One thing has really stuck out as I continue reading through other people's investment blogs - a lot of them have taken advantage of bookmaker bonuses to increase their income and, in turn, increase the amount of money they have available for investments.
Though I have a large group of friends - ahem, naturally! - none of them have shown the slightest bit of interest when (or nowawdays, if) I talk about investing or making money or matched betting or any kind of method of creating extra income beyond the 9-5.
But then I read all these FIRE and investing blogs and discover that all of the authors of these websites are actively involved in increasing their income - and in most cases matched betting forms some part of this.
So I wonder if it's a natural progression:
You decide you want to retire early > you do some research > figure out you need to spend less, increase your income and save more > figure out that saving in a traditional savings account at 1% will get you nowhere > figure out you'll need to invest your money so it grows > figure out that investing involves risk > learn to appreciate that risk isn't necessarily bad > discover that with a small amount of risk you can make extra income from bookmakers > start with Profit Maximiser or one of the similar products and invest your profit > grow your investments by taking risk in the markets
Maybe most FIRE wannabes are destined to end up taking advantage of bookie bonuses because once they start their research they discover matched betting and realise how powerful it can be.
So what a shame that it all seems to be dying off now!
I used to make several hundreds of pounds profit per month from +EV casino offers but they are slowing drying up to the point where I'm pretty much down to one or two a week.
And free bet offers just don't seem to exist anymore. It's a long time since I got a good free bet offer via email and the Profit Maximiser calendar is sparce...
Long gone are the "£25 free bet if your horse comes 2nd" offers which were simply a licence to print money. Perhaps that's why they are no longer offered.
Still, the whole bonus bagging/matched betting scene had a good run and I'm not exaggerating when I state that Profit Maximiser helped me through some tough times.
But that's a subject that will have to be added to my "articles I must remember to write for the website" list for now as I'm sure you're very eager to learn how the portfolio has done over the last week!
It looks like this:
| Code | Sector | Date Bought | Cost | Value | Gain/Loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LM001 LM001-2 |
Equity Investment Instruments | 11/06/2018 16/09/2019 |
£2020 | £2330 | 15.42% |
| LM009 LM009-2 |
Gas, Water & Multiutilities | 05/02/2019 04/02/2020 |
£2020 | £2340 | 15.44% |
| LM012 LM012-2 |
Real Estate Investment Trusts | 20/05/2019 28/11/2019 |
£2030 | £2410 | 18.79% |
| LM014 LM014-2 |
ETF | 17/06/2019 02/12/2019 |
£1950 | £3110 | 59.32% |
| LM015 | ETF | 27/08/2019 | £970 | £960 | (0.34%) |
| LM016 | Travel & Leisure | 29/08/2019 | £1020 | £1130 | 11.59% |
| LM018 | Construction & Materials | 11/11/2019 | £1020 | £1120 | 10.30% |
| LM019 | Travel & Leisure | 11/11/2019 | £1020 | £1060 | 4.29% |
| LM020 | Software & Computer Services | 28/11/2019 | £1010 | £1110 | 9.50% |
| LM022 | Household Goods | 29/01/2020 | £1020 | £1060 | 4.23% |
My "end of year" report will come at the beginning of April, which is the end of the tax year. If I've got an 18% paper gain in my portfolio at that point then it's fair to say I will be ecstatic.
True we may be in a rising market and at some point this will change.
But I can only play the cards I'm dealt; I can only hold shares in the market as it currently exists. If that's a bull market then great, I just hope I'm taking advantage of it as best I can!