Friday 15th Feb

A question about : Friday 15th Feb

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

Hello everyone, TGIF!!!!

Had a lovely V-day dinner last night - set up chairs / table / candles in the garden, and the moment OH sat down our younger dog jumped straight into my chair as if they were on a date He then refused to leave so I shared the chair for the whole meal. He was very well behaved though so didnt have to defend the food

Away for the weekend so trying to tie things up here.

Not very MSE here at all Im afraid, but hey ho.

Today -

- lunch provided by work
- dinner out as its roommies last day in the country
- probably out dancing after
- Have OH book our bus tickets for tomorrow.
- pack and book our boda to the bus park
- work v hard as getting a stream of angry emails from irate partner. Boss is very helpfully on my side though!
- take out money for Rhino tracking on Sunday

Hugs everyone!

Best answers:

• Morning!
  It's my day off so I've got lots of time to catch up on life. Today I'll be:
  Checking the final Gas bill from my old supplier. I have a sneaky suspicion that it's wrong, again. Gas bill is right. Electricity bill is Ј20 too low. Bandits!
  Do a little food shopping with OH. Spend Ј5 Nectar Points, Ј2.50 off Farmfoods coupon and Ј4 Tesco Clubcard voucher for a low spend til payday tomorrow. Check TopCashBack Snap and Save offers before we go. Might get 25p off 50p spend on bananas. (Link)
  Get Physio OH to treat my sore shoulder for free.
  Encourage OH to pay in huge bag of pennies to the bank.
  Check Quidco, TopCashBack and GrassRoots for incoming payments.
  Use 0800 Buster to call Gas company from my mobile for free. (Link, read the Disclaimer before using)
  Buy Mould Killer spray at 15% from Homebase with voucher I got through the post. We have quite a problem around windows and in two cupboards. Will pay Ј5.10 instead of Ј5.99. And before anyone kindly suggests it... neither chlorine bleach nor vinegar will permanently destroy black mould (Stachybotrys Chartarum), it needs to be treated with a fungicide. This is because the bleach's ion structure prevents the chlorine from penetrating into porous materials such as dry wall and wood. It stays on the outside surface, whereas mould has protected enzyme roots growing inside the porous construction materials. Also the pH in bleach is too high to be effective. And vinegar will only kill up to 82% of mould spores. (Out comes my inner chemist!)
  Work out where I'm going to get all of OHs birthday gifts from as cheaply as possible.
  Price Check Tesco Shop in the hope of a small refund. (Link)
  OFFERS
  Free international phone call. I haven't tried this. (Link)
  
• Argh just wrote a whole message but lost it!
  To summarise: nothing much happened yesterday, I'm still ill, I spent money lol
  List:
• Check bank
• Transfer in money from savings for valentines card/present (budgeted for)
• Match back to app
• Lunch from home
• Drink lots of water
• Have an early night
• Try for a NSD
• update sig
• Morning everyone. Thanks NTBY for starting the thread.
  It's Friday but, more importantly, it's pay day
  Transferred money to cover my March spend into the savings account, I'll transfer it back on 28th to cover the dd's which go out on 1 March, and I've also made a small overpayment on one of the credit cards.
  Yesterday ended up not being a NSD. Went out for a couple of beers with an old work colleague (female ), but I only spent Ј7 (couldn't have any more as I only had a tenner left in my pocket when I went out), so we came back to mine and attacked some of the cans that have been in the fridge since before Christmas.
  We've both said we want to see each other again, so who knows, maybe Valentines Day isn't too bad after all!
• Morning, thanks for the thread! Friday finally!!! Had an overspend day yesterday and slept in this morning which means no packed lunch for work
  Today I will:
  Car-Share to work - Done
  Drink water in work (no juice buying)
  Go to the cafe next to work to buy soup (it's cheaper than the canteen)
  Check bank
  Assess my remaining budget for the month
  Try not to eat (too many) cakes in work
  Have a great Friday everyone!
• Gooooood morning!! Happy Friday people, we made it!
  Karb, good luck with the new romance
  bt1, hope you feel better soon
  Nothing much planned for me today.
  Check banking - if payment hasn't went out for my credit card then I will make a payment. - Paid Ј50 woop!
  Need to check prices of coving for my hall, see if we have any money left to buy some. Also check prices for wooden flooring, a friend gave us two packs of real wood flooring, but I think it's just not enough to do the hall Might need to buy another pack
  Do swagbucks, onepoll and maximiles.
  Check competitions boards and freebies/vouchers
  That's about it for today, have a good day y'all! x
• Morning all,
  Sounds like KARB had a great valentines day, fingers crossed
  Well have decided today is the day that I get everything done, even though woken up feeling awful again, still cant get rid of this virus. I am determined to get all paperwork and housework done by the time I go out at 7pm tonight for a meeting. Also means it will be a NSD as not planning on spending any money at the meeting. If I can get everything done today it means I can spend Sunday doing my crafting and see if I can get it on Folksy, though just been told there is training on Sunday but the way I feel I don't think it is a good idea.
  Today I will:
  - B/L/D from the stores
  - Clear a bag of stuff from garden, a bag at a time is getting it cleared quickly and not feeling like a big chore
  - Work through my work list and get it all done so start Monday a clean slate
  - Do a load of washing and hang on line as nice and sunny
  - Clear Kitchen of things that shouldn't be in here and see if any of it can go in my selling box
  - Tidy living room and have a bit of a sort through
  - Have a general clear up around the house, I too have some mould to work on in my bathroom, I use Domestos Grout buster and swear by it but can sometime be hard to find but Mr A has it at Ј1.99.
  right lets get started with the garden, then a shower then paperwork. Have a good day all.
• Hey everyone
  hope you are having a good start to the day! Very jealous nottoobad of your lovely evening - i was a bit worried when i read about you setting up the table in your garden, then realise you live in sunnier climes - lucky you!!
  So for me :
  breakfast at home
  brought in lunch from home : left over tortilla that I made yesterday with some salad and also some lemon cake which I made from some unwaxed lemons that were sitting in the fruit bowl - yum!!
  making dinner tonight from kitchen store cupboards
  have made a very small shopping list to take to lidl tomorrow
  DH away with work all next week so that means probably nil or v little spend all week
  another alcohol free day yesterday and planning same tonight - yay! Seem to be cracking this after having a couple of days of feeling anxious and weepy....
  printing off a claim form at work today
  charging phone at work and making most of free tea/coffee/water/hot chocolate as, since stopping drinking, I cant get enough of other drinks all day long....
  Nothing much planned for this weekend so am going to luxuriate in the gym/spa.
  may paint my nails tonight (used to pay for manicures and pedicures but NOT ANY MORE!!!!)
  whoop whoop!!
• Today I will spend nothing - I work from home so eat here as well (menu-planned on Sunday and did shop for the week so have only had to buy milk on top).
  Dh will spend on ebay packaging but that's covered by the ebay postage charge so that's OK.
  Tomorrow we are taking the dcs to the cinema and pizza express for the start of half term - both on Tesco Clubcard vouchers and taking sweets that they still have from Christmas! So a 'free' outing!
• Good morning everyone, its a lovely sunny day here today, although it is still cold.
  I didn't have a very productive day yesterday but I am aiming to improve that today.
  My list for today:
• Look into folksy
• Check gas and electric meters - top them up before needing to use emergency credit
• Wait in for Mr A delivery (remember to scan it before putting away)
• Do some of the ironing pile
• Sort through laundry and do any full loads
• Do freelance work that is in for today
• Do available surveys
• Dust and sweep the house
• Do a money makeover
• Sort budgets for the next couple of months
• Write letter to landlord for letter to go with benefits form
• Make the bed - I have not slept in my bed for 3 weeks but aiming to change that tonight
• Pack up ex's stuff in the hope that he comes to get it soon then I can move on
• All meals from stores
• Get kids to bed at a reasonable time
• Do some course work, as I still have a major backlog
• Remember to take tablet
• Fill in benefits form and make a list of paperwork to go with it
• Check free postcode lottery

I think that is everything for today, although it is not all mse jobs its things that I need to get done and posting a list on here keeps me motivated at the moment. Have a good Friday everyone x

• Good morning all what a beautiful sunny day.
  Today I have been to my chiro app and am now down to one every two weeks from initially three times a week. He suggested I practise anchoring to help deal with stressful situations, anyone heard of this ?
  Going to pick my DD from a sleepover last night.
  Dinner at my grandads
  tea at a friends tonight
  and other than that a NSD
  Have lodgers rent going into the bank on monday which should easily see me through the rest of the month, I have very few bills left to pay and my cupboards are full of food. CSA payments seem to be back on track. They rang me last night after I emailed my MP about their poor service !
  I have four night shifts next week which means apart from fuel to get to work, no spending.
  Have a good weekend all x
  Much love S
• Hi all,
  Have been hugely busy over the last week so haven't had time to post, have been reading posts though.
  Managed to have a successful evening of exchange last night, sold an unwanted bed to a friend who has just moved house and used the money to buy 18lb of venison, some boar was given a brace of snipe and a brace of woodcock on top - ideal!
  The freezer is now almost fully stocked, just need to top it up with some bones for the dogs and we'll be all set for March.
  Today I have/will:
  - Check online accounts
  - Revisit meal plan
  - Massive tidy up ready for our house guest this weekend
  - Meals from stores.
  - LSD
  - Update sig
  Have a great Friday all!
• Morning guys Happy Friday am sooooo happy its the end of the week
  Had a lovely Valentines as well. We went to a spa using the voucher I bought oh for Christmas - twas lovely just getting the afternoon off (had a really miserable morning at work ) and just relaxing then we went home & made sushi mmmm
  Karb that sounds exciting
  Things to do today:
  * checked banking - dire Ј30 to last until payday and Ј20 goes to med appt....
  * did VSP
  * thinking of booking a cruise to Norway in June
  * did a car ins search and its come up as Ј223
  * all meals from stores
  * sausage & reduced swede & carrot mash mmmmm
  * lovely filling porridge for breakfast
  * make good use of free coffee & water at work
  * check onepoll
  * maybe going to a party tonight but will drive and take our own drinks, so free socialising
  * paint 1st coat of skirting board after work
  * do a job serch
  * meeting dd later to take some of her washing for her
  * hang up load of washing in machine
  think that's all for me! Have a lovely day y'all xx
• Hi all,
  A quick one from me today as (stands back in amazement, hair stands on end!)...the SUN IS SHINING!!! I just want to get outside & make a start on the garden :-)
  So far, I have:
  *Done my big weekly clean (managed to get all upstairs hoovered on Economy 7)
  *Breadmaker on & phone charged also in Economy 7 time.
  *Next week's meals chosen from Feb meal plans & shopping list done. Not too much needed, most is fruit & veg from local market.
  *Bed linen & towels all changed, have set washing machine for overnight (Economy 7 again....I've got to make more use of this)
  *Latest Ј30 Debenhams voucher arrived in post from doing Toluna surveys. Am already half way to the next one.
  Still to do:
  *Start clearing Spring border so can actually see the snowdrops.
  *Carry on crocheting my stripey blanket squares together.
  Have a good day everyone,
  foxgloves x
• Good morning everyone. I have really been slacking on this thread since the turn of the year. Been really busy but must, must, must get back into the swing of it again.
  Today I:
• Checked banks
• made PAD
• bought new fridge via quidco
• washing on at low and hopefully get it hung out in the lovely weather
• tidying kitchen in preparation for new floor being laid tomorrow
• finish the ironing to free up time on Sunday night
• tidy the rest of the house
• take bags of tatty clothes to cash for clothes shops
• lunch/dinner from freezer - new one not coming till Tuesday so must run this one down to avoid waste
• saved 3 Ј2 coins
• returned ASOS parcel for refund
• emailed play.com about missing fitness dvd

that's all for now. must do better this weekend

• Hi all, mostly a lurker in these parts, I just don't have the time or the creative writing skills to write a diary, however some progress has been made today. MrsDNO finally gets it! Having spent the last three years trying to get her to see that debt, missed payments, etc etc all kill a credit file, she finally sees why I don't have if I don't need. Having taken a look at her credit file with her, she said half the accounts she cant remember having, and her New Look card with all its 1-2-3 missed payments all show up, even a year later, so now she said that she didn't realise how things were affected, and now she would start to look at being more MSE It all came about because I would not put a holiday deposit on my credit rebuilding extortionate interest credit card
• Hi everyone,
  A quickie post from me again today as I spent longer in town that I meant to, didn't spend a penny though & I proabbly won't get a chance to catch up later as it's our 4 year anniversary today
  Thanks for starting us off NTBY, sounds like you had a lovely evening! What a lucky fella you have.
  Ally - Will that mould killer destroy paint/plasterboard/grout? We are unable to shift the mould left behind from the previous owners on certain areas!
  Karb - I know it's early days but I'm very happy for you, enjoy!
  DNMS - Very impressed at your sushi making!
  So today I have/will:-
• Made use of free water & cake at work
• B/L/D from stores
• Brekkie was a HM porridge pot
• Lunch was leftovers from a very tasty dinner last night
• Dinner will not be MSE as we're going out...but will try to avoid the wine & additional courses as I'm sure a main will suffice!
• Log calories using free app
• Check postcode lottery
• Charged phone at work
• Heating off as long as possible & on low when needed
• Check online banking
• Check for new mystery shopping opportunities & finish entering results today
• Enter some comps
• Check fleabay
• Think of some ideas on what to get for my parents pearl wedding anniversary on a tight budget!
• Buy lottery tickets for syndicate, fingers crossed!
• Enjoy a night off work for a change with DH, there's a free gig on at a local club that looks good so may go to that

Hope everyone has a great, MSE day x

• Today:
  - Checked bank
  - Continued my battle to try to get in touch with adobe for a (potential) refund
  - Did a meal plan for the week, wrote a shopping list
  - Off to do a shop in Aldi, with aforementioned list
  - Anything I can't get in Aldi I will pop to Sainsburys for...but NO SPENDING OUTSIDE OF THE LIST, regardless of "ooh, what a bargain..."
  - Hoping to list a couple more things on eBay before the kidlets arrive home
  - Night in tonight; film and home cookin'
• Thanks everyone for their wishes. I'm not getting too carried away at the moment. As regular posters will know, I'm not really over my marriage break up yet, so I need to try to put that to one side, and there's a bit of an age gap to consider too (she's 8 years older than me).
  But we'll see how it goes