What small DFW things will you do this week - w/c 21st May?

Happy_Kitties

Afternoon everyone

I don't seem to be achieving much at the moment just seem to be mooching around dodging jobs to be done:o

Did the usual this morning-banking checked, cats cleaned
RM survey done
Quidco checked
Decided to go shopping today as it's always the worst in morris@ns on a Friday from 9am onwards. It wasnt great today, people stocking up for bbqs.
Did get cat food on a special :jand also used a voucher which will now give me a £5 voucher back:T. Won't claim it yet, tend to leave until I really need to use them.
Stocked up on some extra items with DD coming home the end of next week, it will be like the return of the locust:D:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:!!!
Ordered an insert for a cushion off eb@y to complete a friend's b'day present. The cushion has come in at £6 all in all in a design I think she will love
Also ordered a present for my cousins kids off group@n. I will pop it away, won't be given until next year but what a steal on price. Did a price comparison last night and I've made a saving of over £30 for a present I think they will love. At the minute the kids are too young for it but as their birthdays are only 2 weeks apart and a year apart from each other I think it will go down well and a massive saving in the family budget for presents bought when we club together.

Can't think of anything else......must, must do paperwork this evening...cannot dodge for much longer!!

Gemsy81

Hi everyone, hope your weeks are going well!

So far this week I have....

- sanded down and repainted my garden table, paint cost only £15 and it looks brand new, I am SO chuffed, as the old me would have dumped it and bought a new one (probably on credit card!)
-it poured with rain this morning so free watering of plants!
-did a food shop today, and just the £50 spend for the three of us for the week

In big news, horse passed his vetting....I feel like a weight has lifted off my shoulders, and I can see some light at the end of the tunnel.

PurpleFairy26

PurpleFairy26 wrote: »

Glad the appointment went well foxglovesit must be a relief to get it sorted. I'd just work on the premise that what ever the bill is, it's a small price to pay to ensure some not very nice person won't get your hard earn dosh in the future;)

My list for today:
I've taken a days leave as I have a few jobs I want to do and use up some leave whilst the weathers nice
Go for my first ever 10km run :eek:
Pop to town and get a small gift from a shop that was shut the other day when I went in. Park for free. See if there is any barginous fruit on the market
Get some stuff up in the loft
If I have time, start stripping some wall paper in the spare room
Get something out of freezer for tea
Triage fridge
Make some bread rolls for hotdogs for smalls
Quick vacuum round
Do some research on a couple of things whilst I'm not too tired to concentrate on them
Walk later with a friend

Enjoy your day everyone.

So I did everything except put stuff in loft and start decorating. Am pleased with my days work as I also:

Walked 10km on top of my 10km run :T
Got about £50 of fish from mr t for less than £10 as it was all massively reduced including my favourite sea bream
Used a moc in sm
Made some cookies with the smalls
Booked holiday insurance which had been on my to do list forever
Agreed a mortgage plan with DH

Good day all round. Dawn hope you sleep ok.

Gemsy81

So impressed with those covering plenty of km....I have a semi target of 10k steps a day and I really struggle with it. On a day I am working (and sitting down most of the day), I just cant seem to find the time to get moving. Im at my desk from 8.30 till 5, and have to get my son to bed by 7. The only days I find it easy are my one active day at work, when Im not at my desk, and if I have a day off and make sure I do a long dog walk.

determined_new_ms

Morning I made it to the end of my mammoth stint of shifts. Did 6 x 12 hour shifts over 7 days now off for 8 days :T

payday today so did banking & money shuffle

today I am spending the day with dd and we are going for lunch and horse riding

To do:

* load of washing & hang
* try to tidy up a bit as the house is a bomb :eek: Everything has fallen apart while I was working constantly and oh working/looking after madam. Going to be hard as I'll be out most of the day
* change up lo holiday money
* park on the outskirts of town for free and walk in
* looking after a little girl from school 4-6. Her mum has madam sometimes so it's definitely my turn
* mince out of freezer for tea tonight - need to do a thorough inventory of freezer/larder and make meal plan. Food got away with us a bit over the last month or so, and particularly this last part of my shifts :eek:

That's all I'll have time for! Ok better go

PurpleFairy26

Morning determined and all who follow. At least you seem to get some balance after working those long hours, enjoy your day with small.

My list:
Sort barginous fish out, portion and freeze. Eat some for tea.
Start an updated freezer inventory
It's payday, so do the big money shuffle and update all our pots
Get some info for the mortgage broker
Mil having smalls so no childcare. Teacher training day
Message a couple of people who may have bought me a small kitchen item that has broken and we've only had a few months.
Make some mousse for pudding later
Check surveys
Update list for a couple of things I need to do before the end of the month and try and do a couple of them :rotfl:

Gemsy on days I'm at my desk, I'm lucky if I get above 3000 steps, so you're not alone

Have a good day everyone.

foxgloves

Gemsy81 - I set my daily steps target at 7000. i did a bit of research on this, as 10,000 steps is widely considered to be around 5 miles a day, & realistically that would be difficult to do regularly if you are someone who doesn't have energetic dogs to take out twice a day or someone who can actually walk to work. Anyway, I found out that 7000 steps is the amount at which health benefits start to kick in for a woman of my age, so I decided to set that as my daily target. That means I am more motivated because I achieve it more often, but there's nothing to stop me doing more, so on some days I do achieve 10,000 steps & then I can feel extra pleased with myself. I've also recently been gifted a bicycle, so if I add some cycling into the mix, just for transport, like getting to the post office, village butcher, garden centre or into town, that's adding a bit more to my fitness, plus I do a lot of gardening. I have also discovered that 10,000 steps is only about 4.2 miles for me......I've got short legs! It's funny how that instantly made 10k feel that bit more doable!
I do know what you mean about sitting at a desk, though. I have sedentary days too. I try to get around this by walking around while waiting for the kettle to boil, while I'm on the phone & even just from my back door to the bottom of the garden & back is 200 steps, so 5 of those & that's another 1k towards my total. My partner gets a really good step count each day by parking a bit further from work & walking a longer route in & going for a brisk 30 min walk during his lunch hour. He also gets up from his desk each hour & walks about, even if it's just up & down the corridor or downstairs to take stuff for the post tray or copier. He achieves his 10k most days - he did 16k yesterday & has only just stopped going on about it!
F

foxgloves

Hello Friday Frugalistas,
Useful day today, but a bit frustrating, as I've almost done June's budget, but can't finish it until mr f (who is at work in a courtesy car) collects our car from its service & we find out the extent of the bill. I'm thinking it should be small, as I think we ought to have sufficient in our service plan to pay for this one, but it doesn't cover everything & we defo need one of those tyre-inflating gizmos as ours was used when mr f drove over a nasty piece of metal a couple of months ago. So today's efforts so far:
*Studied latest energy bill - our energy account would normally still be between £20 & £30 in credit after this bill, but we are £11-48 in debit! That is defo down to the unseasonably cold March. We are usually cutting down on heating by then, but this year, we had 2 spells of snow & we did use both more gas & electricity. Never mind, with lower summer use, we will be back in credit for winter.
*Reconciled May's budget. Everything seems to be ok. A little bit over on groceries but nothing we couldn't absorb.
*Set June's budget - have done this as far as the final stage which is how much I'm going to pay into the Savings Piggies. I have a notional amount on paper & when I hear about the car service, I will carry on & finish it.
*Paid a CC off in full.
*Relisted 2 items on ebay.
*Froze leftover mince to use as a cottage pie base next week.
*Finalised meal plans.
*Write shopping list - just need to check a few more items for this weekend.
*Freezer dive tonight - I'm having fish with home made jacket wedges & salad & mr f is having l/o garlic rice & 2 portions of the dhal I batch-cooked a while back, because apparently 'they are titchy'.
*Did a couple of projections regarding our holiday savings piggy - we now have enough in there to pay holiday balance, so will crack on & do that. Also checked that paying into it at the same rate per month will cover a potential camping trip in Sept & both cattery stays for the Furred One. Looks fine.
*Wrapped a birthday present using materials from recycled stash & wrote 2 cards, also from stash.
*Did a few surveys.
*Decluttered another box - saved what could be repurposed - a few things for passing to Mum for crafting, a few nice cards which I turned into gift tags & a CD to go down the shed to add to my pile for bird scarers.
*Update DFW diary, which I will do in a minute & catch up with a few I like to read.
Enjoy your Friday night, all. BH weekend! Hope it's warmer than today. Yesterday I managed an hour in the garden with my book & it was so hot, I almost went in to find the sun cream. Today, it's cold & has only just stopped raining. Cat has barely stuck even a whisker outdoors.
F x

DawnW

Evening all

Feeling a bit more human today, and managed to get a few things done:
Half an elderly apple for breakfast fruit

Dog to groomer's for a haircut - OH drove as I am not happy to drive as yet. Did shopping at Lidls, with a quick top up at Sainsburys for the bits that Lidls didn't have.
Ebay parcel plus a RM surveys package to the post office

More of the minestrone I made yesterday for lunch
Read meters and entered readings on energy company's web site
Planted the rest of the tomato plants and 2 summer squash plants in their big pots. OH filled the pots for me. Also planted some herbs in an old galvanised bowl thing
Made, with OH's help, a fish pie for dinner. There was enough of the fish mixture left over to put into 2 individual dishes to make fish gratins for tomorrow's dinner, with the addition of some breadcrumbs and grated cheese - that will be an easy meal
Had some of our HG Tuscan kale with the fish pie
And rhubarb crumble for pudding


I am about to tackle some business paperwork (not a lot, but I have been putting it off ) and that will be me done for today I think!

Gemsy81

I think Im just going to have to try and get out at lunchtime....I think you;re right foxgloves, 7k is probably a more realistic target.
Today has been an odd day. Money cleared from my horse sale, so I did a huge paying off session which felt so good. As a mini celebration we decided to take our little one out for a pizza, and at 6.75 for three courses I think that counts as frugality!

I really now need to get started and do a dfw diary. I am determined to get to a point where I do not have to worry about money again. Today feels like a giant step but there is still a mountain to climb!

In bad news have just checked our sky bill....we changed to their international tariff as OH has family abroad but he has been calling their mobiles and it only covers landlines.....am horrified by the bill, and am going to attempt to eBay something to cover it.

Any tips for parting with clothes that you were hoping to fit back into one day but need to admit its not going to happen and the money on eBay (designer boots) would be far more useful?!