My plan to get £500 in 2016

colsten

jaydeeuk1 wrote: »

If £75k is true, and I'm assuming you're also hitting casino bonuses too, then well done.

I did indeed do casinos as well but unfortunately for me I only caught the back end of that particular gravy train. I know people who made hundreds of thousands from casinos in the early 2000s. By the time I understood how to exploit casino bonuses, they were on their way out. I still made a few thousand from casinos but most of my profits are from arbing sports bets. Arbing is also massively more difficult than it used to be but a few experts are still making large 5 or even 6-figure profits each year.

jaydeeuk1 wrote: »

I find trying to make £3000+ a month a lonely experience, often dealing g with figures and hundreds of bets a week that requires complete concentration and shutting yourself away from wife and kids, and rather than being fun, I found it a chore. I tried it for 6 months around 2007-2008 but I hated it, the amount of hours spent eventually hit a point of diminishing returns. I cut down the matched betting to a level I enjoy, concentrated more on work which makes me far more money than I ever did at betting, and I spend more time with the wife and kids.

I agree, it's a lonely and exceedingly boring job because it's all very repetitive. That's why I automated it a few years ago, so I don't have to endure the boredom any longer. Good on you if you found a job that makes you more than betting.

MummyMoo

Nectarcollector: I would like to thank you. I hadn't even thought of making my savings work for me. I only do my money saving through budgeting. I recently changed my Isa because the rate was so low, but I never thought of approaching it like you have done. I don't have even close to what you have in savings, but any interest earned on any amount is a bonus. So thank you and the very best of luck!

jimjames

MummyMoo wrote: »

Nectarcollector: I would like to thank you. I hadn't even thought of making my savings work for me. I only do my money saving through budgeting. I recently changed my Isa because the rate was so low, but I never thought of approaching it like you have done. I don't have even close to what you have in savings, but any interest earned on any amount is a bonus. So thank you and the very best of luck!

If you only have a small amount of savings then a cash ISA is the worst place you can put them. Use a TSB account at 5% combined with Halifax £5 per month and you'll get equivalent of 12.5% pa interest on £1000 which is at least 10x more than an ISA, possibly more.

NectarCollector

GONEC wrote: »

My current situation: Total savings £15000
I can save per month £ 1,000

What banks and plans are most suitable in my situation,
What would you do in my place?

Assuming you qualify for the promotional 5% interest rates and that you don't want a joint account:

£2.5k Nationwide for 1 year (5% promo rate)
£2k TSB (5%) -> Use this account for spending due to up to £5 cashback a month on contactless payments, just keep a buffer of whatever you normally spend in the account so the balance doesn't dip below 2k
£5k Lloyds (4%)
£3k Tesco (3%)
£2.5k Bank of Scotland (3%)
Halifax (donor account for switch £100) or just open account for £5/month - don't keep money in this account, just pay £750 in then transfer it somewhere else to get the £5

After a couple of months, saving 1k a month you can fill up BoS up to £5k. Then Open a First Direct account (or even open a donor account like a co-op one first so you can switch and claim £150 switch bonus) with a linked 6% regular saver.

Every month siphon off the interest/cashback gained from the 5 main current accounts into FD (until you get to this point you could use a temporary e-savings account which most banks offer - just make sure it pays interest monthly. I'm using ICICI for this purpose) , and then filter these into the 6% reg saver by having a standing order set up for £300/month But don't keep the money in FD current acc, as no interest is gained. Instead open a Clydesdale account to send the money to by SO, save £3k and get 2%.

Next. open a TSB regular saver, pay in £250/month, get 5%.

Open a M&S bank account with 6% regular saver. Use this to funnel £250/month into the reg saver.

You should now be saving just under £800/month (250 TSB reg saver, 250 M&S reg saver, 300 FD reg saver)

£200 + interest payments/cashback/£5 reward left to save. Open an ISA, put in a bond, keep it in an easy access savings account or have a weekend away once a month

colsten

NectarCollector wrote: »

£2.5k Bank of Scotland (3%)

You only get 3% in BOS if your balance is between £3K and £5K.

Much better to have a second Tesco.

NectarCollector wrote: »

Halifax ........ don't keep money in this account, just pay £750 in then transfer it somewhere else to get the £5

You also need two monthly paying DDs

NectarCollector wrote: »

Open an ISA, put in a bond, keep it in an easy access savings account

Surely not?!? What's the reason you didn't suggest the FlexClusive Regular Saver? Or the Club Lloyds one? 4-6% Regular Savers take some £1,700 a month. There is no reason to look at a cash ISA etc. for the next 12 months at least.