Pound to £5k Challenge

Edition 62

March certainly seems to have brought some good weather with it, I hope that you’ve been able to make the most of a sunny weekend!

It’s a bit of a quieter week for deals this week, but that could be good news as you can catch up on some of the quick wins below that you might have missed out on before!

PLUS the most honest insight into how The Bank Engine makes money I have ever given alongside my earnings from February at the end of this email!

Don’t forget you can check out all emails I have ever sent at the link below in case you missed anything previously

THIS WEEK’S TOP DEALS!

£20 from SumUp Pay app

You have probably heard of SumUp before as the mass-market card readers used by loads of small businesses across the UK

Well, they’ve also launched a card that pays 0.5% cashback on transactions BUT they’re paying a £20 sign-up bonus through referrals

1. Message me “SUMUP” for a referral link

2. Download the app and sign up

3. Verify your ID

4. Enter a referral code (I will give to you in step 1)

5. Within 30 days, make 3+ card payments of £10+ (combined)

6. You will receive a £20 bonus for doing so!

7. You can then also refer friends and family for £20 each

FAQs

• Is a credit check carried out?

• No credit check should be carried out, just identity as it is a legal requirement. This is a reloadable card much like Revolut

• Why am I not sharing my link here?

• There are a limited number of referrals so to ensure that everyone who signs up receives their bonus I need to keep track!

• Are SumUp trustworthy?

• They have cemented themselves at the forefront of point of sale providers in the UK and are well reputed

CHARLES STANLEY CASHBACK WORKS - CONFIRMED (NOW £90!)

Back in January (11th to be precise) I opened a Charles Stanley General Investment Account via TopCashback as they were offering £70 cashback for doing so

With a lack of information as to what I needed to do to get the £70 cashback I popped £50 into the account and invested in an All-World Fund. Well, this morning I have withdrawn £70 from my TopCashback account as it moved from “Pending” to “Payable”

My original £50 is now worth £47 due to a loss in value but this is obviously massively offset by the gain, this may not be the case all the time but now we know it works it might be worth looking at this!

Also, at the time of writing this is worth £90 on TopCashback!

NATIONWIDE CUSTOMERS - GET READY FOR £100? LAST CHANCE?

Earlier this year, Nationwide paid out millions to its customers as part of the Nationwide Fairer Share Payment

However, the £100 that was on offer wasn’t given to every customer due to some stringent rules so I’m keen to get everyone thinking about whether they will be eligible this year

Are Nationwide paying out again this year?

In 2023, Nationwide paid out £340 million to 3.4 million customers

In 2024, Nationwide paid out £385 million to 3.85 million customers

This is based out of profits and Nationwide has reportedly made a lower profit so far this year but has made a “gain” of over £2 billion from its takeover of Virgin Money

What were the criteria last time?

I can’t see the criteria to receive the £100 changing that much so if it was based on the same as last year then you need:

1. You must have had a Nationwide current account open on 31 March

2. If this was a FlexAccount, FlexBasic or FlexDirect, you must have

   either received £500 into the account and made 2+ payments out of the account in 2 months of January, February or March or have made 10+ payments out of the account

3. If this was a FlexPlus account, you must have continued to pay the monthly fee

4. If this was a FlexOne, FlexStudent or FlexGraduate you must have received at least one payment in or made one payment out during March

5. AND you must also have had at least £100 in a savings account with them at the end of any day in March

6. OR you must have owed at least £100 on a Nationwide residential mortgage on 31 March

What am I doing?

So I missed out on these payments in previous years, because I didn’t have any savings with Nationwide which was frustrating but it’s far enough

So this year, I have moved my tax savings account to a limited access savings account which will ensure there is a balance sat in a Nationwide savings account in March

Hopefully, this should be sufficient to gain me the payment this year!

Not a Nationwide customer but want to be?

Nationwide are still offering £175 to switch your current account to them

Matched Betting - My Original Side Hustle

I am now incredibly lucky that I have had a productive balance of side hustles for a number of years and know what works, and what doesn’t but matched betting was my first side hustle and it always pulls me back as we approach March and the Cheltenham racing festival each year

Matched betting is a way of using bookmakers’ promotional offers against them by using “betting exchanges” that let you bet the exact opposite of something you have betted for on the bookmaker’s site

Using online calculators, and promotional offers, this means that you can lock in a profit every time once you know what you are doing. Now this isn’t for everyone and you really do need to be careful not to fall into the addictive aspects of betting sites but if you follow the instructions carefully there is risk-free money to be made here; I’ve made over £3,000 in tax-free cash from this over the years

This does sound complicated but it doesn’t need to be which is why I have set up a free matched betting guide you can check out below!