What small DFW things will you do w/c 17th September?

foxgloves

Morning Monday Money Savers,
Same stress, another week. A few useful frugal things on the job list today:
*Did my mid-month budget check-in. All ok.
*Updated grocery budget.
*Did 3 Prolific Academic surveys.
*Received another £5 voucher for survey payment for a brand forum I'm on atm - updated my signature, as I like to keep a tally of survey income.
*Make tomorrow's packed lunch.
*See if meal plans need tweaking to take something out of freezer - hospital visiting again tomorrow night, so need something quick to avoid take-away temptation.
*Finished my hand warmers last night, so popped them away ready for the colder weather. Will continue with Christmas present socks today & start thinking about next project (from stash of course)
*Did a big load of laundry overnight on cheap tariff. All outside blowing dry.
*Rounded up small loose change for shrapnel pot.
Will probably do some other things too, but that's what's on the list.
F x
Have a good holiday, Ally.

merida88

Thanks DNMS for starting the thread!

Is it me or is it warm today?! Phew, feels muggy here.

Feeling a tad stressed about a few things if I'm honest. Hoping this thread can help me stick to the straight and narrow and not go all spendy mcspendypants just 'cause I'm a bit worked up.

Today:
- gym first thing to make use of the membership (soles of trainers disintegrating now :eek:)
- biked to work/back for lunch/back to work again
- meals and snacks from stores
- walking poochlet later, always free entertainment

Slightly annoyed I now need oats too. Oats + bread + cheese = probably more pennies than I have in cash. I have some wiggle room left in the grocery budget, but was hoping to use that for an extra payment to the CC .

carrielovesfanta

merida88 wrote: »

Feeling a tad stressed about a few things if I'm honest. Hoping this thread can help me stick to the straight and narrow and not go all spendy mcspendypants just 'cause I'm a bit worked up. .

I hope you feel better soon. I don't know what you're stressed about, and I hope they aren't really big things.

If they are more normal stresses, this might help. I read a really good book called the Chimp Paradox. It really helped me to break some of my bad habit behaviours. Essentially your impulsive emotional part of your brain is your chimp. You can't fight the chimp because it's strong, but you have to find a better way to comfort the chimp.

Here's an example for me:

• After work I would crave sitting down with a glass or two of wine.
• I wanted to break this habit as it was expensive and unhealthy
• It was hard to break because I like wine, and sitting down with wine after a stressful day. if I didn't have wine, I would go home and do chores, cooking, tidy the house etc.
• I realised that my chimp was tired from behaving at work all day. It needed to be "exercised" and allowed to roam free for a bit. The wine was its go-to way to do this
• By doing something else that the chimp will enjoy, I can stop it asking for wine. For example, I might get in and read a book, or watch rubbish on youtube for a bit
• This way, the chimp has had a run around, and it's happy again

Now I'm still very partial to a glass of wine, but I find that I have it when I really want it as opposed to force of habit. I also drink less as I don't need to carry on drinking to allow myself to switch off.

Not sure if this is helpful to anyone but I hope so

merida88

carrielovesfanta you are so kind! Thank you - a couple of big stresses (mum not well) but mostly just me getting myself in a tangle. I'm a bit prone to rushing about trying to fix everything for everyone rather than take things at a sensible pace. Not alone in that I'm sure.

Have cut myself a bit of slack this evening, and spent some quality time tucked up on the sofa with a cuppa and some ginger biccies! :j

Baileys_Babe

DNMS Thank you for today's thread

I have yet had time to read what everyone has been up to, I hope it has been a good day for everyone.

Ally enjoy your holiday.

Today's list of achievements:
NSD
PAD
Checked back accounts
Received a payment from a friends part of last weeks wholesale delivery
Reconciled cash back credit card, which is cleared each month, surprisingly low and it included to sets of theatre tickets
Turned off lights & appliances when not in use
Home educated the children for free
Decluttered a car full to the tip
Stuck to the meal plan
All food & drink were from stores
Sorted out OH work meals from stores, so much cheaper than ready meals or meal deals
Set dw to run overnight

little_pink_purse

Evening all

DNMS glad work is starting to settle down
Ally have a great holiday

today for me

checked banking
worked a small shift
did pick up a few extra shifts
shopping done this weeks shopping was £65 for 3 adults is that ok
i need to try a make a budget xx

better get to bed i feel like I'am getting man flu lol

take care xxlppxxx

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)
• Freegle (Link)
  
• FreeStuff (Link)
• FreeUKStuff ( Link )
  
• Income Tax Calculator (Link)
• i-Say Surveys (Link)
• Jobseekers Railcard (Link)
  
• List of online newspapers. At bottom of the linked page. (Link)
  
• Marriage Tax Allowance (Link)
• Martin Lewis' Weekly List of Deals and Tips (Link)
• MSE Bank Charges Comparison Tool (Link)
  
• MSE Boost Your Income page. Gateway to lots of money-making links. (Link)
• MSE Budget Planner (Link)
  
• MSE Abbreviations Explained (Link)
  
• MSE Deals and Vouchers (Link)
• MSE Demotivator Tool (Link)
• MSE Credit Card Minimum Repayment Calculator (Link)
• MSE Money Makover (Link)
• MSE Piggybank Budgeting (Link)
• MSE Stoozing Guide (Link)
  
• MSE Wow Offers (Link)
  
• NHS Minor Ailment Service article (Link)
• My Supermarket (Link)
  
• NHS Free Prescription Checker (Link) New
  
• OnePoll (Link)
• Pick My Postcode Lottery ( Link )
  
• Quidco (Link)
  
• Reclaim PPI at no cost to yourself without using a claims company. (Link)
• Reclaim Packaged Bank Account fees at no cost to yourself without using a claims company.(Link)
• Reclaim phone credit (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)
• Start Rescue Breakdown Cover (Link)
• Super Saver Amazon Delivery Tool (Link)
  
• Survey sites that pay for your opinions (Link)
  
• Swagbucks (Link)
  
• Swapit (Link)
  
• Tickety Split cheap train tickets (Link)
• Toluna (Link)
  
• TopCashBack (Link)
• Wombling Guide (Link)
• You Need A Budget site and App (Link)

If any of the links are broken, let me know.

allydowd

Hi September Savers,

Morning!:coffee:Away but keeping the faith:


Debt-Free-Nillionaire Continuity Plan Year Four:

* Mobile phone battery has swollen and thus gone to the Great Rrcycling Centre in the sky. :eek: Will need to source another. This it decided to do 30 mins after we de-planed! In the meantime DW's phone is identical to mine so we can share the battery. I think it's the Universe's way of telling me to turn the thing off when I'm on holiday!

* Take two water bottles everywhere with us and refill and chill regularly instead of buying in local cafes.

* We are self-catering. Today we just had salad. Also bought two wee lollies yesterday instead of monster-sized Magnums. Bought a €3 (£2.75) bottle of Temperanillo wine that costs £5.50 at home.

* Read free e-book.

* Yesterday's entertainments were all free. Walking, photogra-faffing local wildlife, swimming in hotel pool, watching an hour of local tv: a cookery show. Identifying local wildlife from books we brought from home.


* Handwashed some garments instead of using laundrette.



To be continued....

Things don't have to be perfect to be wonderful.

mmharko

Morning all, I'm long time lurker, very occasional poster on the forum. This is the thread that I always come back to, very inspiring and useful, so thank you all.
I come on to read in the morning with my cup of coffee and feel all inspired and focused, real life (four little ones) then inevitably gets in the way and I end up getting very little done. I think my main problem is I tend to do the things I find easy or enjoy doing first and then only end up getting those thing crossed off the list, leaving more important things to build up and drag on.....
So if its ok, I'd like to join you and actually take five minutes of a morning to write down everything that I need to do. That will hopefully give me a bit more of a feeling of control.
We have some CC debt that I really would like paid off asap. I must reduce our grocery spend to do this, there isn't really anywhere else I can trim.

Sorry for babbling on, here goes
- Make eves pudding with apples from garden DONE
- Make oven roasted ratatouille (river cottage veg recipe, delicious) to use up courgettes from fridge and the aldi super 6 aubergines my husband picked up. This does dinner for my husband and I one night and then I blitz the remaining and use it as a veg laden pasta sauce for the kids DONE
- package up (DONE) and post recent ebay and fb sales DONE
- pick up parcels from local po DONEand sorting office TOMORROW
- sort out babies clothes, he almost ready to move up a size. I started this last night whilst binge watching Killing Eve, its fab if anyone is looking for something to watch! (STARTED, will finish tomorrow)
- quick check of surveys. I need to work out a way of doing these more often but them not taking up all my time when the baby naps as I then get nothing else done!
- sort out some easy and fun 'homework' for my 5 year old to supplement his learning at school. Just work with phonics.
- meal plan the rest of the week. DONE
- update freezer spreadsheet (did the inventory over the weekend) DONE

Think that's all for today.
Hope everyone has a happy and productive day
thanks

determined_new_ms

Morning & welcome mmharko (unusual name!) welcome on board. I don't know what your homework strategy is - or even how old your lo is - but I'm assuming similar age to mine, 5. I have found the best way for us, atm, is 15 minutes rest & snack when she gets home and then 10 mins reading & five mins of hw. At weekends 10 mins early in the morning of maths & english. Spellings we do in the mornings/on way to school. I refuse to enter into a battle ground with her so keep it short and sweet!

Today I am off again & madam is going to an after school club so I am free after school run till 4.15 :j

Things I need/want to do:

*[STRIKE] check banking [/STRIKE]- a week till payday and I'm broke! Might need to transfer out of savings.... didn't need to as had made some household spends from pers account. Transferred those from joint and I live to stay afloat another (7) day(s)! :cool:
* all meals from stores
[STRIKE]* get salmon out of freezer for tea[/STRIKE] - didn't have yesterday as realised we had beef that needed using
* make batch of pea & ham soup mmmmmm
* go to the allotment
* make a batch of roasted veg - thanks mmharko!
* flylady - house is pretty spik and span but working wed-fri....
* [STRIKE]washing in machine[/STRIKE] & will line dry. Will do a second load when this one has finished
* take in a pair of jeans that are too big now I've lost a stone
* cast on 1st pair of Christmas socks
* prep clothes/food for next few days
* filing
* find house ins quote
* call energy supplier as they are still not taking dds....

Ok that'll do for now!