on the straight and narrow.

Clf belated birthday wishes

Haven't been around a lot as I was away over the weekend and then I'm away again from Sunday to Prague for the Christmas markets.
Tried to keep to money saving as much as possible.. Only spent 1.75 over the weekend on a cuppa(v.expensive cuppa) but did take a flask with me on Saturday, no facilities to refill on the Sunday.
Bestie paid for a snack and evening meal but wouldnt take any money. Took a porridge pot and bananas with me for breakfast on the Sunday which saved me £8 on a breakfast.
Bestie and i are going to Prague together, ive prepaid for some things, will refuse to take any money for them so I feel I've balanced things out and paid my way back iyswim
Everything good and budgeted for, everything checked and up to date this morning.
Just finalising the last of the bits for Prague.
Posted a few bits for DD today and my final Christmas card has been sent. Didn't have to pay, all done with my RM stamps.
Need to buy some jeans for Prague. Thinking of going to Peacock# so that I can use my RM love2shop vouchers that I have saved.
Desperate to get my Christmas tree up but waiting for DD to come home, will be this weekend.
Gives me chance to get the room ready before. The only things I will need to buy before going away is a stock of cat food. Will go to Tesc#s and use my money off coupon.
That's about it from me, trying to stick to the money saving faith as best as I can and Christmas all budgeted for plus birthdays all done up to April so far.
I wil, be prepared and save money!!!!

FatVonD

1LuckyLady wrote: »

Fvd, I'm fancying sausage and mash now! enjoy!

They were lovely, the Rlchmond ones were on offer for the 12 pack, I've found the quality of the Mr T own brand ones has gone downhill since they took them off the shelves for a few weeks and then reintroduced them only smaller :mad:

FatVonD

I lit the fire tonight and think I've managed to singe my eyelashes off again, I sit too close

The cats haven't been happy because we've run out of wet food, one of them looked at the cat biscuits, looked at me as if to say 'you've got to be kidding me' and went outside and came back two minutes later with a mouse to show me how it *should* be done.

DawnW

Morning all
Up at my usual time, well before 7, and feeling much more lively this morning Dishwasher on, coffee in hand
Brrr, it is cold though :eek:
Plans for today:
HG cooked fruit from freezer for breakfast instead of bought fresh fruit
HM tomato sauce out of freezer to go with pasta for tonight
Dog walks x 2
Load of washing
A couple of cards to post, use free stamps from RM surveys
Wrap some more Christmas presents (or preferably, get OH to do it)
List a couple of things on ebay, last listings before Christmas, I think!
Make a batch of scones as the treats tin is empty
Some cleaning and tidying - tackle spare room I think, as DD1 and her two children are coming to stay for a couple of days next week
Fetch Christmas tree into conservatory to dry out before bringing it indoors

That will do to start with I think!