When Bradley started matched betting with Matched Betting Blog in 2016, he was saving up to go backpacking around South America.
It was his first foray into making money online and now, along with his girlfriend, he’s a full time digital nomad, travelling the world and reporting back on his very own blog, Dream Big, Travel Far.
Here’s Bradley’s story…
I first heard about matched betting from a friend that I was living with at university. I had recently graduated and was living with my girlfriend for a few months while I saved up money to go backpacking around South America.
I hadn’t placed many bets before, just the odd small one on a ridiculous 200/1 accumulator, purely for the fun of it. Somehow or other I had stumbled upon Betfair and after betting £5, they gave me a £25 free bet. My friend said he’d heard about matched betting as a way to guarantee money from free bets, but he’d never done it himself. So, I Googled ‘matched betting’ and came across this site.
I was certainly very sceptical. What convinced me to give it a go was the dozen or so websites all praising matched betting as a great way for people to make some extra cash.
I also really liked the maths behind it and it all sounded like it made sense. I guess what gave me the final push was that I REALLY needed to start making more money and was willing to give anything a go.
“I hadn’t placed many bets before, just the odd small one on a ridiculous 200/1 accumulator, purely for the fun of it.”
Image courtesy of Dream Big, Travel Far.
So easy! This is what I loved about matched betting. At the time, my only ‘real’ job was part-time work in a local grocery store. I had flexible hours which very rarely clashed with the times I wanted to place my bets.
My routine usually involved me keeping an eye on Matt’s site in the morning, when you could be sure all of the best offers would be up. Most of the time, the offers went up 2 or 3 days early, so I could plan accordingly.
I knew that I needed to raise around £5,000-£6,000 for my trip to South America, but not all of that had to come from matched betting. Once I saw how much money you can realistically make each week, I started to set some rough goals in my mind.
I actually hit that savings mark around 2 or 3 weeks before I was set to leave for South America and it really did feel incredible! I loved knowing that I had done something different and managed to raise a decent sum of money without having to work all hours, doing something I hated.
“The extra pocket money each month certainly came in handy.”
Image courtesy of Dream Big, Travel Far.
Besides being able to travel around South America, the extra pocket money each month certainly came in handy. The biggest impact matched betting had on me was teaching me that you can find creative ways to make money online, without the need to work crazy long hours.
The newbie guides are easy to follow, which really helped when I was starting out. I also love the daily offers where Matt shows you the steps you need to take for each and every one.
I actually had fun introducing my housemate to the site as well. We ended up doing a lot of the bets together and it was enjoyable for us as we learned new techniques.
Matched Betting Blog was by far my biggest source of information and I think I read every page on the site in my first couple of weeks matched betting. There are tonnes of other people out there doing it, and the comments on the individual offers are really useful so always refer to them first if you have an issue. There’s also a forum which is great if you want to start doing even more daytime offers.
Give it a go! Even if you’ve never placed a bet before, you should try it out. In fact, if you’re not familiar with betting, I would say you probably have an advantage. You’ll make better decisions and be less inclined to deviate from your strategy.
If you’re sceptical or have a limited bankroll, take things slow and just do 2 or 3 offers a week until you build up your confidence. I wouldn’t see it as an answer to your financial situation or a means to quit your regular job. Instead, see it as a way to make an extra few hundred quid each month.
If you’ve got a goal in mind like Bradley, or just want to earn some extra pocket money, matched betting is easy to get started with. I’ve put together a comprehensive guide that takes you through the fundamentals of matched betting, including a step-by-step walkthrough of making money from your first bookmaker offer.
Once you get into the swing of it, you’ll be able to profit from each offer in a matter of minutes. With over 50 bookmakers in the UK, there’s plenty to go at. Take your first steps with my matched betting guide and make £15 in the process!
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