The thriftyish way to debt freedom

f0xh0les

There are a couple of postal surveys from 3 or 4 different providers, some are UK some are worldwide, some want business users, some want home addresses - you have to register and they will contact you when there is a vacancy in your postcode area.  ( Have a look on the ' make extra income' type boards, they have loads of up to date survey type sites  with links).   The football survey is  The Clubhouse and it is through a website called leanlab.co.

thriftyish

Foxholes, I'm sure I've said this a few times in the last week but you are amazing - thanks so much for the info. I've made a list and trying to sign up to a few a day - I did prolific first thing this morning and managed a £7 survey. The postal one I found is Kantar TNS but I will check again for others later I've added Populus live to my list too Janb5, thank you!

I saw sw@gbucks mentioned a few days ago, so I joined but not convinced yet - I think its one to watch. It had a 300sb reward (which at a rough calculation is £2.31)  for signing up to Experi@n - but luckily I thought to check qu1dco and topcashb@ck first and TCB were offering £4...

Apparently my credit score is 994 which is amazing considering it was absolutely awful 9 years ago and we were classed as high risk - I used to dread even applying for mobile phone contracts for fear of rejection. Now we buy the phones outright (and refurbished) and get the best deal I can on the contract - how times have changed!

Food feels like a bit of a minefield in our house Magiccat. My eldest DS we think has IBS and has daily stomach pain, but hates fruit/veg, or anything mixed together. My youngest DD we think has a dairy allergy (also stomach pains) so we have been swapping out milk/butter for oat milk and dairy-free spread which helps, and trying to reduce but not exclude another dairy (until the doctors will see her, after COVID they say) and my middle DD is 95% vegetarian by choice. We support, we are trying to reduce our meat consumption anyway. We cut out all meat for herbivaugust last year and both DD3 and DD4 carried this on until well past Christmas. DH also tells me he doesn't like anything he can't remember eating or doesn't recognise! We use the stand a lot, it does really help if they feel like they are having a buffet and are getting lots of choice!

I think I am going to put our emergency savings into a direct saver with NSI, we need something with quick access and its one of the ones recommended on MSE
Prolific £7
Topc@shback £4
Prime is cancelled

thriftyish

Another win! A few years ago myself and DH had savings account with Tesc0, that I had completely forgotten about until they sent us both a reminder to our old address last month. I rang just before teatime to see if they would close the accounts for us, mine had a whopping 8p but DH had £67.28. 
The quidc0 payment also cleared so together with my 8p, I've managed to pay an extra £119.26 tonight. This will bring the credit card balance to £153.51 when it clears 

DH has also a huge pile of electrical stuff he's hoarding, and an electric bike that looks like a moped. I've suggested he sells it all and saves up for the 3D printer he has been wanting. It is an extravagance but he doesn't spend a penny on anything else, most of his clothes are older than the kids and his only weakness is Tesc0 doughnuts, and he wouldn't notice if they cost 66p or £5. It will clear up some space too and it may come in handy. His previous job was in ICT at a college and he had 3D printers there, you can print almost anything and he's printed himself spare parts, stands for controllers, toys for the kids etc.

DH's sister has suggested a trip to the coast on Sunday. It would be awesome for the kids, DH is indifferent, but my anxiety is having a bit of a dance. Probably because its a bit of a drive, I'm still wary about the virus and I haven't done anything except visit the shops and allotment for the best part of 4 months. Plus I don't really want to spend, but I might try to ys raid Mr T and take a pack-up or a load of buttered breadcakes for a chip butty. If we go!

Bluegreen143

Well done on small wins, surveys etc! Sounds like you’ve been tying up a few loose ends with closing accounts etc. It’s a great idea for your husband to earn some of the cash for his 3D printer by selling bits on eBay. It’s a win win if you get rid of clutter too!

Re the beach, I totally get why you’re nervous. You can definitely do a beach trip for the cheap - picnics and take buckets & spades and a ball for the kids - maybe allocate them all a small amount o money for treats and once it’s gone it’s gone? 

f0xh0les

The beach sounds great, I mean it is a big space and you can choose where to go or where to move on up the coast a bit if it is busy.

Two more ideas for you - daily tv/radio  survey from G f k media - I usually get a win at least once a month, and for cheap presents for the kids, have a go at the competitions on  the 'fun kids radio'  website. I have won quite a lot through them over the years.  Better for your age group than mine now.

Muriel_Heslop

Just reading your diary about the surveys, prolific is my favourite but another one I love is Onep0ll. They pay 10p-20p usually but they are so quick and easy to do.

I used to do sw@gbucks but it was very hard work, the screen outs were horrendous. It's been a few years though so maybe it's better now.

Moneywhizz

You have been busy. It's only a week since you started your diary and you have taken on board so many ideas and have almost paid off that credit card. Do you plan to overpay the loan next and get it gone quicker or do you have another plan?

janb5

Also consider selling on FB--- it`s very hit and miss but y`day I had 1200 people looking at a viewing for sun loungers!  87 messages later and I had £20 to give my grandchildren!  They were very happy!

thriftyish

Bluegreen143 said:

Well done on small wins, surveys etc! Sounds like you’ve been tying up a few loose ends with closing accounts etc. It’s a great idea for your husband to earn some of the cash for his 3D printer by selling bits on eBay. It’s a win win if you get rid of clutter too!

Re the beach, I totally get why you’re nervous. You can definitely do a beach trip for the cheap - picnics and take buckets & spades and a ball for the kids - maybe allocate them all a small amount o money for treats and once it’s gone it’s gone? 

I think I've outdone myself and can't think of anything else now though!   The electrical stuff is the type of stuff I wouldn't have a clue how to describe, and it's mostly DHs stuff so his decision. But having an aim and saying 'Id rather have a 3D printer than xyz sat in the attic/shed' is good motivation! 
DH's sister is getting fish & chips, and I feel a bit mean packing sarnies knowing that. I think bags of chips are the easy way out, might have to buy fish for DH though. I've been to the supermarket tonight and bought snacks so hopefully will avoid the extortionate cost of those, and I am hoping everything else is closed 

f0xh0les said:

The beach sounds great, I mean it is a big space and you can choose where to go or where to move on up the coast a bit if it is busy.

Two more ideas for you - daily tv/radio  survey from G f k media - I usually get a win at least once a month, and for cheap presents for the kids, have a go at the competitions on  the 'fun kids radio'  website. I have won quite a lot through them over the years.  Better for your age group than mine now.

I think my main concern is the toilets. I swear DD1 leaks, every car trip she needs the loo three times and the others maybe go once. I've added those to my list, thank you 

Muriel_Heslop said:
Just reading your diary about the surveys, prolific is my favourite but another one I love is Onep0ll. They pay 10p-20p usually but they are so quick and easy to do.

I used to do sw@gbucks but it was very hard work, the screen outs were horrendous. It's been a few years though so maybe it's better now.

I will add that one, thanks! I was screened out of about 12 things on Swagbucks and found myself answering the same questions over and over again. I might keep trying for a bit longer as I know some people love it.

Moneywhizz said:

You have been busy. It's only a week since you started your diary and you have taken on board so many ideas and have almost paid off that credit card. Do you plan to overpay the loan next and get it gone quicker or do you have another plan?

I am hoping I can keep the momentum going. I think that's all the bigger stuff done now though. Definitely onto the loan next as its the highest interest. I would love it all gone by Christmas, but that's probably wishful thinking! 

janb5 said:
Also consider selling on FB--- it`s very hit and miss but y`day I had 1200 people looking at a viewing for sun loungers!  87 messages later and I had £20 to give my grandchildren!  They were very happy!

It's a bit of a hard decision between fb and eb@y sometimes, and I never know how to price stuff.  I bet it was a lovely surprise for your grandchildren though!

Today has been a strange one, and not very thrifty. I am sat typing from a new desk... DH and I have been looking for a bigger desk for a long while now. DH needs a lot of space and has 2 screens and sometimes multiple laptops/equipment he's working on, then space for me too(hopefully ). We ideally wanted something around 260-300cm long. We couldn't find anything that big and ideally wanted second hand so we started looking at used office equipment. We found two huge matching oak effect desks for £65 each - so £130 spent. They seem really good quality & hardwearing. My SIL has just bought similar for work and she says they cost over £500 each new. DH is over the moon and I really like them, but I am still trying to convince myself it was a good idea to spend the money, can you tell? 

Argos refused to swap my faulty Fitbit, despite having care insurance, only purchasing last July for my birthday. Apparently I need to go through Fitbit. Then my SIL told me about some 29p posh loaf cakes in farmf00ds but they had all sold out.

Tesc0 then charged me at full price for reduced lemons and pears (only reductions to be found) when I went in for snacks for tomorrow. I almost didn't go back to say, but the pears should have been 37p and went through at £1.50 and were quite badly bruised. I am glad I did in the end as I helped an old lady at the checkout (who I wanted to take home, she was really struggling) and they gave me double the difference back at £3.60 - I didn't even know that was a thing.

We forgot to take a drink on the 2-hour round journey for the desk, and so DH ended up buying drinks from a Londis shop. It cost over £2.70 for a 500ml bottle and a can!!!!  I will not be making that mistake again and now have enough 17p lemonade to fill a bath. 

I also got some blue cheese to try for 50p via the Sh0pmium app, and spent my cashback from Tesc0s buying the children a beach set and a frisbee for tomorrow. They were all excited tonight, now I just have to hunt through wardrobes to find us all suitable clothes to wear after all these weeks of throwing on the first thing that appears

janb5

I tend to sell bulky items on FB and the easier- to- post items on Ebay.  Sometimes I put the same items on both and if I get interest I remove the other listing!  It is quicker to list on FB but sometimes I find people just click the `automatic button` - is it available and then dont want it!