You might have seen on my Twitter recently that I've taken to diversification of my blogging income. As a full-time blogger it's incredibly important to have a multitude of income streams - you never know when life throws you lemons (and those who say they make lemonade or tequila are lying - the reality of self-employment with no profit is crying yourself to sleep and waking up 5 minutes later just to stare at the ceiling of your bedroom for next 7 hours). I would even go a step further and say EVERYONE should have a multitude of income streams. Even if you're in a 9-5 job you just never know when a credit crunch hits, when your boss wakes up on the wrong side of the bed or when someone at the top of the chain makes a mistake which results in 43280 redundancies the following day. I beg you - create a savings account, have a money jar, sign up to affiliate networks, publish an e-book, learn how to knit or get a pet sitter license. Today I'm not going to talk about any of these - I'm gonna go straight in with perhaps the most controversial of side hustles: matched betting.
💰 What is matched betting?
Matched betting (sometimes called lay betting or back betting) is a way of applying mathematical equations to bets so that you can make profit from free bets offered by bookies. When you sign up to a bookie they usually give you a free bet once you've placed your first bet with them. This means that you have to place a qualifying bet (one that doesn't make any money) and then another one with your free bet (one that will make money). To avoid gambling you place bets on all possible outcomes which means there's absolutely no chance you lose. You can make £500-£2,000 tax-free a month depending on how much time & initial investment you are able to put in. To reach £500 a month you put in as little as 30 minutes a day, to reach the higher threshold you are realistically looking at ca 4 hours a day.It's very much risk-free and just about anyone can do it - you need absolutely no knowledge of betting or sports, you just have to get your head around it and not give up when it starts looking a little complicated. Many people (those who are good with numbers) can do it off the back of their hand - they can calculate the odds on the back of a fag packet. And those who are not particularly great at multiplying and subtracting can sign up to websites such as Profit Accumulator (see it here). Profit Accumulator is a membership based portal where you can find super detailed walk-through videos, oddsmatching calculators, forums and to-do lists for your matched betting activities. They make it so much less scary and virtually fool-proof.
💰 Why isn't everyone doing it when it's so foolproof?
I'm not going to fool you - matched betting is not for everyone.✏️️ First of all you have to have some money ready to invest (you place it on your matched bets however you will not lose it, it's just 'unavailable' until your bet has been settled - which can be a couple of hours or even days).
✏️️ It's also pretty overwhelming. It's a lot of numbers (fractions & decimals) flying around. You're switching from one bookie to another, creating dozens of accounts, depositing a tenner here, tenner there. If you're not keeping track of your investment/earnings you will cuss a lot and probably drop off eventually.
✏️️ Although matched betting doesn't affect your credit, it will be scrutinised by your bank if you decide to apply for a mortgage (obviously - your statement is showing 438204392 payments to bookies). Some people don't want to risk it at all, however you are fine to apply after 6+ months of stopping matched betting or you can simply open a separate account so matched betting doesn't affect it at all.
Matched betting is definitely not for everyone. Even though you're not gambling, handing over a few hundred quid and 'placing a bet' is not for faint hearted. You also need to be 100% sure you are placing the right bets because the only way you will lose any money is through human error so a meticulous eye for detail is a must.
💰 My experience so far
I have come across matched betting on Emma Drew's blog (see her matched betting tips & expertise here) and as soon as I took the plunge I was absolutely blown away by it. I'd like to say that I'm a very organised person (most days) and I've always been one to pay attention to detail. I'm absolute rubbish at maths (I once worked in a hotel and gave someone £600 instead of £60 in change) and I have zero knowledge when it comes to betting and sports.
Yet I made £250 in 6 days!!I signed up to the Profit Accumulator website and forked out for their Platinum membership (£17.99 a month - which you get back through your first bet). This gave me an access to their database of betting offers and mainly - their walk through videos. They literally hold your hand through the first bets like you can't even imagine. I'm absolutely positive that you can't make a mistake when following the videos. After the first few lay bets I got the hang of it and managed to rake up £250 in the first week of work. I spent good 3-4 hours going through the first 2 videos and reading a lot about matched betting on blogs and other websites. I really wanted to make sure this is a legit (and legal!) side hustle. Emma's blog has helped me a lot - a lot of her blog posts are on the topic of money making and saving and she has obviously tried & tested many different profit making streams. She now makes a solid £1k out of matched betting a month - and has been doing so for about a year now I believe!
💰 How to try it safely (even if you don't GET IT yet) & make £35 today!
First thing first google matched betting and read as much as you can about it. This blog post is a good start (if I say so). Check out Emma's blog (here) and then go on Pinterest and search for some more articles. Once you are happy with what you know go on Profit Accumulator and sign up for their free trial (click here). Follow the first two offer walk through videos - pause when you need to, rewind back, make sure you are not missing anything. Wake up tomorrow morning with £35 extra in your pocket! That means you can get that Urban Decay Naked palette, or that Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick you've always wanted - or a Tom Ford lipstick!! Or you can pay your bills - you know, priorities!
I hope you have found this helpful - and please keep in mind the obvious: don't actually gamble, that's just silliness and can never end well!
Have you tried matched betting before?
Do you know anyone who's doing it?
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