My Side Hustle

PKaurK · 18 September 2017 at 9:13PM

Hello everyone,

This thread will be a diary of me attempting to earn multiple side incomes, whilst working full time. I have been lurking on these boards for a while. I see posts where people are earning £500+ per month from matched betting, or a blog etc. The income from matched betting seems too good to be true. I've been reading a few threads about blogging and wonder how people got into the position of making money.

I'm going to dive in and try it for myself. I have only ever earnt income from an employment so I genuinely have no experience in earning additional income. I thought it would be useful not only for me to get tips from you guys, but also for others to see how easy (or difficult!) it is and to learn from my mistakes.

If this isn't the right place to be posting this thread then please let me know!

PKaurK · 18 September 2017 at 9:22PM

In the last two weeks I made accounts with around six of the main survey sites listed here, and set up a new email address to do so. To be honest I forgot my password for a few of them, and for the others I was accepted for very few surveys. I've only really stuck with Swagbucks because it's quick and simple to use. I was even going to give up on Swagbucks because per hour the income is minimal. But just recently received the sign up bonus and I'm on 2,100 points which I think equates to £15 through PayPal. This gave my a little boost and I think I'll continue to use it but only during my down time.

PKaurK · 18 September 2017 at 9:33PM

Yesterday I signed up for a free trial with OddsMonkey. I read the tutorials twice to ensure I understood the process. For my first bet I signed up with Coral to receive the £20 free bet. I placed the back bet and lay bet on a football match as described and waited for my accout to be credited with the free bet, this should have been immediate but didn't appear straight away. I tried to check my Coral account today but forgot my password, so used the forgotten password link, only to realise hotmail is down today! So I can't even complete my first matched betting offer. Aaarrrghh! This is so annoying.

LuxuryWoman · 19 September 2017 at 8:09AM

Hi, it is certainly possible to make extra income but you are going to have to get organised with your passwords.
I am lucky that I work from home so I do extra bits in my down times (while I'm waiting for things to print or download etc.)

I am ultra organised and keep multiple windows open for survey sites and leap between them - if you like swagbucks you will like Mintvine, I have £70 in vouchers sitting in my Amazon account after 2 months for little effort, I would imagine by December this will be at least £100 and with a teenage daughter this will be very handy for Xmas gifts.

I know little about matched betting but I do know it's possible to make a fair bit so stick at that.

The trick (for me) with survey sites is to be patient and keep going, I have had some incredible product tests via some of them, hundreds of pounds worth if stuff - I figure that if I get sent 3 months worth of dishwasher tablets or laundry powder then that's as good as cash (saves me buying it) same with shampoo or moisturiser tests - I don't have to buy these products so money saved plus you normally get paid more for a test - example - I got paid £5 for filling in a skin cream survey, then got the product, then another £15 on the final survey giving my opinion.

I also do e-rewards for nectar points, I'm devoted to this site and get around £15 a week in points which I then use for gifts or in the Tu 25% off clothing - I rarely pay for clothes but my wardrobe is full Tu - fine with me. Same with homewares, new bedding, new microwave, new bakeware - all free!

Once you have been doing surveys a while you get to know the sites and how to best utilise them. I read lots of people saying it's hard work for pennies and that can be true in the early days so people give up.

Maybe devote an hour a day on top of your job and see how you go. There are plenty of groups on faceache that you can learn a lot about making extra cash on the side which I have found helpful.

bengalknights · 19 September 2017 at 10:09AM

The only downside to matched betting is the gubbings otherwise its free money

romanovski · 19 September 2017 at 1:47PM

Use keepass to manage your passwords, it's great.

OurKev · 19 September 2017 at 2:52PM

My_side_hustle wrote: »

Yesterday I signed up for a free trial with OddsMonkey. I read the tutorials twice to ensure I understood the process. For my first bet I signed up with Coral to receive the £20 free bet. I placed the back bet and lay bet on a football match as described and waited for my accout to be credited with the free bet, this should have been immediate but didn't appear straight away. I tried to check my Coral account today but forgot my password, so used the forgotten password link, only to realise hotmail is down today! So I can't even complete my first matched betting offer. Aaarrrghh! This is so annoying.

I use Quidco and they pay cashback for many matched betting sign-ups (e.g. £15 for wagering £10 at Coral).

"Live Chat" and Customer Support via email is normally pretty good for UK bookmakers - they will sort missing bets/bonuses out or tell you if you've got it wrong.

Good luck

Kev

Wizzbang · 19 September 2017 at 4:59PM

With all of things take the money whilst it lasts. Matched betting dries up over the course of a year because you'll get gubbed by most of them and it won't be worth continuing. Still, you can make a few thousand first.

The product tests dry up once you've done a few and the only high value product tests require you to make a hefty deposit. They also have strict criteria about how and when the items should be returned, and if you miss them they'll take your deposit (i.e. hundreds of pounds). The only reason I'd ever do one of those is if I thought the item was worth owning anyway, which it never is!

I've personally never heard anyone saying that the nectar schemes are worthwhile before in terms of money vs time. You'll get to know they god survey sites as you go.

As others have said, either get some password software or a notebook!

LuxuryWoman · 19 September 2017 at 6:28PM

I've never, ever paid to test a product and never had to send a product back. Mine come through regular survey sites and supersavvyme.

I make about £50 a month in nectar points, very well worth the effort to me.

PKaurK · 19 September 2017 at 10:15PM

Thank you all for the comments
@LuxuryWoman I’ll be sure to check out Mintvine and continue to do surveys in my downtime
@bengalknights & Wizzbang I’ve heard matched betting gets more difficult the longer you do it, I’m not sure if I see this as a long term income. I will definitely make the most out of the offers in the first couple of months, since it appears to be easy money.
@romanovski I’ll check it out.
@OurKev I missed a trick there with the cashback sites! I’ll have to remember this one for the future.

So today did not go so great. Apparently I already had an account with Coral so I wasn’t eligible for the bonus, I don’t ever remember setting one up or using it. So onto the next offer with Betfred, £30 free bet, I’ve placed the initial bet and have to wait 48 hours before I receive my free bet. I think I’ll finish this offer before signing up to a premium account with OddsMonkey, just to test the waters first and ensure I am doing this right!

Ultimately my goal is to set up income that is scalable, I want my income per hour to be worthwhile and increase over time. I’ve got a few ideas for this, such as blogging, designing and selling merchandise, freelancing.

Rachel24 · 20 September 2017 at 7:31AM

i use receipt hog as well. It's an app on my phone and I just need to take pictures of my receipts and I get coins on the app which I then get to transfer as money once it adds up. I think it'll take a couple of months till I see it being worthwhile but I am literally doing barely nothing to make money. Also I joined volunteer4panels.com I think it's called and I got invited to a site called consumer pulse. I just tell them what purchases I've made and get vouchers for it. Already made £40. Prolific academic is def my favourite survey site. Most money out of that one. I haven't really got the hang of swagbucks. As someone that works full time as well it's just being able to fit it all in. Good luck :-)

My Side Hustle

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