077 – Case study Tom & Is Matched Betting An Option? | Tom
Today Alvar interviews Tom from the UK: along with some personal views on FI and personal finance he will share some insights on his current side hustle, matched betting. We will dive into the mechanisms of this form of investment, how it can be effective and what pitfalls to avoid. Enjoy!
We also talk about:
- Investing strategies
- Traveling
- Accumulation speed
- Matched betting and gambling
- Taxes and legality
- Bookmakers reactions
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Tom’s approach to FI
Tom is now 25 and got in touch with the FI community about 5 years ago. For him, it began with learning the basics of personal finance: actually, he considers FI as the extreme form of personal finance, because following that route and putting all these principles into practice will eventually lead to financial independence. The people in the FI community usually tend to be aware of these mechanisms at a younger age, and Tom found that being financially independent was a key element in order to achieve the desired lifestyle.
Matched betting: how does it work
At its core, matched betting exploits the promotional bonuses that bookmakers offer when you register on their website and uses them for a series of bets made according to a mathematical equation that minimizes losses and over time ensures a return, essentially by betting on any outcome of a particular event with different bookmakers that offer different return percentages. By applying this method over a sufficient amount of time, Tom is beginning to see a good income stream.
A not so passive but accessible income stream
According to Tom, matched betting requires that you spend some time every week, checking odds and available bonuses and working on the mathematical system: so if you aren’t particularly interested in sports or similar, it can become quite boring in the long run – and only after some time you will see some benefits from it. Compared to the income stream it could be considered not worth the hassle, but it is definitely one of the most accessible and immediate forms of online investing, because of the very little initial investment in time and money.
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