The Olympic Challenge Take Two

Gemmzie

A little earlier than advertised but I have the time today There's three posts to this so please wait until they are all posted to reply! Thanks x

Since the last Olympic Challenge was so popular and really useful, we decided to run another one

and this is it.......

The Olympic Challenge Take Two

The challenge begins on 14th July and will run until 14th December (giving enough time to beat the Christmas post!)

It'll have FOUR levels this time:
Bronze - £1000
Silver - £2000
Gold - £3000
and... Platinum - £4000

You can start at any level and if you want to upgrade/downgrade at any time - just drop me a PM and I'll change your challenge level.

On the Sunday or Monday after the week has finished, PM me your totals and I'll get a newsletter going like Wings did so well last time :)So the first PM time will be 22nd/23rd for how much you've made in Week 1 (14th - 20th). Hope that makes sense!

The Rules.....
Money must come from anything extra to your normal income and must be obtained lawfully!!

But how do I make more money?
Try the second post for some tips/tricks!

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For those of you saving for Christmas for this challenge, I thought it would be fun to add a second

part to the challenge.

Make your challenge amount stretch as faaaaaaaaaar as possible. For example, if your spending £10 on your children - get as much for that £10 as possible. Use Martin's Tips, Sales and price comparison to make those gifts worth every penny. Beat those RRPs!

Just state whether you're in for the Christmas Challenge when you post up which level you're aiming for, then when you start buying bargains add it in your weekly PM.

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The third post will be updated periodically with any FAQs and information like which week we are in, how much you should be up to to reach your goal, and how many challengers we have.

So post below if you're in and for how much and we'll get going on the 14th!

Gemmzie

Tips/tricks of trade

Sell!

Amazon

Amazon 'Sell Your Stuff'

You can sell books, CD's, DVD's, and more on Amazon. It is very easy to list them and, unlike ebay, there are no fees until you make a sale.

Read more at The Amazon Thread
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Ebay (add the code "mseolympicchallenge" in white if you wish so other challengers can find your items!)

Learn how to sell
You can sell anything on Ebay (well almost!). Listing can be quite time consuming and it costs to list items even if they don't sell. Ebay can be fun and quite addictive!

Read more at The Ebay Thread
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Cashback sites


Quidco
Read more on this MSE thread


RPoints
Pigsback
Greasypalm
Mutualpoints

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Mystery shopping


Become a Mystery shopper or if you already are one join another and use the extra funds towards your total.
http://www.indiefield.co.uk/
Grassroots
Retaileyes
Gapbuster
http://mshopper.5.forumer.com/
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Survey sites


ciao
valuedopinions
yougov.co.uk

This is a good focus group website:
http://www.focus4people.com/index.asp

Mostly in london, but if you are close enough to go there then you could earn some serious money. I have only matched their requirements once and wasn't accepted so I don't know yet if the focus groups are any good but it was recommended to me by someone who has done one and said it was very good and good money.
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ODDS

Another tip is to join swapit shop and collect free points, then get vouchers or goods for these free points then sell them on ebay. You can get the points from this thread:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...ghlight=swapit

http://www.aqa.issuebits.com/vacancies.htm
It's a completely flexible, do as much or as little as you want, part-time work from home job, all the details in the link. It's a text messaging service and you will be hired as a researcher to answer the questions people send in and you get paid 30p per text, you do it through a pc not your mobile phone. You need a degree though and the test to pass is not easy. If they are not hiring right now, check everyday because it seems to change daily.
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Matched betting (tip: if you're new to this start reading up now, the football kicks off again on Saturday 11th August and footy is the best way to get started )

Try here for help
Newcomer's Guide to Matched Betting

Thread for Questions about Matched Betting (no need to read the entire thread before posting your question)
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Gemmzie

General FAQs

Can bank charges claimed back be included?
As before, no.
From annie:

We have decided that bank charges refunds should not be included in total as it doesn't represent making huge effort to make extra money (luckily for those who have or are in the process of being refunded it simply takes (in most cases) a few letters) We are happy for you if you get them refunded but it doesn't seem fair for everyone. Please tell us if you have been successful as it is great and you should be congratulated. Maybe add it in brackets after your total.

Can I join after the 14th?
Definitely! Just PM me if you want to join later with your challenge amount

Do I have to be in debt to join the challenge?
Nope! Everyone has different reasons to raise a little extra even if they aren't in debt, so join in.


With things like Quidco/Ebay/Amazon sales, do you include it in your total when you actually do the transaction or when you get paid the money?
Count it when the money hits your account, and you've paid all your fees, then it's definitely your pure profit

Does doing overtime at work count?
Definitely! It's extra income for the challenge

For the first week - can we list stuff on Ebay the week before so that it's finishing w/c 14th?
Yep, as long as it finishes within the week of the 14th - don't forget the Ebay code too!

Christmas Challenge FAQs

How much do I include when I've made a saving?
Find out the RRP for the item (Amazon usually have them listed), then subtract the price you paid (included p+p though) and that's your saving

Where can I find cheaper prices?
Keep an eye out for sales! Buying close to Christmas is usually more expensive so we're being organised and protecting our wallets!
Also the Amazon Filler (http://www.filleritem.com/uk) is a good idea to avoid those high p+p charges.
Another useful site is www.find-dvd.co.uk who also have their own cd / games versions (just change the word "dvd" for the one you want)

Yorkielass

Wow Gemmzie - just having a sneaky look on mse before getting on with some work and saw your posts.

Yay the new challenge :j

I'd like to join in and go for bronze again please.

Can I add a tip please? although I've done amazon, ebay etc before I didn't keep track of what I'd earnt properly or put the money to one side. With this challenge I've tracked it all in a spreadsheet and opened a savings account linked to my bank account so it's really easy to transfer over ebay, amazon and mystery shopping money and pay in cash I get for the challenge too.

I used some of the money to buy a new computer as my laptop has almost died but the rest is sitting there waiting to be used rather than all the amazon etc money going into my bank account staying there and then getting spent with my salary.

oops_a_daisy

Hi Gemmzie, Can I join up to this ? Im not in debt apart form my mortgage but I have just lost my job and havent got another one yet so I am trying to keep money tight at the moment and a bit extra on the side would be brilliant.
I did the Fishface 'money from anything' challenge last year and found it really motivating as at the time I was saving up for something. I think I will put part of what I make into a pot for Christmas as I havent been saving anything into that pot yet
Hmmm now which level to go for this is over 5 months so I will try to go for silver £2000. That works out at approximately £100 per week and Im on holiday for 2 weeks so will have to make a bit more on a couple of the weeks.
For starters I will start up matched betting again ( did all the easy offers before so will have to have a good look into it ) I will do a car boot sale the week after next ( am away this weekend ) I will also start looking into things that I can Ebay. Also will look into other things I can buy and sell for profit

Storm

I didn't do the challenge before, but would like to sign up for bronze this time please (hoping it will motivate me to get cracking with selling stuff & tryign to understand MBing!)

Couple of questions though:

With things like Quidco, do you include it in your total when you actually do the transaction or when you get paid the money?

Does doing overtime at work count?

For the first week - can we list stuff on Ebay the week before so that it's finishing w/c 14th? As with Quidco, again, do we have to wait for the money to clear & we've deducted the actual postage price & ebay fees or can we pop it up once an auction has finished and work out what we think the fees will be?

Yorkielass

Welcome Storm,

What I've done with the 1st challenge (and I'm sure everyone's got their own way but..)

1. Things like cashback and survey sites I've added when I've had the cash/when the money's gone into my bank account, e.g. I have about £30 in you gov atm, about £5 of which I have earned in the last 6 months but I haven't included it as I don't have the money here.

2. With Ebay I've waited til the item has finished and I've posted it then I've worked out money I've earned then taken off fees and postage and added the money I actually made on. Whether they paid by paypal or cheque I've added it as I have the money and I could withdraw it from paypal, I just prefer to wait until I get to £50.

Also with mystery shopping I've waited until the end of the month and added the amount I've been paid - I only work for places that do my tax atm and so all the money I get (minus a refund for something I had to purchase if I wouldn't have purchased it anyway) goes into the challenge.

With overtime I think if you take it on through choice because of this challenge then it can be counted.

As I said though I'm sure others will have their own opinions - I have personally only added things once the cash is in my hand, bank account or paypal account apart from Amazon and Green met where I know I can have the money and it's on it's way, it just takes a while to get through.

Hope that makes sense and good luck!

blackangeluk

Could I jump on board - I read the other thread when I got my LBM but I was far too behind to join in then.

I think realistically I could try and aim for £2,000 but I have recently ebayed and amazoned (is that a word?) almost my entire house so I may have to rely on quidco and Matched Betting to get me there. I have tried to surveys but always seem to be too late for them, I will research this area better.

Re the Xmas Challenge I would love to do it. I am already preoccupied about xmas and how much it will cost me so to do something actively about it would be good :T

angelavdavis

I would also love to join.

I am credit card debt-free as of this week, but am part of the MFWs and also have a Northern Rock loan that I need to start overpaying.

I would like to start with Bronze and see how I go.

Thanks Gemmzie

Christmasshopper

Count me in please. I'll try for Bronze.

webitha

count me in for bronze too please i will make more of an effrot this time but been poorly as for xmas im nearly done loads bought in xmas sale etc just OH and kids main prezzies to get now and the food shop is covered as i shop at asda and round it up to the nearest £5 increments so i got nearly £120 on that too so this money will purely be for me :j

the last challenge has helped me pay of loads