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January 2026 Free Money Earnings

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Month	Free Money Earnings	+/- Monthly Target (£125)	Accumulative	to Year End Objective (£1,500)
January	£253	+£128	£253	£1,247

January 2026 brought £253 in Free Money, which is a number I am most happy with. That is £128 over the £125 monthly target helping me keep my nose ahead. However, this first month of 2026 has been a month of contrasts really, because while the Free Money Streams held their ground, both the Free Cash Fund and the Stoozing Fund delivered losses.

As shown in the table above, January breaks down as follows:

• Free Money Earnings: £253
• Free Cash Fund Gains: -£64
• Stoozing Fund Profits: -£51

Why the negative? After 12 months of consecutive gains, the Free Cash Fund blipped and sent me back £64 into the red. That is purely the ebb and flow of market forces I am afraid. In addition, it was time for a 5th balance transfer as my first one was due in mid January and I needed to shift the debt into a new credit card. Even though the Stoozing Fund threw profits of £67, I had to deduct £118 in balance tranfer fees, leaving me with a net loss of £51. That’s the way it goes anytime a balance transfer is needed and I have to take it on the chin.

Good thing is, I made £253 from Free Money sources. Here is the story of how it came to be.

Bank Rewards. £6 from my two surviving bank rewards accounts. Scarce takings but always handy.

Cashback. £53 does not look like a lot if we compare it with the three-digit profits experienced over the last few months but it is still good enough for me. This time round, I collected £38 from my Amex, £2 from Topcashback and £13 from my HSBC credit card as a result of opting-in for their November and December 2025 cashback promotion. You spend, you earn cashback and because I have been told that I have no choice but to spend in order to function in society, I have a duty to collect cashback. So I am complying.

Decluttering Sales. £106 from flogging my clutter on eBay. It is counterintuitive how this works really. The sales I struggled for in December 2025 materialized in January 2026 for no particular reason. No changes to my current listings and no additional listings added but the sales came in after the Christmas craze. Ok. Not looking for an analysis report. I am just happy to start the year in a strong position. Let me show you below what sold for the record.

Promotions. Last payment of £25 from the Co-Op Bank as a result of the Switch Promotion offer carried over from October 2025 (see post The Co Operative Bank £175 Switch Promotion). As required, I made deposits exceeding £1,000 and also made well over ten debit card payments in the month. Offer completed and it is time to search for a new one. For the time being, there is a £25 label in this pot.

Freebies. £63 from selling various items of clothing ‘donated’ to me by my dear friends who left the UK for new and warmer pastures elsewhere. I sold four ski garments: three on Vinted and one on eBay. They were all effortless sales suggesting there is a strong market out there in this particular niche. Again, I will not get lost in irrelevant analysis here and will be content with my takings.

Summary. Started the year with renewed energies and strong results as regards to Free Money Streams. Surely enough, the Stoozing Fund will be consistently delivering passive income for the remainder of 2026. The question mark is the Stocks & Shares portion of the Free Cash Fund. I have taken defensive positions expecting challenging market conditions, so I will not expect crazy swings in any direction. All income is committed to credit card repayments and will be sitting in the Cash Pot. This should be a year of steady growth on paper. Time will tell. Stay with me to find out.