I know quite a few Pounds and Sense readers have an interest in writing, whether for pleasure or profit (or both). So today I thought I would share some information about an invaluable free resource for writers and aspiring writers.
Best Writing Forum is a discussion forum for writers that was set up by my old friend (and former publisher) Karl Moore a year ago. It was created in response to requests from members of My Writers Circle, another online forum I helped set up with Karl and managed for almost ten years.
In the last few years My Writers Circle has changed ownership several times and been rather neglected. So in response to members’ requests, Karl set up the new forum as an alternative place for writers to share their work and get feedback and advice.
Best Writing Forum uses the popular SMF messageboard software. Anyone who was ever a member of My Writers Circle will find it quite familiar, therefore. Of course, the board names and overall design are a bit different, but most people soon get the hang of it. And if you have any problems, there is a dedicated volunteer moderator team on hand to help you out.
If you have any interest in writing, I highly recommend that you check out Best Writing Forum. And if you like what you see, please do sign up. It’s free of charge and only takes a few moments. You will then be able to:
get feedback from fellow writers across the world in Review My Work
Talk about poetry and get comments on your own in Poets Corner
Now is a great time to join Best Writing Forum, as it’s still quite new and you really can play a part in helping guide its future direction. I’ll hope to see you there soon!
Note: this is an updated version of an original article about Best Writing Forum first published on my Entrepreneur Writer blog in December 2017.
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Today I’m spotlighting an opportunity anyone can use to make a substantial sideline (or even full-time) income.
Deal arbitrage is a relatively little-used approach to online auction trading (although as I’ll explain you don’t necessarily have to use online auctions at all).
While most online auction traders buy in bulk from wholesalers (and hope they aren’t left with crateloads of unsellable products), deal arbitrage is a relatively low-risk method that proceeds (initially at least) one item at a time.
The method involves buying products being sold cheaply in sales and special deals, then selling them on at a higher price once the promotional period is over.
It’s a method that can work particularly well at this time of year, when merchants both online and offline are discounting to improve their balance sheets, make room for fresh lines and boost interest in their stores.
A wide range of popular products can be used for deal arbitrage. Those with the best potential include electronic goods of all kinds, fashion, footwear, jewellery, watches, mobile phones, cameras and computer games. Lower-priced products such as books, CDs and DVDs can also be used, though your profit per deal is (of course) likely to be lower.
I recommend focusing on one particular product category initially as you build your expertise in deal arbitrage, but once you’ve done this there is no reason why you shouldn’t diversify to other areas as well.
A Four Step Plan
Deal arbitrage is a very simple process. It can be broken down into four main steps. These are: (1) identify suitable deals, (2) check they can be sold at a profit, (3) buy them, and (4) sell them at an online auction site or elsewhere.
Let’s look at each of these steps in turn.
Identify Suitable Deals
There are many places you can find deals. Starting in the real (physical) world, you could simply take a stroll down your local high street and make a note of any good deals you see advertised.
In general you shouldn’t buy there and then, but research the products online when you get home and see what prices they are selling for elsewhere. I will discuss this in more detail when we get to step (2), of course.
If you want to research which stores currently have sales and promotions running, a good place to start is the Money Saving Expert website, run by personal finance guru Martin Lewis. Click on https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/high-st-sales-diary/ and a new page will open listing current (and forthcoming) high street sales, including both online and offline stores.
Other websites with up-to-the-minute information about deals and promotions include Hot UK Deals and Offer of the Day.
Of course, you can also source some great deals from websites directly. Two I especially recommend are Amazon and the UK’s number one online auction site, eBay.
For sourcing potential arbitrage deals on Amazon, click on Today’s Deals near the top of the Amazon homepage. Pay particular attention to the ‘Lightning Deals’ advertised here, as there are some great discounts to be had. When I checked just now they were advertising the Tacklife Digital Tyre Inflator for £8.47, a 79% discount on the normal price of £39.59. Lightning deals only last a day or two, so you won’t have long to wait before you can put your purchase up for resale.
The Amazon Discount Finder on the Money Saving Expert website is another great tool for finding bargains on Amazon. Just enter the product you want to buy and the discount you are looking for and see what it comes up with.
There are lots of great deals to be found on eBay as well. Like Amazon it has its own dedicated deals page, which you can access by clicking on Daily Deals at the top left of the eBay homepage. Some of the discounts on offer here are better than others, but they include some real bargains with great profit potential.
In addition, there many ‘hidden treasures’ on eBay that casual browsers never see. These particular deals are not intentional special offers, but rather the result of errors made by vendors in their listings.
An example is where someone puts an item up for sale but misspells the brand name. This means visitors searching for that brand using the correct spelling won’t find it, and the item is therefore likely to sell for a lower price than it should.
A free tool I recommend for unearthing this type of deal is BayCrazy. This has a range of features to help you find products available on eBay UK at ultra-low prices.
For example, if you select Misspelt from the BayCrazy menu and enter a brand name, the site will display any listings with possible misspellings of that name. So when I entered Accurist, it came up with a listing for a luxury watch where the brand name had been misspelt Acurist. Not surprisingly, there had been no bids on the item in question.
BayCrazy also has search tools for other potential bargains. These include auctions ending soon with no bids, night-time bargains (where auctions end in the middle of the night when nobody is likely to be around), and local offers (where buyers have listed items for collection only, which means only people living nearby are likely to bid).
BayCrazy is an invaluable tool for deal arbitrage. It is well worth taking a little time to explore the site, and adding it to your Favorites list.
Check Items Can Be Sold at a Profit
Before buying any item for deal arbitrage, you should of course check that you will be able to make a profit on it.
As it’s most likely you will be selling your product on eBay, your first step should be to search their current listings using the search box on the homepage.
Check how many results come up, how much interest the auctions generate, and what level the bidding typically reaches. If there are any Buy It Now auctions, make a note of the price being asked. This should help you assess what is considered a reasonable price for this particular product.
Of course, it won’t tell you whether the vendor actually achieves this price, so you should also search completed auctions. This is easy as well on eBay. Start by doing a general search as above, but then scroll down the left-hand menu until you reach the heading Show Only and click the box next to Completed. The results list will change to show completed auctions only.
These searches should give you a good idea of the ‘going rate’ on eBay, but many products can of course be bought elsewhere as well. So in addition it is important to check the best prices currently available to buyers using a shopping comparison tool such as Kelkoo. You can also search on Amazon to see if the item is sold there, and if so for how much.
Ideally, of course, what you want is a product that is in demand and regularly sells at a price which will allow you a decent profit. It should not be available for a cheaper price at Amazon or elsewhere, and neither should there be so many other sellers that it will be difficult to ensure that your own auctions stand out.
Buy Items at the Best Price
If all is looking good, your next step will be to buy the item at the best (i.e. cheapest) price you can achieve.
If you’re buying from a store where the item is on a promotion, this is pretty straightforward, of course. Even so, you may be able to boost your margins a bit more by buying with a cashback credit card, where you get a small percentage of the purchase price back. You could also try haggling, of course.
For many online stores (and some offline) you can also get money back on your purchase by signing up with a cashback site such as Top Cashback and visiting the merchant’s website via a link from the cashback site.
If you’re buying through an auction listing, it’s a little more complicated. Here are a few quick tips to ensure you purchase at the best possible price.
Don’t bid till the last minute.
Work out the most you are willing to pay and bid this amount. You may still get it cheaper than this if nobody else bids.
Add a few pence to your top bid, e.g. £20.15. If someone comes in at the last minute and bids £20, those few pence will ensure that you still win the auction.
Consider using auction sniping software to place your bids at the last possible moment. There are plenty of free or low-cost services you can use. The Goofbid free sniping tool is a personal favourite of mine. You can access it at www.goofbid.com/free_ebay_sniper.html.
Sell Your Purchase for a Good Profit
Finally, of course, you will want to sell your product for the best price you can get, which will hopefully generate a good profit for you.
In most cases your best bet is again likely to be eBay. With popular items especially, a bidding war can develop among buyers which pushes prices up.
Psychology also plays a part in this. Many people hate the thought of ‘losing’ an auction, so they end up bidding more than they could pay if they bought the item elsewhere!
Selling on eBay is a relatively straightforward process, and lots of advice is available on the site itself and elsewhere online. Here are some tips to get you started, though.
Always include a good-quality photo of the product, taken against a plain background.
Write a thorough description of the item (you can research this from other auction and online store listings). Double-check that you don’t misspell the brand name!
Ensure that the auction finishes at a sensible time, so there is plenty of competition among would-be buyers at the end. Early to mid-evening is usually best.
Start the auction at low price. You may think this is a risky strategy, but with popular items it will generate much more interest and potentially start a bidding war. The one exception is specialist items (e.g. antiques) which will only appeal to a small minority of individuals, but these are unlikely to be suitable for deal arbitrage anyway.
As I mentioned earlier, while eBay is likely to be the top choice for most arbitrage dealers, other options do exist.
For books, CDs and DVDs, you may get better prices selling as an Amazon merchant. I won’t go into detail about this here, but it is possible to set up as a merchant on Amazon free of charge, and your products will then be available via the relevant Amazon product page. Obviously, for this to work, you must be able to sell your item cheaper than Amazon and still make a profit.
One other option is to set up your own store and sell directly from that. One service you can use for this is the web-based, drag-and-drop Weebly service. Obviously you will have to work harder to convince buyers you are reputable than if selling via eBay or Amazon, but if you become a regular trader it is worth considering.
If your first few deals work out well, you may want to try buying multiple items while they are on promotion for resale later. This can boost your overall profits considerably.
In summary, deal arbitrage is a great way to make a useful extra income for minimum risk and little hassle. And because you can start with just one item at a time, it is very easy to try out and see if it appeals to you.
As always, if you have any comments or questions about this post, please do leave them below.
Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links. If you click through one of these and go on to make a purchase, I may receive a commission for introducing you. This helps cover the cost of running Pounds and Sense. It has no effect on the terms you are offered by the merchant or the product/service you receive.
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Today I want to share an unusual opportunity to earn a bit of extra cash. It should appeal particularly if you are:
interested in writing
have a good sense of humour (especially the satirical type)
are interested in the news stories and issues of today
The BBC’s satirical radio comedy show Newsjack is back for a new run. They describe is as, ‘The scrapbook sketch show written entirely by the Great British public’ and anyone is welcome to submit short topical sketches and one-liners for it.
This is primarily an opportunity for UK residents, though if you live outside the UK (and understand the British sense of humour!) there is nothing to stop you submitting work as well.
Submissions are open now, with a weekly deadline of noon on Mondays for sketches and noon on Tuesday for one-liners. Last submissions for this series are Tuesday 12th March 2019.
This is, as mentioned, a paying opportunity. Payments are as follows:
£45.50 per minute for sketches £22.75 per 30 seconds for sketches £22.75 per one-liner
They say this fee will take in all rights for the work on a non-exclusive basis (so no repeat fees, unfortunately!).
Obviously there will be a lot of competition, so it’s important to study the guidelines carefully and listen to the show itself (it’s broadcast at 11 pm on BBC Radio 4 Extra). Although it’s primarily a bit of fun with a chance to earn some cash and have your work (and name) broadcast on national radio, this can also be a good entry-level opportunity for anyone hoping to get into radio comedy writing. If you consistently submit work that gets noticed, you may be invited to join the show’s team of commissioned writers, which in turn will present all sorts of further networking opportunities.
It’s also an opportunity I have a soft spot for, as many years ago I had a number of sketches and one-liners accepted by the long-running predecessor of Newsjack, Weekending. I was invited to meet the show’s producer and was sounded out about joining the writing team, but in the end decided against as it would have meant relocating to London.
Good luck if you decide to try submitting work to Newsjack. Please do leave a comment below if you are successful!
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How to Smash Affiliate Marketing as a UK Blogger is an online course by my colleague Emma Drew, one of the UK’s most successful bloggers. I recently reviewed Emma’s comprehensive blogging course, Turn Your Dreams Into Money, in this blog post.
How to Smash Affiliate Marketing as a UK Blogger is – as the name indicates – a more specialized course than Turn Your Dreams Into Money. It is aimed specifically at UK bloggers, and reveals how they can boost their income from blogging by means of affiliate links and relationships. The course is hosted on the popular Teachable platform.
How to Serve Your Audience and Get Them to Buy From Your Affiliate Links
Different Ways to Advertise Your Affiliate Links
The Money is in the List
Tools That Have Supercharged My Affiliate Earnings
Other Important Information About Affiliate Marketing
Creating Your Affiliate Marketing Strategy
Affiliate to This Course
Each section is further divided into anywhere from one to eight parts. Each part contains instructional text (with graphics where relevant), and in most cases a video as well. The videos cover the same ground as the text, but may be a better option for those who learn best by looking and listening rather than reading.
For example, the section titled ‘How to Find Affiliate Programs’ is in five parts, as shown in the screen capture below:
As you will notice, the first four parts have timings in brackets after them, e.g. 1:56. These refer to the length of the video in the part in question. The videos generally consist of Emma talking to camera. She speaks clearly and not too rapidly, and the sound and picture quality are excellent. I thought the written content was of a high professional standard as well.
Another feature I particularly liked is the PDF workbook for students to print out and complete. This is a great way to ensure you take on board Emma’s advice and apply it to your own blog.
How to Smash Affiliate Marketing as a UK Blogger takes you through everything you need to know to make money from affiliate marketing as a blogger. It’s all useful stuff, though as a long-time blogger myself (I started my original freelance writing blog over ten years ago) I was familiar with the basic concepts already. I did though find the section ‘Tools That Have Supercharged My Affiliate Earnings’ especially interesting. There are some great resources listed here, several of which (e.g. Easy Azon) I hadn’t come across before. It is very informative to see which tools Emma uses herself and have proven to be successful (and profitable) for her. I found her advice on arranging affiliate relationships with companies directly eye-opening as well. That is something I probably need to do more of.
A further benefit of signing up is that you get access to Emma’s private Facebook group for students on the course, where you can discuss all aspects of affiliate marketing with fellow students (and Emma herself).
How to Smash Affiliate Marketing as a UK Blogger costs £49 at the time of writing. For a limited period, however, I can offer readers of my blog a £5 discount if they enter the coupon code SENSE when ordering. This should change the price showing to £44 (if it doesn’t work, please let me know).
And as an extra bonus for anyone buying via my link, I am giving away a 2500-word report by yours truly titled Affiliate Marketing for Profit! This report looks at affiliate marketing from a broader perspective than just blogging (although it does also cover blogging) and includes more top tips and resources for making the most of this powerful money-making method. To receive my bonus report, just message me with your receipt/order number for How to Smash Affiliate Marketing as a UK Blogger. I will then send you the report by email
Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission for introducing you. This will not affect the terms you are offered or the price you are charged.
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I’ve talked about matched betting on various occasions on this blog. To recap, it’s a way of making risk-free (and tax-free) cash by taking advantage of bookmaker special offers and promotions, in conjunction with the facility to ‘lay’ bets offered by betting exchanges.
I am writing about it again now because in a few weeks (12-15 March 2019) the Cheltenham Festival will be upon us. This is arguably the best week for matched betting in the entire year. Last year I made around £500 profit taking advantage of bookmaker offers. Others I know made thousands.
For those who don’t know, the Cheltenham Festival is one of the highlights of the racing calendar, with large, top-quality fields competing for some of the biggest prizes in racing, culminating in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. And the bookmakers pull out all the stops at this time to attract new clients and get current and former clients fully involved. I expect to see a stream of offers in the coming weeks, increasing to a torrent during the Festival itself. This gives us the potential to make substantial tax-free profits by applying matched betting principles.
If you’re already a matched bettor, therefore, now is the time to ensure you have plenty of money in your exchanges (I mostly use Smarkets for its low commission fees but others prefer Betfair). And keep watching your email for offers sent by bookmakers you have accounts with.
If you’re new to matched betting, I strongly recommend joining up with a matched betting advisory service. As well as providing tutorials to get you up to speed, these services provide essential online tools, including odds-matching software and calculators. They will also alert you to a wide range of money-making opportunities, and offer support and advice if needed.
There are various advisory services you can use. I cut my teeth with Profit Accumulator and still recommend this very popular service. It’s suitable both for those brand new to matched betting and for experienced matched bettors. You can join PA free initially and they will provide details of two bookmaker offers you can take advantage of. These should make you around £45 in net profit. If you wish to proceed further, you can then pay to become a Platinum member and get access to the full range of offers and services. Platinum membership currently costs £17.99 a month, with the first month half-price.
Joining MatchedBets.com currently costs £18 a month or a best value £99 a year. You can also sign up for a 14-day trial for £1, which gives complete access to all tools and information on the site during that time..
If you think matched betting may be for you, I highly recommend that you sign up with either of these services today. You will then be perfectly placed to take advantage of the many money-making opportunities the Cheltenham Festival 2019 presents.
As ever, if you have any questions or comments about matched betting, Profit Accumulator or MatchedBets.com, please do post them below.
Disclosure: As well as being a member of Matchedbets.com and former member of Profit Accumulator I am also an affiliate for them. If you join and become a paying member after following any of the links in this post, I will receive a commission for introducing you. This does not affect in any way the cost of the service to you or the benefits you receive.
Note: this is an updated repost from 2018.
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Turn Your Dreams Into Money is an online course for anyone who would like to make money as a blogger. It is sub-titled ‘How to build a six-figure blog and live the life you want’.
The course has been created by my colleague Emma Drew, one of the UK’s most successful bloggers. In a few years Emma went from being homeless and penniless to being a six-figure blogger. She now blogs full time at EmmaDrew.info and employs her husband in the business.
The course is hosted on the popular Teachable platform.
Before You Start – Tutorials for Brand New Bloggers
Laying the Foundations For A WILDLY Successful Blog
Protecting Your Blog
Writing Kick-Ass Blog Posts
Images For Your Blog
How to Get Traffic to Your Blog
Becoming a Social Media Whizz
Pinterest
Growing & Serving Your Tribe
The Money Is In The List
The Business of Blogging
Making Money With Affiliate Marketing
Make Money With Sponsored Posts
Make Money With Adverts
Products to Sell
Make Money as a Brand Ambassador
Improving Your Top Ten Posts
Dealing With Trolls
How to Continue Growing Your Business
Blogging Hacks
Affiliate Section for Turn Your Dreams Into Money
Each section is further divided into anywhere from one to thirteen parts. Each part contains instructional text (with graphics where relevant), and in some cases a PDF and/or a video.
As an example, the section titled ‘Improving Your Top Ten Posts’ is in five parts, starting with ‘Why You Should Improve Your Top Ten Posts’ and finishing with ‘Improving Your Top Ten Posts Checklist’. There are also two instructional videos. One of these explains how to identify your top ten posts, while in the other we watch Emma as she goes about improving one of her own top posts. I thought both the written content and the videos were of a high professional standard.
Another feature I particularly liked is the PDF workbook for students to print out and complete. The workbook is referred to throughout the course, and is a great way to ensure you take on board Emma’s advice and apply it to your own blog.
As you will gather, Turn Your Dreams Into Money is a comprehensive guide to every aspect of setting up and running a money-making blog. Emma strongly recommends creating a self-hosted blog using the popular WordPress platform, which I agree with (my blogs Pounds and Sense and Entrepreneur Writer are both hosted this way).
There is a section about setting up a self-hosted WordPress blog which covers the essentials, including recommended plug-ins, how many (and what) categories to have, legal requirements, and so on. If you are brand new to WordPress, however, you might want to do some additional studying on the technical aspects yourself. Of course, there is lots of information about this available free online, and I also recommend this regularly updated ebook by Dr Andy Williams about setting up a WordPress site, which I found very helpful myself when starting out.
Where the course is especially strong is about marketing and monetizing your blog. Although I am a fairly experienced blogger myself, I found this a real eye-opener. There are some great resources listed, some of which I hadn’t come across before. It is very informative to see which ones Emma uses herself and have proved to be successful (and profitable) for her.
A further benefit of signing up is that you get access to Emma’s private Facebook group for students on the course, where you can discuss all aspects of blogging with fellow students (and Emma herself).
Turn Your Dreams Into Money costs £197 at the time of writing. Obviously that’s not cheap, but if it helps you set up a profitable blog that generates a growing monthly income, then it will clearly be money very well spent.
For a limited period, I can also offer readers of my blog a £50 discount if they enter the coupon code POUNDS when ordering. This should change the price showing to £147 (if it doesn’t work, please get back to me). And as an extra bonus for anyone buying via my link, I am giving away not one but two mini-reports by yours truly. One is titled ‘50 Niche Blog Topics With Big Earning Potential’ and the other ‘How to Write Irresistible Titles for Blog Posts‘. To get your hands on both of these valuable resources for bloggers, just message me with your receipt/order number for Turn Your Dreams Into Money. I will then send you the reports by email 🙂
As always, if you have any comments or questions about Turn Your Dreams Into Money, please do post them below.
Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission for introducing you. This will not affect the terms you are offered or the price you are charged.
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Today I want to bring to your attention a new opportunity to earn a sideline income, from a company called Maru Voice UK.
Maru has been running successfully for some time in the United States and Canada, and has just opened its online community and survey panel to UK residents.
Members can join Maru Voice UK for free and are then able to earn points by completing consumer surveys and taking part in online discussions. You get between 50 and 500 points per survey, and once you have accrued 1000 points can redeem them for a £10 gift card from Amazon, iTunes or a range of other retailers.
In addition to earning points and vouchers, members can also earn prize draw entries. Just for registering with Maru Voice UK you will be entered into a draw to win a £1000 cash prize.
To be clear, nobody is going to make a fortune from Maru Voice UK or any other survey site. It is, however, a genuine, easy way to make a bit extra every month (Amazon vouchers in particular are as good as cash, bearing in mind the huge range of things you can buy there!).
In addition, your opinions will reach the companies and policymakers who will shape the UK’s future, so they really will be heard and make a difference.
If you have any comments or questions about Maru Voice UK, please do post them below. Otherwise, you can click through this link or any of the others in this post to sign up.
Disclosure: I am an affiliate for Maru Voice UK, so if you click through and join the panel via my link I will receive a small commission for introducing you. This will not affect the terms and conditions you are offered in any way.
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Today I am pleased to bring you a guest post from my money blogging colleague Jennifer Kempson. Jennifer blogs at https://mamafurfur.com.
In her article Jennifer sets out some strategies to ensure you have enough money to enjoy your retirement, even if it’s not too far away!
Over to Jennifer, then…
They say hindsight is a wonderful thing, and truly as we reach the later years of working life and approach retirement, we may secretly wish we had made our retirement resources a priority and regarded them as a key resource to help fulfil our passions and achieve our long-term ambitions.
Money, much like health and energy, is one resource that we will look back on and wish we had taken better care of during our younger days, so we can look forward with pleasure and excitement to when the time-freedom of retirement allows us to do whatever we dream of.
Reading this right now you may feel that it is too late for you to recover your potential financial security for your retirement, but I’m excited to share with you a few ways that you can invest in your future even when retirement is on the horizon in the next 10-15 years.
Make a plan and start seeing it happen!
Firstly, I will say that I am a firm believer in “putting your own oxygen mask on before anyone else”. And the very best investment financially or otherwise you can make for your future is to sort your own financial security as a top priority.
You absolutely need to write down your financial goals and desired experiences for your retirement, and start getting excited about this and be as specific as possible, so that you know exactly how much money you will require to make it happen.
Like time spent with our children and loved ones, if we master our relationship with money and the way we feel about it today, this will have a huge compounding effect on our short- and long-term happiness in future. I talk more about the habits and thoughts that can reshape your relationship with money in my new book, The Master Money Blueprint, which sets out the 26 timeless money principles and habits that I believe can change your financial future.
Pay off your liabilities as soon as possible
One of the most beneficial things you can do for your financial future is to become as debt-free as possible.
Make better money relationship habits starting today and commit to overpaying on everything you have as a liability against your name.
This could include your mortgage or car payments, and is especially crucial if you have credit card debts or loans. Commit to paying these down as quickly as possible and never returning to debt again.
A home with its mortgage completely paid off will provide you with safety and security in future, and when the time comes can be left to loved ones. But more important than that would be the mindset that your home is secure and safe for your happiness both now and in the future.
I like to use a great principle called The 10% Rule, mentioned in more detail in my book and on my blog at www.mamafurfur.com. This can and should be applied to every debt you have – any outstanding mortgage, car payments, loans, etc.
Commit to paying 10% over the monthly repayment required each month as a default. That small action will do two things. Firstly, you will not really notice too much discomfort. For a mortgage of, say, £400 a month, finding a further £40 could be as simple as giving up that gym membership and going for walk with friends, getting some free weights in the house, learning yoga from YouTube, and so on. It could be giving up all the unused packages from cable TV for a few months to see if you really miss it. It could be starting a small sideline business at home to make some extra money, or saving on your food and shopping purchases by eating one less takeaway a week. The choices are limitless.
That action of paying 10% more each month means you will make the equivalent of 1.2 extra payments towards reducing your debts per year. For a 25-year mortgage, for example, this could result in the debt being fully paid off in just over 22 years instead. That is a nearly three years off your home loan from a small change without causing too much stress to your day-to-day living. The second benefit is to your mindset, which is priceless – you will quickly see that money really is a resource to deploy based on your goals and long-term plans. Overpaying then becomes a joy, as much as it might be difficult to see that at the start, but the smallest actions usually do change us for the better when we let them.
An investment ISA (Individual Savings Account) allows you to save up to £20k tax free in stocks and shares every year. This type of savings account could allow you to create a passive income to supplement a pension. You can have a cash ISA and an investment ISA if you wish, as long as you don’t exceed the £20k annual total contributions allowance.
Investments in ISAs are not liable for income tax or dividends tax. Neither do you have to pay capital gains tax when you sell them. They are available from most banks and investment companies.
Like any type of investing, we need to purchase funds based on our goals, requirements for the money long term, and our tolerance for risk.
Investment returns are not guaranteed. However, generally you can expect to see a 4% return on your investments if you pick solid mutual funds (collections of stocks purchased together, spreading your money across a wide range of similar companies) such as Vanguard’s LifeStrategy 100% Equity Fund or reliable low-cost index funds such as the S&P 500. It is also not uncommon to see growth rates of an average of 9.5-10%.
At the later part of your life, if you are hoping to use the power of compound interest and the stock market to gain higher returns than a normal savings account, then I strongly advise doing as much research as you can into the funds you decide to pick.
With investments, we need to assume we are leaving them a minimum of 5-10 years before withdrawing the money, and must not let the ups and downs of the stock market test our emotions.
The value of the stocks once we purchase them is only relevant once we need to sell them, so best mindset practices say to ignore the current day value until you absolutely need them.
Another benefit of using an investment ISA is that you will have access within a few days to your money should your circumstances change and you find you need the money sooner.
I strongly recommend every adult has an investment ISA, as it is currently one of the few ways to get high-interest returns on your long-term savings. It could even allow you to build a substantial ‘pot’ that allows you to achieve complete financial freedom for you and your family in future.
I call an investment ISA a passive income source, as the money generated is created by companies returning some of their profits in dividends, and/or the value of the stocks and shares purchased going up.
We do not have to exchange our time for this income, therefore it is completely passive and grows without any effort from ourselves. The beauty of the stock market is that our money will remain active until we choose to sell our stocks, so it will continue to create more income for us in the background. We can simply withdraw a small portion of it each year to live off, and some of the increase will still remain, adding to our wealth total despite the withdrawn money.
Let’s look at some examples of what we could potentially end up with if we took out an investment ISA even with a short-term goal of accessing the money within 10 years. I will use a withdrawal rate (how much we draw from our account every year as a source of income) of 3.75%. This is regarded as a good average by most financial advisors and institutions.
Starting with no savings at all at age 50, if we contributed the maximum of £20k a year to an Investment ISA with a withdrawal rate of 3.75% a year on average and saw only a 4% return on investment, then using the power of compound interest and reinvesting any dividends or growth, we would have at age 60 a total investment pot of around £246k. If we withdraw 3.75% of this a year, as stated above, after 10 years we could withdraw £9.2k a year of interest (tax free). That would mean an extra £800+ in your pocket every month through your investment ISA savings alone.
Leave the amount until you are officially retiring at age 65, after 15 years of consistent effort and contributions, we could see approximately £411k with an income of £15k a year or £1200 in our pocket every month.
If we were to see a 10% return on investment each year, the total fund within 15 years of maxing out our contributions would be approximately £696k and an income of £65k a year tax free! That is probably more than any retirement could use up, and of course this is purely using our investments as a source of income and not including a state or employer pension. That means you could end up being able to use the interest generated from your investments each year to live off indefinitely!
Another great point to remember is that an ISA is per individual, so if you are a couple you can open one each and double your achievements together.
What better gift than your time and freedom back to use as you wish could you give yourself and your loved ones?!
If you would like to know more about the basics of the stock market, or how to use an investment ISA to retire earlier than planned, please check out my blog posts here:
Master your money and create your best life – your greatest investment in your future!
Make it a priority to learn how to master your money and use it to direct and create your best life.
Successful people in every walk of life leave clues along the way, so however you feel inspired to live your life, do it with style and use money as the tool to get there, taking your loved ones along with you for the ride.
Think of your upcoming retirement as an opportunity to explore new opportunities and even business ideas. Learn as many new skills as you can in areas that make your future life seem exciting, and watch as the world really opens up to you to design the life you always wanted in your retirement.
Here’s to a great future ahead on your terms, with money as an abundant resource to fuel it!
About the author
Jennifer Kempson, aka Mamafurfur, is a 30-something Scottish working mum with a passion to help others create the work-life balance and lifestyle they desire with time and financial freedom, sharing smarter spending, saving and lifestyle strategies.
Outside of her blog, she recently released her first book titled The Master Money Mindset: How to Master Your Money and Create a Powerful Money Mindset, sharing 26 timeless money principles that will allow you to design and shape your future using money as the resource it should be. The book is available on Amazon Kindle and as a paperback now.
Currently voted UK Money Vlogger (Youtube Creator) 2018, and finalist for the UK Blog Awards Finance Blog of the Year 2019.
Many thanks to Jennifer (right) for a valuable and thought-provoking guest post. Please do check out her blog at www.mamafurfur.com and her YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/c/mamafurfur.
I do agree with Jennifer about the value and importance of paying down your debts. Not only will this reduce the capital outstanding, even more importantly it will reduce the interest you have to pay on that capital in future. Other things being equal it’s best to pay off high-interest loans first (though check whether there are any penalties for doing this). Mortgage rates are historically low at the moment so paying extra every month won’t have as big a benefit, but of course there is still much to be said for going mortgage-free as early as possible.
I also agree with Jennifer about the value of saving as much as possible using ISAs. And for long-term saving especially, you are likely to get much better returns from investment (stocks and shares) ISAs than cash ISAs. Do just bear in mind that pension contributions are another great way of saving for retirement, and you get tax relief from the government up front on them.
Finally, I do of course appreciate that not everyone is going to be able to save £20,000 a year into their ISAs. Whatever you can find, however, putting it into ISAs (and pensions) will ensure you get the maximum benefit in years to come. And the earlier you start, the more time your savings and investments will have to weather any ups and downs in the financial markets and grow. You can read some ideas for boosting your income so you can afford to save more for retirement in the Making Money category on my blog.
As always, if you have any comments or questions about this post, please do leave them below.
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I thought today I’d share some of my favourite ways of making a bit of extra cash.
These are methods I have discussed previously on Pounds and Sense, so I have linked to some other relevant posts from the blog where appropriate.
1. Prolific Academic
Prolific Academic is a platform used by academic researchers world-wide to recruit participants for online studies and surveys. These are varied and interesting, and I’ve earned almost £300 to date by doing them. For more information, see my blog post Make Money and Help Academic Researchers With Prolific Academic.
2. Matched Betting
Don’t be put off by the name. Matched betting isn’t gambling. Rather, it’s a way of taking advantage of bookmaker special offers (mostly online) to generate a risk-free profit. I’ve made about £2,000 (tax-free) from matched betting, and know of other people who have made five-figure sums.
I’ve written about matched betting on various occasions on Pounds and Sense. You can read my introductory article Can You Make Money From Matched Betting? here. Note that for beginners I highly recommend subscribing to the Profit Accumulator advisory service, which has in-depth video tutorials and valuable (arguably essential) online tools for matched bettors, such as calculators and odds-matchers.
3. Online Auction Selling
There are lots of ways to make money from online auctions, generally using the world’s favourite online auction site eBay. The simplest method is to sell items from around the house you no longer need, from children’s toys and games to clothing and collectables. If you want to go beyond this, though, you can buy items cheaply from wholesalers or other sources and sell them on for profit (note that income generated this way is potentially taxable). Check out this guest post Twelve Top Tips for Selling on eBay by my fellow money blogger Luci Oliver.
4. Renting Out a Room
This is undoubtedly an old-school method, but if you have a room in your home you’re not currently using, you could make steady money from it by taking in a lodger. The government encourages this through its Rent a Room Scheme, which lets you make up to £7,500 a year tax-free by renting out a room in your home. If you don’t want a full-time lodger, another option is to take people on short stays using the well-known Airbnb platform or one of its rivals. See my blog post Boost Your Income by Renting Out a Room for more information.
5. Blogging
Could 2019 be the year you start your own money-making blog? I do, and there’s no reason you couldn’t as well!
If you’re not quite sure what to blog about, ask yourself the following two questions:
1) Are you at least curious about the topic?
You don’t have to be an expert or 100% passionate about your blog topic to generate income. But you do need to be at least curious to learn, because if you don’t enjoy learning about your blogging topic, it’ll show in your writing, and you’ll run out of ideas. Nobody reads blogs that have no character or point of view.
2) Are other bloggers already making money in your niche?
It’s important to pick a niche that is proven to make money. The easiest way to see which blog niches are profitable is to see how many other bloggers are active in the niche in question. If nobody is competing in your space, there’s a very good chance the market is too small or unprofitable. Don’t be afraid of competition. Your experiences and distinct voice will make your blog unique. You can stand out even in a saturated market.
This is another thing I do myself – indeed, for many years I was a full-time freelance writer (I’m semi-retired now). It’s a competitive field, but there is still plenty of money to be made. You don’t need to be Shakespeare either, just have a reasonable grasp of written English and be willing and able to write what the market wants. Check out My Top Ten Tips for Making Money as a Freelance Writer here. You can also read my posts Should You Write a Book? and How to Publish Your Own E-book on Kindle.
7. MobileXpression App
If you have a smartphone, this is a really easy way to make money from it. Just install this app (which tracks your browsing anonymously) and every few weeks you will receive a £20 Amazon voucher for your trouble (Amazon vouchers are pretty much as good as money, as you can buy almost anything there!). You can read my full review of the MobileXpression app in this post.
8. Become a Viewing Agent with Viewber
If you have a bit of time available in the day and/or at weekends, you could earn a sideline income as a viewing agent for Viewber. This company recruits freelance viewing agents to conduct property viewings on behalf of local estate agents who don’t have the staff available to do it themselves. As a Viewber (the name is also used by the company to describe its viewing agents) you will be asked to attend a property at a specified date and time to show a potential buyer or tenant round. You will receive a set fee and travel expenses for doing this. This opportunity is open to anyone and you don’t need any experience in estate agency. For full details, see my post Earn a Sideline Income as a Viewing Agent With Viewber.
9. Be a TV or Movie Extra
This is another opportunity that won’t make you rich but can certainly generate a useful sideline income and provide a lot of fun into the bargain. As an extra, you’ll make some money, get a chance to see how movies and TV shows are made, and even become immortalized on screen. For more information (including my own experiences!) see my post Earn a Sideline Income as a TV or Movie Extra.
10. Offer Your Home as a TV or Movie Location
If you don’t fancy appearing in films or TV shows yourself, maybe your home could do the job for you? Obviously this opportunity won’t be suitable for everyone. You need to live somewhere with characteristics or features that might be in demand by a production company. You definitely don’t need to live in a stately home, though. A huge range of properties is required, so wherever you live there’s a chance it could be the perfect location for an upcoming project. Read my blog post Lights! Camera! Action! How to Make Money Offering Your Home as a TV or Film Location for the full scoop!
So there you are – twelve great ways you can generate a sideline income in 2019. For many other sideline (or in some cases full-time) earning opportunities, just click through this link to the Making Money category on Pounds and Sense.
Good luck, and as always if you have any comments or questions about this post, please do leave them below.
Disclosure: This post (and others on Pounds and Sense) includes affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase at the website in question, I may receive a commission for introducing you. This has no effect whatsoever on the terms or benefits you will receive.
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Today I’m featuring an ‘old school’ money-making method that nonetheless can be lucrative if it suits your personal circumstances.
There is nothing complicated about this opportunity – it simply involves renting out a room (or more) in your home, either long-term or short-term.
There’s a long-running government scheme to encourage home-owners to do this. It’s called the Rent a Room Scheme. Until April 2016 you were allowed to earn up to £4,250 a year doing this. But in that year’s budget this limit was unexpectedly raised to an even more generous £7,500, which still applies now.
The Rent a Room Scheme
Anyone with space in their own home is allowed to use the scheme. You can let a single room or an entire floor.
You don’t even have to be the home-owner yourself. If you’re a tenant, you can sub-let a room, as long as your own lease allows you to do this.
There are some restrictions to the scheme, though. Most importantly, the accommodation must be furnished and it must be within your main residence. And you can’t claim under the scheme for self-contained flats even if they are in your own home.
If your gross rental income is under the £7,500 annual limit you don’t have to take any other action and can keep all of the money tax-free. You don’t even have to tell the taxman unless you fill in a self-assessment form already (in that case you’ll need to enter the rental income on your return but won’t have to pay any tax on it).
One important thing to note is that the £7,500 a year tax-free allowance is for total rental income. You aren’t allowed to deduct any expenses from this, e.g. repairs or redecoration.
If you earn over £7,500 a year from renting you have two choices. One is that you can keep the first £7,500 tax tree under the Rent a Room scheme and pay tax at your highest marginal rate on the balance above this (that’s 20% for standard rate taxpayers). This will probably be the best option for most people letting rooms at home.
Alternatively, you can opt out of the scheme altogether. In that case you will be treated like any other small business. You will be taxed on your entire rental income, but allowed to deduct all reasonable expenses before tax is charged on what is left. This will be advantageous if you have major expenses to cover. You can choose which option will be best for you each year, so it’s important to keep detailed financial records. More information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/rent-room-in-your-home.
Short Term Letting
If you don’t want a permanent – or semi-permanent – lodger, another option that has become hugely popular in recent years is short-term letting to budget travellers and people who prefer a more personal alternative to hotels.
At the forefront of this trend has been Airbnb. This site lets you offer anything from a sofa in your living room to your whole house. You can set your own rent, and decide which would-be guests you want to accept.
Airbnb charges you 3% of whatever you charge your guests (they also charge guests a fee of between 6% and 12% of whatever you charge). You get paid via Airbnb approximately 24 hours after your guest checks in.
Income from Airbnb rentals can also be claimed under the Rent a Room scheme, so long as you meet the general requirements mentioned above. This applies even if you rent out your whole house for a short period, as long as it clearly remains your main residence.
Short-term letting can obviously work well in holiday areas, but it can be done elsewhere too. For example, my sister Annie lives near Oxford and sometimes offers accommodation in her home through Airbnb to visiting academics and people coming to business meetings and conferences in the city.
There are other, similar options to Airbnb you may like to check out as well. They include HomeAway, VRBO, Couchsurfing, and more. They all operate a bit differently and offer a different range of accommodation and services (e.g. HomeAway is specifically for holiday rentals). This article on the Huffington Post site lists ten alternatives to Airbnb with basic descriptions of each one.
If you have any comments or questions on this post – or any experiences of your own to share – please do post them below.
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