The 18k Challenge

COOLTRIKERCHICK

i have just read the whole thread....good luck peeps....

will continue reading the posts... as it will give me a kick up the butt to sort my debt out..about 35k of it....

there will only be winners here.. as at the end of the day what ever amount you throw at those debts...which is extra... to the min.. payments will bring you close to being debt free....

dont forget... it might be worth you going to have a visit to the os part of mse... as not only getting extra money in.. it will be worth you seeing how you can save on yuor shopping /cooking etc......

i have saved quite a bit by reading the threads over there....you dont realise how much you save in that way...

again good luck.....i will keep reading your posts...

Mirtos

Mirtos wrote:

New Goals
1)Pay off At least £100 by Sunday. (Again) Done.
2)Use quidco more regularly to up profits - and really do it this time! Done £99.52 tracked so far.
3)Investigate matched betting further and place at least 1 matched bet. Half done - investigated, but haven't placed bet yet as am short of disposable cash due to a week off sick and no wages!
4) Send letter before action to reclaim bank charges from Barclays once deadline expires!! Not done as all info on computer at work and I'm off sick, but WILL be done by 2pm on Monday, so done really!
5) Get round to listing the stuff I've sorted out on ebay. Will definately do this week as am currently off sick with tonsilitis! - errr... Half done, then computer crashed. Plan to finish today.
6)List all remaining books set aside to sell on amazon. As above. Done.


Last week was stupidly busy, so hopefully this week will be better. As I'm off sick, I have lots of time to list things for sale so I HAVE to do that this week or it'll be embarrassing. Haven't done it, and YES, it IS embarrassing :rotfl:

I also applied for the 3.9% M&S card, so I can transfer my 7.7% egg balance. On the whole though, moneywise it's been a frustrating week. I've been too poorly to go to work, which means that I'm missing wages of £150 ish from job2, AS WELL as my tutoring income of £90 ish. So Argghhhhhh! Frustrated.

I have enough to live on though, and to cover my bills and keep up payments on debts - it just means that I wont be paying off as fast as usual this month. Also, My contract for job 2 finishes next week, so that income will dry up, AND I'm going to be away for 3 weeks, so my tutoring income wont be coming in either.

On the upside, come november, I'll be being paid twice my monthly wages for just 1 months freelance work -so that should make up for this month a bit - hopefully then, I'll be able to pick up more work pretty quickly.

I can't quite believe that I'm going to give up my nice secure but dull job for freelance work - but the job I have so far is V. well paid - lets just hope I don't end up temping for rubbish wages afterwards!

Right. So. Goals for Next week.

Debt Now: £18,576

1)Pay off at least £100 from Debt (again)
2) Keep tracking stuff on quidco.
3)FOR GODSSAKE WOMAN, PLACE A MATCHED BET!
4)LBA to Barclays or else!
5)Find more stuff to sell. List it on ebay.
6)If it has arrived, transfer balance to M&S card.
7)Send out a speculative mailshot to try and drum up more freelance work.

Mirtos

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote:

i have just read the whole thread....good luck peeps....

will continue reading the posts... as it will give me a kick up the butt to sort my debt out..about 35k of it....

there will only be winners here.. as at the end of the day what ever amount you throw at those debts...which is extra... to the min.. payments will bring you close to being debt free....

dont forget... it might be worth you going to have a visit to the os part of mse... as not only getting extra money in.. it will be worth you seeing how you can save on yuor shopping /cooking etc......

i have saved quite a bit by reading the threads over there....you dont realise how much you save in that way...

again good luck.....i will keep reading your posts...

Thanks Cool triker chick - Unfortunately, I'm OS by nature, so there isn't much saving to be made on my existing lifestyle. I agree with you though, the OS way is soooooo much cheaper than the 'modern' way!

DontDoDebtKids

Something worth noting about matched betting:

It works REALLY well if you sit down for an evening and "do" several bookies in one go. This, however, requires a fair amount of cash to feed into your betting exchange of choice (I use Betfair - PM for a referral code ) to start with. I made over £120 in one evening but needed several hundred pounds in various places to do it.

If you don't have too much spare cash, do one bet at a time.

It is a wonderful feeling when you check your bank account and it says:

Today's date CR £Y+X+profit from (bookie/betfair)
Two days ago DB £X out to bookie
Two days ago DB £Y out to Betfair

It's like money goes out for a short holiday and comes back bigger

Edit: OOH and start with the ones with Quidco cashback! I think if you sign up to Betfair using Quidco you get £25 (plus another £20 if you get referred) and then, say Totesport, you get another £25 plus a free bet of up to £40 so your FIRST GO can make you £25+£20+£25+£20to40(ish)=£90 to £110

Mirtos

leon103 wrote:

£50 tracked in one day? How?
The most I get is 10p.

Unless you bought something is it?

I got it from playing the bingo sites. you have to deposit £10 and then play for cash, but you only need to bet 10p and then you can withdraw - luckily I won some cash so made a bit of profit on top! :dance:

Mirtos

DontDoDebtKids wrote:

Something worth noting about matched betting:

It works REALLY well if you sit down for an evening and "do" several bookies in one go. This, however, requires a fair amount of cash to feed into your betting exchange of choice (I use Betfair - PM for a referral code ) to start with. I made over £120 in one evening but needed several hundred pounds in various places to do it.

If you don't have too much spare cash, do one bet at a time.

It is a wonderful feeling when you check your bank account and it says:

Today's date CR £Y+X+profit from (bookie/betfair)
Two days ago DB £X out to bookie
Two days ago DB £Y out to Betfair

It's like money goes out for a short holiday and comes back bigger

Maybe I'll wait until I get paid next month then, and give it a go then. Ahhhhh! I'm so excited, can't wait! Grrr.

DontDoDebtKids

Mirtos wrote:

Maybe I'll wait until I get paid next month then, and give it a go then. Ahhhhh! I'm so excited, can't wait! Grrr.

I'll be keeping my eye on your progress - you'd better!

If anyone on the thread wants me to check their numbers before they put their ready cash on the line, just PM me!

DontDoDebtKids

Oooh if you want inspiration in the meantime, read the Donglemouse Diaries (matched betting diary).

Amazing amounts of money made! £9,025 in a year (tax free) anyone? That's just from matched betting - adding in all the casinos and everything else he does related to exploiting gambling offers he made £18,925 in a year!!! Tax Free!

If that doesn't motivate you, I don't know what will.

Fascinating read:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=90197

Mirtos

DontDoDebtKids wrote:

I'll be keeping my eye on your progress - you'd better!

If anyone on the thread wants me to check their numbers before they put their ready cash on the line, just PM me!

Actually, just been reading SS's Matched betting thread - want to tell me what to do for a first learner bet in exchange for 10% of profit?;) Rekon I could muster £100 to play with for the first one. - is that enough?

DontDoDebtKids

Mirtos wrote:

Actually, just been reading SS's Matched betting thread - want to tell me what to do for a first learner bet in exchange for 10% of profit?;) Rekon I could muster £100 to play with for the first one. - is that enough?

Hell I don't want 10% of your profit just for telling you something that you can get help for on the Gambling Offers Loopholes board for FREE

BAD MIRTOS

Yes you can start with £100. You'll need to do one of the smaller offers and use Quidco - it'll be worthwhile for the Quidco cashback anyway!

WARNING: DON'T sign up for the gambling site until you want to use it - the offers can be time limited (e.g. I signed up at Betfair and Totesport to dip my toe in the water, I wasn't going to bet anything, and when I read the Tote terms and conditions it turned out I needed to do it then and there. PANIC!!! So don't sign up until you are about to do it!)

My advice now:

1) Sign up for Betfair using Quidco AND A REFERRAL CODE - doesn't cost you anything and you get Quidco money and can become familiar with the Betfair website. Enable the advanced mode that allows you to see both lay and bet odds (this is something I nearly got wrong once) - you'll be able to figure it out if you play with it! You get £20 and the other person gets £20 for the referral BUT YOU NEED TO DO IT WHEN YOU SIGN UP.

2) Visit a few gambling websites using the Quidco links and figure out what free bets they offer and what cashback they offer - prioritise in order of most free cash going (useful ground work). DON'T SIGN UP YET!

3) Download the matcher spreadsheet and play with it a bit using odds you'll be able to find on betfair and the gambling websites.

When you've done this, post here with any questions then I'll run you through tactics to maximise profit with your available cashflow as well as check your numbers.