A question about : Wednesday 5th November
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 
Morning guys 
hope you don't mind me starting the thread when I'm such an occasional poster!
Have an unexpected day off today. Had to take an emergency al day as childminder has been sick all this week. It is a total nightmare trying to find alternative childcare arrangements but so far have saved Ј105 in cm costs! (and also a day's petrol!) Which means unexpectedly I can afford to do something with dgd 
finances are so tight at the moment that a trip to the local swimming pool is out of our reach financially! So think that's what I'll do 
Bob - in response to your questions at the weekend. We are currently applying for Child Benefit but sadly that is still going to her mother. We earn too much to be eligible for TC but sadly with childcare costs our outgoings are equal to our income, but only because I have got so good at living on next to nothing! I had some unexpected kinda good news yesterday. SS have said they are going to assess our financial situation to see if there is anything they should be putting in place to support us so have to do an income & expenditure for them, needless to say these figures will be based on national debtline guidlines, rather than what we actually spend 
As I have a day off I should be able to get some things done
* make spag bol with reduced mince - make a big batch & bulk out so it can be frozen and used for a few meals
* all meals from stores
* heating off, jumpers on!
* check we are on best deal for gas & elec
* do income & expenditure
* take dgd out - might call in to ex-mil's for cup of tea
* paint the titchy windowsill in the hallway!
* load of washing & hang up
* make some fairy cakes with dgd
* go and pay expenses & cheque into bank
* return library books & get some more
Think that's all I'll have time for. Have a lovely day everyone x
Best answers:
- Good Morning All
DNMS - Thanks for starting us off, enjoy your day off, it's lovely to see you again
Rach - Wish I was approaching 30
Hi to all of the regulars and a BIG welcome to all the newbies, this is a really FAB thread with so many lovely, caring, considerate and supportive people. Dont forget we also have a small things on Facebook, if anyone wishes to join
Back to normailty and routines, so here goes:
Investigate problems with central heating (plumber who fitted boiler last year is ignoring my calls/texts )
Ham Joint in Slow Cooker
Clean Fridge (& inventory)
Re-list couple of things on FB for son
Craft
Checked Banks
Checked swapits
Packed lunch for DH & DS
Entered a few comps
All meals from cupboards/fridge/freezer
Checked www.freepostcodelottery.com - Remember there are now 3 chances to win
Have a great day,love to you all
C x - Good morning DNM
Thanks for starting us off. I love to see the thread up early as I currently have time I wouldn't if I was at work. I am glad things are being re evaluated for you. But also appreciate how tight things are for you right now. It probably feels very unfair considering how well you were doing prior to this situation & I always feel it's hardest to carry on doing all this DFW stuff with so much against you hence my own MSE sabbatical from March to September!
Good luck with everything today.
Had a lovely relaxing evening with OH. I made us a chorizo stew with pearl barley, beans, veg, chillies. It really took the edge of the chill. We snuggled down under blankets, & watched the last Harry Potter film. I'd also made a lemon cake with lemon curd filling which came out better than anything I've made in ages. Don't know why.
Some good things. Had a bid on a pair of kids jeans I'm selling on ebay. Will net me Ј6 in total, probably lose half to postage but better than nothing.
Also had a buyer enquiring about a set of hardback comics that we have on for Ј100. They are part of my husbands enormous collection that we are selling off bit by bit. They've even on ebay for months so it would be great to finally sell.
No news from car man.
No news from insurance.
As I have time today I may go for a walk around near sainsburys and see what I can spot. Sad life I lead but it's a huge branch and used by hundreds of people. Not my fault if some of them choose to drop their vouchers. I made OH laugh last night as I said I could see a big bag of rubbish at the self service tills with loads of coupons etc in it & was briefly plotting how I could make it out of the shop with it. Coupon heaven! I turn 36 this Friday, imagine the headline. Local mother nicked for nicking bag of rubbish
Heating still not on here but it's getting chilly.
Email reads to First Utility
Plan dinner. Thinking a spicy tomato soup.
bye all.
bob - Morning all!
So I was naughty yesterday and didn't complete all the things on my list! "Not a big deal" I hear you say. However one of the things on there was to work out the timer on the heating which I didn't do and this led to me forgetting to turn the heating off when I went to bed last night!!!!
So my list for today:-
1. Work out how to use timer on heating - DONE!
2. Check banks
3. Take lunch to work
4. Fill water bottle up at work
5. Earn SBs
6. Earn money on OnePoll
7. RELIST ITEMS ON EBAY
8. Find somewhere free to park later to watch the fireworks
9 Think of something to get Dad for xmas (this may take a while!) - Morning all
Nice to read everyone's news, you are all so busy compared to myself.
Plans for today are:
Cook a double batch of bolognese, some for tonight's dinner with tagliatelle.
Put a loaf of bread on.
Cook up bacon, some to have in a bacon roll and some to put in the bolognese.
Catch up with washing and put on airers.
Look for some christmas presents online.
Bob, I wish I was going to be 36 again. Distant memory now, as just had my 50th, where do the years go?
Take care all. - Today I have/will:
1. Checked online banking
2. NSD
3. Surveys
4. Free Postcode lottery
5. Paid Ј145 off Capital One
6. Meals from stores
7. Watch the missing recorded last night - Hi all,
Thanks to DNMS for starting us off.
Thanks to everyone for their wishes for OH. He has graduated in Music. It was a difficult day for him (he has anxiety problems) but we got through it
Thanks too for the rag wreath compliments. If you google rag wreath tutorial lots of links come up. It was very easy. I used 1" x 6" strips of fabric and just tied them in a random pattern.
Today's list: - Check online banking and attempt to reconcile spends - poor budget and general mis-allocation of spends has caused madness
- Walk at lunch time - I did
- B/D from stores. Need to start sorting L out earlier.
- Possibly some overtime
- Charge phone in work - charging
- Bit of crochet later maybe
- Text window cleaner and ask how much gutter clearance yesterday cost - Ј15 less than expected! Must pay him.
- Hi all,
At work all day today so: - NSD
- B/L/D from stores
- earnt lots of XP on Roamler. Nearly at Level 2
- Checked banks - no nasty surprises
- Afternoon all,
A busy work day for me, but that's how I like it, because lots of time at my desk = temptation to nip to the shop for sweets for a break. Not today! I'm currently drinking hot chocolate from my drawer.
Today will be a NSD - and my 4th in a row! But I think I'll have to spend tomorrow as I need a hair dye, and I've got to pay deposit for work Christmas party.
Meals from stores, got some veg to get through before I go away at the weekend.
Checked my bank - all the same as yesterday thankfully!
I also texted BC yesterday to tell them that I want to keep the credit limit on my card the same
--
I'm still spending a lot of time thinking about just how frugal I can be this month - it's so rare for me to ever have money left at the end of the month usually as I'm such a mindless spender! Also (and this is probably really cringey) but I've already started to think about what I might write on the debt free roll of honour when I get there!
Have a great day everyone - Busy day for me today as I have had baby GD again while Mum and Dad were working - a regular Wednesday gig for me Unfortunately she is a bit poorly today so it hasn't been an easy one
DNMS you have my admiration looking after your little one all the time. I wouldn't hesitate to do the same if needed, but looking after a baby takes it out of me these days. I had 3 of my own and coped fine by and large, but I am 61 now, and trying to keep up with a lively and mobile 11 month old really makes me feel my age. I know you are much younger, but with a job as well I am sure you must find it hard sometimes too. I really hope you can get more support to help ease the finances a bit.
Small list for me today:
Posted an ebay parcel
Paid in cheque from sales unit and recorded all for HMRC purposes
Managed after more than a year of phone calls, letters and emails to finally close an online savings account that has never worked properly and just seemed to swallow my money, locked me out online, and appeared not to want to give it back I had a cheque from them for the balance today Not a lot to them I am sure, but important to me!
Bought a loaf of bread and nothing else, as that was all I needed
Meals from stores
Hope everyone has a nice evening - Ј43 spending in Mr T. Now this may seem a lot for a swing by spend, but it would have been normally Ј200 and I would have called into Lak""""d plast""" to buy cupcake cases for pounds or something. So my restraint is amazing. hmmmm. Anyway it is progress for me. I also resisted a massive on line shop splurge yesterday, so even though 43 gone, I feel on track. Have a good day everyone.
- Good evening all, thanks for starting us off DNMS.
I didn't post yesterday, but did spend a couple of hours going through my bank account (which was not as healthy as I would have liked at this stage in the month) to budgetfor the remaining month and look forward to the next month too.
It's going to be tight, but I should have some additional funds to pay towards the highest credit card. However, as we (very cleverly, not!) decided to decorate the halls, stairs and landing before Christmas, I am torn between paying the excess money towards debt or buying the carpet and laminate flooring.
We didn't originally need new laminate (it was actually only replaced at the beginning of the year due to a huge water leak), however, DH and FIL had a bit of an incident taking off the old radiator in the hallway at the weekend and the laminate was flooded and ruined!
So today's very small list:
All meals from stores
Posted 2 more items sold on eb@y
Listed 5 more items for sale
No heating on all day - yeah!
2 loads of washing done at 30 degrees
See you all tomorrow! - Hi all,
Not been on here for a while....hope all ok. Kind of loving the colder weather at the moment although it does mean heating has been on a bit more than usual.
So, for today:
Husband out this evening so I can have a cheap as chips dinner, probably risotto with leftover bacon (he eats anything but can be a real bloke when it comes to dinner- generally has to have meat or fish etc etc)
Going to cook chicken casserole in the slow cooker ready for tomorrow.
Phone British Gas and Scottish Power- we were meant to be swapping over to SP but not heard a peep from them so need to find out what is going
Phone man who STILL hasn't paid OH his Ј700 owed since April
Lunch at home- possibly HM soup
Received a free teething toy for survey- will give that a go
Surveys
Planning on a nice wintry walk later listening to audiobook I downloaded ages ago but forgot about
NSD
Happy Thursday all
This will have to do methinks
Have a good one all
clf x
That's about it I think. Have a good day everyone xxxx
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