I guess it all depends on where you are in the country as to whether you are reading this from lockdown and therefore because you must have exhausted absolutely all other reading materials, or from not lockdown because you are some kind of sadist.
We’ve been a bit quiet for the last couple of weeks, although that’s not to say we’ve not been beavering away in the background (a monthly update will follow at somepoint so we can prove we’re not sitting here fiddling while Rome burns), but there hasn’t been much in the ways of new activity.
Surveys and matched betting continue, but as things progress for the country, so they progress in our day jobs too. Chris is still working away in the world of finance, Dave has many, many new Dad duties to fulfil as well as running his own business and trying to get some sort of sleep in between, and I have been off on my travels again. That’s right! For the first time in 128 days, I set off on the road to Switzerland, quite literally (as I wrote about last time)…I had back to back weeks in Switzerland driving to and from UK for each one.
I have been home for the last week, but have another road trip planned for later in August for 10 days, with the added bonus of being able to stay for the weekend down there, which I am really quite looking forward to, on account of it being a bloody lovely part of the world.
The Grand Tour
My second trip was much like the first; a stopover in Germany on the way there and on the way back. On the way back I had time to stock up at a Metzgerei (think back to your GCSE German), which was excellent. Shopping in Germany is a lovely experience and our retailers could certainly learn a thing or two from them unless they want dear ol’ Jeff to take every single customer from them.
It was a good feeling being out for the two weeks and spending some money in the world. It was an even better feeling when I dropped off the hire car and booked it again for a couple of weeks later – you could see the happiness in the proprietors face. Yes, I put some serious mileage on their car, but before the year is out, I will have also put around £1750-£2000 through their books. Not enough for them to live on of course, but a reasonable contribution to their costs and maybe some positive cashflow as well.
I am well aware that this sounds like I think I am some sort of saviour. Nothing could be further from the truth, but I am genuinely motivated by keeping money flowing from A to B and giving people a living. A bit of VAT for Rishi to spunk up the wall is doubtless welcome too.
Another year older…
Chris turned another year older yesterday and has timed a weeks holiday perfectly after some seriously busy weeks at his day job. Let’s see where the land lies when he gets back, but without a doubt, there are plenty of people out there who still have plenty to do and long may that continue, even if it does get in the way of our little side hustles. It is infinitely more welcome than the alternative, which no one dares think about.
Our website has been creeping along with a couple of sales here and there, but barely enough to justify its existence, but as long as it’s close to breaking even, we’ve decided to keep it going for now. We’ve got enough cash in the bank to keep it propped up for a while, so we’re going to persevere with it in the hope/expectation that as the world sorts itself out, so too will the world of online discretionary spend sales…or will Jeff shaft us here too??
There is really precious little to report at the moment. We made a couple of hundred quid in July through the surveys and matched betting; Football Index continues to do nothing of interest and I will likely speak to Chris and Dave about cashing out while we’re marginally ahead and putting the money to better use.
Football Index Farce
The one shining light in the whole farce is Alisson, whom I purchased for 88p a share, is now valued at £1.55, but if I want to sell him I will only get £1.25 a share, that, if you ask me, is taking the piss somewhat. As another example, I bought Ruben Neves for £1.84 a share, he’s now valued at £1.86, but if I sell him, I will only get £1.74…a completely pointless venture and Football Index does nothing but scalp ridiculous spreads from the punters. In the mugs game, this is the muggiest. Personally, I would avoid this like the plague.
In July I cashed out over £100 of Prolific credit, I haven’t looked at it in detail, but I think it works out to around £25 a month which I’ve made for The Money Mountain through this venture. Nothing spectacular, but seeing as I mostly do the surveys on The Man’s time, it’s a nice little bonus.
We’ll be back with a few little updates here and there with what we’ve been up to, but for now, if you’re locked down again, you have my deepest sympathies, and if you’re not, then get down your local and spend a few quid.
Sorry, my fault for getting you guys into Football Index.
I think part of the strategy is getting dividends from the players, so I’ve ignored their price and looked at their potential to get dividends.
Hence I’ve bagged a few quid from Lewandowski from being top Striker and Star player from the recent champions league match. Man U players are also a good bet for Europa.
I don’t have the time to really study the stats and read up on all players and while portfolio is down overall now as I sold some at the ridiculous margin you mention,there are some changes in the pipeline for the app so will be interesting to see how that works out.
Don’t be silly; we’re all big boys and are responsible for our own decisions 🙂
Dividend-wise, we’re doing ok out of it. Nothing ground breaking, but it is ticking over. The actual “capital investment” is another matter however. It seems to be very much a 1 in 10 rule from my own, anecdotal observations. Most of them do nothing, a couple will tank and one will really take off, but as the spreads are so massive, I don’t see how anyone is making money out of it.