Funding the Unicorn

unicornrider

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Thanks everyone, I had to share. I was inspired by the lovely stories on here that people had put up when I joined back in May. I will be back before the end of the year to set up my goals for next year. Funding the Unicorn is always there but I run it alongside adult things that I need to do too. A good friend of mine was massively in debt and she said as much as paying off debt is good, you still need to have fun. I don't go out too much but still have meals out and then with my horsey stuff I am training etc trading my skills in return for training.
 

unicornrider

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So I thought I'd kick off the New Year with some of my new aims, now I have all my debts cleared, a shiney new laptop to work off and savings. My matched betting seems to be fairly stable, I have great months where it can be nearly £1k but mostly it seems to be around the £400 to £500 mark. I am taking money out of it each month to put into savings now I have got a decent bank in Smarkets, Matchbook and Betfair. I don't do enough to warrant keeping more than £1000 in the exchange and my bank account. So this nets me around £200 odd a month that I take out.
Aims for the year -
1 - Holidays - I have three planned, one to Ireland in February to see an old friend for her birthday over a long weekend (already paid for the flights, just need spending money), one in April to Germany with my Dad (he will fund the costs of the flights so just spending money needed) and my BIG holiday to Spain and Portugal in September with my Mum for her experience of a lifetime while she is still fit and able. I currently have not put down one penny towards this so most of my extra income is going to go into this, this year. I will book the flights and air b n b once I have got my holiday approved from work, I have the option of a nice apartment for running cost fees in Portugal so that is a huge saving. I am bugeting about £1k all in for this one. But I have 9 months to work towards this so am sure it is achievable, even on Matched betting alone.
2 - Savings - I need to maintain a level of savings to use as a buffer for emergencies.
3 - Funding the Unicorn - He is doing really well and still costing money as ever. I tend to use my horsey income to supplement him and I have already been booked for a weekend grooming this month which will gain me £80 which in turn will pay for his shoes for the next 6 weeks. I have also been booked a big away show, that is a show running over 3 days, my friend has paid for a hotel for us and I can expect to gain £200 to £250 from this little trip away in February so that again will be split between the Unicorn pot, the savings pot and holiday pot.
I have a whole load of stuff to sell again and I am tapping away at online income still so loads to get going with!
 

georginauk

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So I thought I'd kick off the New Year with some of my new aims, now I have all my debts cleared, a shiney new laptop to work off and savings. My matched betting seems to be fairly stable, I have great months where it can be nearly £1k but mostly it seems to be around the £400 to £500 mark. I am taking money out of it each month to put into savings now I have got a decent bank in Smarkets, Matchbook and Betfair. I don't do enough to warrant keeping more than £1000 in the exchange and my bank account. So this nets me around £200 odd a month that I take out.
Aims for the year -
1 - Holidays - I have three planned, one to Ireland in February to see an old friend for her birthday over a long weekend (already paid for the flights, just need spending money), one in April to Germany with my Dad (he will fund the costs of the flights so just spending money needed) and my BIG holiday to Spain and Portugal in September with my Mum for her experience of a lifetime while she is still fit and able. I currently have not put down one penny towards this so most of my extra income is going to go into this, this year. I will book the flights and air b n b once I have got my holiday approved from work, I have the option of a nice apartment for running cost fees in Portugal so that is a huge saving. I am bugeting about £1k all in for this one. But I have 9 months to work towards this so am sure it is achievable, even on Matched betting alone.
2 - Savings - I need to maintain a level of savings to use as a buffer for emergencies.
3 - Funding the Unicorn - He is doing really well and still costing money as ever. I tend to use my horsey income to supplement him and I have already been booked for a weekend grooming this month which will gain me £80 which in turn will pay for his shoes for the next 6 weeks. I have also been booked a big away show, that is a show running over 3 days, my friend has paid for a hotel for us and I can expect to gain £200 to £250 from this little trip away in February so that again will be split between the Unicorn pot, the savings pot and holiday pot.
I have a whole load of stuff to sell again and I am tapping away at online income still so loads to get going with!

Let me know if you need any help with your trip from Spain! I am from there so if you need anything I am here!
 
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unicornrider

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Is that an actual WHITE horse?

I don't think I've ever seen one in real life but I get why you call it a Unicorn!!
He is technically 'Grey' born either black or dark brown then went grey as he lost his foal coat. They get whiter each year and he is now pretty much pure white, but his skin is black. He's not normally that 'white' as he likes to roll in mud, he had a bath the day before and there are a whole array of products that you can use to get your grey horses super white!
 
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Luna_Astrum

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I'm loving following along with how you've been getting on and the Horse is gorgeous.
Are your goals still going alright?
 

unicornrider

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Hi everyone, so sorry it's been so long since my last update. Things has been a bit up and down. However I do owe a massive thank you to you guys. I am so close to having made 10k now from matched betting alone under 2 years. My side hustles are going well and I have just done my first tax return (with just a few days to go until it had to be done - oops).
Anyway thanks to all my extras on top of my full time job and looking after the Unicorn, I took my mum on an epic 10 day holiday to Barcelona, Madrid, Faro and Lagos. It was the best holiday ever and all paid for out of my earnings.
Unicorn is still doing well if feeling his age now, so he's had to take a step back from being fabulous. He's still awesome and I will put up some photos when I get chance.
I am back now, well will be dipping in and out. I might not be taking part in the monthly challenges as I found I got a bit too overcome by it all.
 

homie

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Hi everyone, so sorry it's been so long since my last update. Things has been a bit up and down. However I do owe a massive thank you to you guys. I am so close to having made 10k now from matched betting alone under 2 years. My side hustles are going well and I have just done my first tax return (with just a few days to go until it had to be done - oops).
Anyway thanks to all my extras on top of my full time job and looking after the Unicorn, I took my mum on an epic 10 day holiday to Barcelona, Madrid, Faro and Lagos. It was the best holiday ever and all paid for out of my earnings.
Unicorn is still doing well if feeling his age now, so he's had to take a step back from being fabulous. He's still awesome and I will put up some photos when I get chance.
I am back now, well will be dipping in and out. I might not be taking part in the monthly challenges as I found I got a bit too overcome by it all.

An excellent profit from matched betting there. Glad to hear the Unicorn is still doing well.
 

unicornrider

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So I thought I'd kick off the New Year with some of my new aims, now I have all my debts cleared, a shiney new laptop to work off and savings. My matched betting seems to be fairly stable, I have great months where it can be nearly £1k but mostly it seems to be around the £400 to £500 mark. I am taking money out of it each month to put into savings now I have got a decent bank in Smarkets, Matchbook and Betfair. I don't do enough to warrant keeping more than £1000 in the exchange and my bank account. So this nets me around £200 odd a month that I take out.
Aims for the year -
1 - Holidays - I have three planned, one to Ireland in February to see an old friend for her birthday over a long weekend (already paid for the flights, just need spending money), one in April to Germany with my Dad (he will fund the costs of the flights so just spending money needed) and my BIG holiday to Spain and Portugal in September with my Mum for her experience of a lifetime while she is still fit and able. I currently have not put down one penny towards this so most of my extra income is going to go into this, this year. I will book the flights and air b n b once I have got my holiday approved from work, I have the option of a nice apartment for running cost fees in Portugal so that is a huge saving. I am bugeting about £1k all in for this one. But I have 9 months to work towards this so am sure it is achievable, even on Matched betting alone.
2 - Savings - I need to maintain a level of savings to use as a buffer for emergencies.
3 - Funding the Unicorn - He is doing really well and still costing money as ever. I tend to use my horsey income to supplement him and I have already been booked for a weekend grooming this month which will gain me £80 which in turn will pay for his shoes for the next 6 weeks. I have also been booked a big away show, that is a show running over 3 days, my friend has paid for a hotel for us and I can expect to gain £200 to £250 from this little trip away in February so that again will be split between the Unicorn pot, the savings pot and holiday pot.
I have a whole load of stuff to sell again and I am tapping away at online income still so loads to get going with!

Looking back to where I was at the beginning of last year makes me realise just how well I have done. 2019 was a year of extreme highs and lows. Hence why I disappeared for a bit.
Anyway I actually smashed every one of those three goals. Which was good as my car suffered a very terminal failure in June which was fine I just bought a replacement no worries, it's been a long time since I have had that sort of money that I could just go and buy a car.
I think I lost sight of what I was achieving the pursuit of earning more and more. So this year my goals are
1 - Earn £5k in 2020, anything over this is a pure bonus. I am not going to get into chasing money at this point.
2 - Get a mortgage - I am about to embark on the scary prospect of home ownership. That's for another post.
3 - Funding the Unicorn. He is semi retired now but still needs funding.
I will expand on this over the next few weeks.
Today was a good day, I joined up to the free postcode lottery yesterday and won £200 on it today! So it shows that it's worth a punt, especially if it's free (and doesn't give over too many personal details!).

:p:cool:
 
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Cas

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Looking back to where I was at the beginning of last year makes me realise just how well I have done. 2019 was a year of extreme highs and lows. Hence why I disappeared for a bit.
Anyway I actually smashed every one of those three goals. Which was good as my car suffered a very terminal failure in June which was fine I just bought a replacement no worries, it's been a long time since I have had that sort of money that I could just go and buy a car.
I think I lost sight of what I was achieving the pursuit of earning more and more. So this year my goals are
1 - Earn £5k in 2020, anything over this is a pure bonus. I am not going to get into chasing money at this point.
2 - Get a mortgage - I am about to embark on the scary prospect of home ownership. That's for another post.
3 - Funding the Unicorn. He is semi retired now but still needs funding.
I will expand on this over the next few weeks.
Today was a good day, I joined up to the free postcode lottery yesterday and won £200 on it today! So it shows that it's worth a punt, especially if it's free (and doesn't give over too many personal details!).

:p:cool:
The postcode lottery what site did you sign up to ?
 

Jon

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Looking back to where I was at the beginning of last year makes me realise just how well I have done. 2019 was a year of extreme highs and lows. Hence why I disappeared for a bit.
Anyway I actually smashed every one of those three goals. Which was good as my car suffered a very terminal failure in June which was fine I just bought a replacement no worries, it's been a long time since I have had that sort of money that I could just go and buy a car.
I think I lost sight of what I was achieving the pursuit of earning more and more. So this year my goals are
1 - Earn £5k in 2020, anything over this is a pure bonus. I am not going to get into chasing money at this point.
2 - Get a mortgage - I am about to embark on the scary prospect of home ownership. That's for another post.
3 - Funding the Unicorn. He is semi retired now but still needs funding.
I will expand on this over the next few weeks.
Today was a good day, I joined up to the free postcode lottery yesterday and won £200 on it today! So it shows that it's worth a punt, especially if it's free (and doesn't give over too many personal details!).

:p:cool:
Good luck on getting a mortgage

I do wonder if we are going to hit another recession this year post brexit if things go south, just have to wait and see I guess!
 

unicornrider

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I can't believe that is so long since I last updated this page. Loads has happened - some good, some bad.

I am a bit of a cross road - paid of loads of debt and now built up some new debt. Not being able to get a mortgage has been a major blow, me and and Mum combining are finances is not allowed and she can't 'give me the money' and then benefit from it. Yeah, we could 'not tell' anyone we were living together but I know how my luck can run and I am not chancing and risk losing everything.

The not-so-good -
I have got really lazy with doing Prolific, Populous etc. Mum moved in and she does not get why I watch TV and am on my laptop all the time. I work from home now so maybe need to get back into the routine of checking before 9, at lunch and in the evening. It's easy money so I really need to get on with it.

MBing, I am sure that being gubbed by pretty much all the big boys has not helped. I still make around £300 a month but chasing price boosts etc can be exhausting. I also joined Team Casino back in March and I have made just £950 with that, my EV is currently £200 above my actual profit and staying steady there (it has been for 3 months). I can't take the losing my sporting profits by one bad casino run. So I am going to cancel that subs and stick to the free stuff and stuff I knew worked if I do casino at all.

The unicorn broke and the struggle to find a replacement is just soul destroying. He's the main reason for saving the money but with no competitions to go for and it not being realistic to save for a new one (think £20k plus) while I am meant to be doing adult stuff is just downright draining. Ho hum, trying to get one through other avenues but that is definitely more luck than judgement.

The Good
My Blog/YouTube channels are taking off, I haven't made any money but they keep me entertained and promote myself well, hopefully a new unicorn will come as a result of all my hard work there.

So the future, I need to get back in a routine, I just feel so exhuasted all the time, working hard but nothing nice to look forward to. It all has been a bit pointless and soul destroying. I can't seem to make more than £20 a day unless I am working my bum off grooming and then I suffer after that too. Sorry to be a bit down in the dumps. I have tried taking a break but that's not worked either. What I really need is a nice holiday somewhere hot - put that is a total no!
 

unicornrider

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I actually read that back and thought it was a bit harsh, we've all had a bad year. One of my aims was to make £5k, so far in MBing alone I have made £3.5k so looking on the bright side. I am not doing badly. I must have made around £4k with all my other stuff.

Plan for the week - give myself some time, finally get my Skimlinks sorted (I will message you @Jon after I have tried to email them direct to find out what is wrong), make another tutorial Vlog for next week.

Only a few months left then it will be 2021 - wooo
 
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unicornrider

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Wow we are in November now, still tipping along. I have had to get a bit more savvy as Matched betting is definitely drying up. There is still profit to made but I work on a time put in to money out. And if it's taking too much time for a few pence then it is not worth it.
Market research like Angelfish has proved good, especially when my traditional avenues have taken a hit. I have got back into bothering to do tasks on Appen and that is going ok, so more money coming in there.
Rather than scrolling on websites when I am on downtime from work, I am trying to do some boring surveys instead on Curious Cat and that is getting a fair bit in.

On the Unicorn side, that's a bit depressing, well very depressing. I have been looking for a new partner for 8 months with no luck. Coronavirus has turned the horse market crazy. Horses, like dogs are making mental prices. I don't have much money spare as my car is threatening to die so I am just being careful. What I really need is ideally around £15 to £20k. That is totally not achievable in the short time frame needed to make it so unless I win the Lotto that is not going to happen. Plan god knows what as we have had so many over the last 8 months is to buy a young horse that is not ridden yet and then train it, these are a bit cheaper. It's hard work but if it doesn't suit me then it will be saleable. So there we go.
I am still living in hope that we might get a Christmas bonus, we've been told not to expect it but we didn't get a pay rise either. I can't see us getting nothing. But that's the optimist in me!
 

unicornrider

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A Christmas bonus is looking increasingly unlikely (we were warned months ago not to expect one but I am an optimist!) however Market Research looks like it is going to give me a nice Christmas bonus of £300. I start the study on Tuesday and am so excited at the thought of that much cash coming my way.

Things are still a bit meh but my YouTube Channel got 4 more subscribes this week which made me so happy - no where near the 1000 yet, in fact we are only just into double figures but it is nice to share even if I get nothing out of it and who knows where it might lead.
 

Kinokohai

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Hey unicorn rider, I'm happy to check out your YT channel and subscribe, not sure if you linked it above
Any more news on your Xmas bonus? Our pay rise was frozen and we never get Xmas bonus. Also down 20% on working hrs. Not a good year for sure.
 
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unicornrider

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Hey unicorn rider, I'm happy to check out your YT channel and subscribe, not sure if you linked it above
Any more news on your Xmas bonus? Our pay rise was frozen and we never get Xmas bonus. Also down 20% on working hrs. Not a good year for sure.
Thanks for the that, my YouTube channel is here - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwl9ZhKocggZ4Xhtq9Qh7xw

No bonus, we were all very gutted. Our performance has equalled previous years and due to Covid/Brexit I am busier than normal. But hey ho, they promised we would be back to normal next year but we all worry that they have set a precedent to not give up raises/bonus now.

No pay rise is like a pay cut really isn't it! Here's to a better 2021
 

homie

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Completely off topic @unicornrider but have there ever been any successful white race horses? Greys I've seen a lot of, but I've never seen an almost pure white one like yours racing.
 

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