This week has felt chaotic in a strangely calm way. Despite the chaos I’ve still managed to feed myself, keep the house vaguely upright, and quietly make progress behind the scenes. Work has been full of complex issues, the kind that annoyingly linger in your brain long after you’ve logged off. And yet, somehow, the side quests continued. I’m proud of myself.
As always, I’ve kept up with my weekly deposit into the Trading212 pie. Markets are volatile at the moment; with the gloomy-looking budget looming and constant chatter about the AI/tech bubble, it really does feel like we’re on the edge of a correction. I expected this. In fact, I’ve been holding some funds back while still keeping to the discipline of regular investing – consistency first, anxiety second.
This week the pie sits at £175.06, with a +£5.06 return (+4.4%).
The breakdown looks like this:
World fund: £130.93 (+2.95%)
Bonds: £26.52 (+0.19%)
Gold: £17.59 (+8.85%)
Gold is doing most of the heavy lifting (a recession’s favourite metal), and despite markets closing in the red today (14/11/2025), the pie finished the week up 1.3%. Better than my overall portfolio so I will take that.
Surveys were a slog. I had a parade of kick-outs, endless white screens, and general frustration. I scraped over the £10 weekly line, but it was not elegant. Luckily, two other hustles stepped in to save the week: matched betting and good old-fashioned reselling.
Matched Betting: The Learning Curve I Didn’t Expect to Enjoy
I’ve mentioned matched betting before, so I won’t go deep here, but I will offer a health warning: it involves gambling sites, and if you know that’s not a safe environment for you, skip it. The betting itself is calculated and risk-managed, but the platforms are still gambling spaces.
I joined Outplayed.com after seeing it recommended on r/beermoneyuk, and honestly, the guidance makes a huge difference. They offer step-by-step walkthroughs, training, calculators and more. I started on the free trial and have since subscribed for two months. The subscription price recently increased to a pricey £49.99/month, but I’ve made that back and more.
In fact, I’m nearing £520 in profit, and that’s with me accidentally failing to track several bets. Outplayed estimates you can make up to £1,000 from sign-up offers, and I’m hoping to hit that milestone by the end of the month.
If you do try this, here’s my advice:
Use a separate bank account, a separate email address and track everything. I use Excel plus handwritten notes to keep my betting float completely separate from daily money. This works better if you have built up a float from other hustles first.
Difficulty level: medium, but getting easier.
Reselling: My House is Becoming a Sorting Office
Our recent house move has been perfect for reselling. I’ve been working through cupboards, board games, winter clothes, and the graveyard of “Christmas presents we never needed.” Yesterday alone, I sold six items – my kitchen looked like a dispatch depot this morning.
This week’s reselling total: £130.
And the Big Milestone…
After adding everything up, I’ve officially crossed the £1,000 earned mark.
£1,011, to be exact.
A four-figure side quest.
From tiny wins.
From quiet consistency.
From chaos-but-not-bad weeks like this one.
Onward!
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