I'd like to introduce myself

Tim_L

Tr&#64 wrote: »

Utter !!!!!! most of these posts. No, a member of the family has had gambling problems after being led in by those 'freebies'.
For those few who can GENUINELY take the freebies then stop when sooner or later they're spent then fair play (an inevitable outcome)
But they know-they being the NON-gambling owners of betting interfaces- the majority will lose those intro's then deposit their own money-ad lib.
There simply is no such thing as 'risk-free' money anybody who says otherwise is a liar.

I've read this site since it's inception, literally. I've done the penny pinching, the spending diaries and budgets, vouchers in supermarkets, try-me-free offers, old style cookery, pizza making. I've switched energy suppliers, remortgaged, chased higher interest savings accounts, and stoozed for England. I have gone after click through cashback and made hundreds from opening current accounts.

But the thing that has made the most positive impact on my life has been learning matched betting. Where most of the other things can save or make relatively small amounts - they add up, certainly, and I definitely don't decry them, matched betting has made me tens of thousands.

Now I certainly do this more intensively than most would, but it is frustrating in the extreme to see people who could benefit massively from a quick four or five hundred pound cash injection being dissuaded from even looking at it because one particular site user had a relative who had a gambling problem. This is rather like dissuading someone from getting a free 12 bottles of wine from Smile because they had an alcoholic relative. It's particularly tiresome because clearly Tracker hasn't the remotest idea how matched betting work, and how you can't lose your introductory offers.

You can't lose your money when doing matched betting. That's the whole point. Your bets cancel out, magically leaving the bonus amount as actual tax free cash which you can withdraw and spend or save. It certainly isn't inevitable that you spend the winnings on gambling, in fact it is extraordinarily unlikely.

And as has been said, everyone I know who has tried this has a much clearer view of the dangers of betting for real money than those who don't - you would be hard pushed to find a matched bettor would would dare a punt on the Grand National, or even buy a lottery ticket. I've seen far too many favourites turned over to bet for real,

As to whether or not it's difficult to understand, well I think it's really a question that people think it needs to be more complicated than it is because it so resolutely fails everyone's "too good to be true" test. Do two matched bets and you'll be wondering what all the fuss was about.

Let's face it, if there was an offer posted here that asked people to fill in a couple of webforms and get a payout of £50 within an hour or two, it would be massively oversubscribed. But mention the G word and suddenly it becomes something too awful to be contemplated by decent people.

robnye

tr@cker and bpyoung now that you have both had a go at throwing your toys out of the pram..... is there any useful advice you can give borntobeaprincess

robnye

BornToBeAPrincess wrote:

Can't transfer balances. Interest is only been charged on the loan but my credit rating is crap. I defaulted on everything in 2002 when I went into a DMP.
Thanks again for the advice.

oops sorry, you did state that at the beginning..... teach me to read the whole thread and then forget what it was originally about.........before answering

arent telewest the sister of ntl...... ie, ntl recently brought in a free basic tv package..... without telling me....... got them to switch my package and hey presto bill went down £11 per month, did the same for my mother.
couldnt you switch from sky to telewest basic package (if they do one)

cornerclose

I would echo everything Tim L says about having tried all the moneysaving tricks. I needed to when my horse was sick and I had a huge vet bill to pay. I haven't done the matched betting as intensively as he has, so my earnings (see signature) are really rather small. Oh, and there's good money to be had from a large number of bookies from Quidco and rpoints too.

(Tracker - I am an ex-gambler with a very addictive personality, but I now find it very hard indeed to mug bet on anything.)

tomstickland

Tr&#64 wrote: »

Mrs. Sparkle, thats what they all say thats how it starts. You are in enough debt to know better. Im certain ive forgotten more about gambling than you'll ever know if you live to be 100.
People on debtfree wannabees need sensible long-term advice that works, not that drivel from idiots like you.

You obviouslly still don't understand how using matched betting to turn free bets into guaranteed profit works.

You're best off forgetting everything you knew because it was MUG BETTING.

Matched "betting" is not gambling.

If you look at what people in the gambling loopholes post about you'll see that there's a general dislike of gambling and the money grabbing companies involved in it.

Sorry to OP, off topic there.

pubjoe

Aaaand back on topic...

BornToBeAPrincess wrote:

Thanks eveyone. Heres my SOA.

Income

Salary 340 (about 420 till Jan)
DP Salary 718
Tax Credit 722.45
Child Benefit 126.32

Err... those tax credits seem amazingly high to me. I earn around a 1000 (800 salery + overtime) and my partner stays at home and we have been getting about £200 a month tax credits, until a few months ago when it was stopped as we were earning too much.

I hope I'm wrong, but are you sure your not overclaiming. If not, then what the hell am I doing wrong???

BornToBeAPrincess wrote:

...Nursery 412

And this seems high to me, can you find it cheaper? I don't know what your full-time commitments are but is so much nursery time necessary?

OH! ...Or is that tax credits funded nursey which you have included in your income?? If so, then that would explain it!

richardvc

BornToBeAPrincess wrote:

We don't really need the DVDs. Its only dd who watches them. Entertainment, we go out twice a month for a meal with friends. We could change this to a quick drink with them instead, never really enjoy it anyway - the kids always play up!!
Dp loves playing football though, guess £5 a week isn't that bad.

Rather than demote your friends to a 'quick drink' why don't you use half the money but invite them round to yours - your money goes further and you still get to see your friends (if you want to that is !)

I know we all owe money on here but you can still have a life ! Friends are an important part of life. Do your friends know that things are a 'little tight' ? If not, be honest with them. You never know, they may be in the same boat as you and might welcome the idea.