How to make £1,500 Free Money in 2023 – My Plan & Objectives
2022 Free Money Journey Recap
I made £1,901 Free Money in 2022. This time last year I completed this very same projection exercise and came up with a £1,200 Free Money estimation for 2022. Even though I made £700 or 60% more than originally planned, I must not feel tempted to overstretch myself and develop ever increasingly optimistic objectives. On the other hand, I also need to baseline my processes in order to improve my chances of success and allocate focus and efforts to relevant areas using past and expected performances as reference for future earnings. On this accord, allow me to recap and have a look at how much Free Money I made in 2022 broken down by income stream.
| Source | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Total |
| Bank Rewards | £21 | £19 | £19 | £16 | £19 | £19 | £19 | £24 | £24 | £24 | £27 | £36 | £268 |
| Decluttering Sales | £62 | £22 | £74 | £2 | £36 | £8 | £232 | £71 | £191 | -£18 | £680 | ||
| Cashback | £49 | £48 | £7 | £7 | £14 | £77 | £39 | £9 | £12 | £16 | £10 | £288 | |
| Promotions | £125 | £160 | £285 | ||||||||||
| Freebies | £50 | £330 | £380 | ||||||||||
| Total | £132 | £139 | £100 | £150 | £399 | £104 | £58 | £33 | £256 | £268 | £234 | £28 | £1,901 |
£255 from Bank Rewards in 2022 (vs £250 Objective)
Cash rewards offered by banks in exchange of: a minimum deposit per month, a minimum number of direct debits, a minimum debit card expenditure or any combination of them.
An average of £22 per month in 2022. I managed to hit target just at the very end of the year. Tighter than I thought it would be.
Bank Rewards Objective for 2023: £250
If you are not familiar with my system, let my clarify that the way I collect bank perks is by transferring money between my qualifying bank accounts. I have direct debits set up and I also complete minimum debit card payments as of when required in order to obtain the reward. My current monthly earnings match exactly the average figure for 2022:
- Santander Lite Bank Account: £3
- Halifax Reward Account 1: £5
- Halifax Reward Account 2: £5
- Barclays Blue Rewards: £3
- RBS My Rewards: £3
- Natwest My Rewards: £3
Assuming all things remain unchanged, I can aim for the same £250 annual objective in 2023. Definitely doable an within reach. I foresee a close race all the way to the finish line.
How will it be achieved? Maintaining and developing current money flows between nominated bank accounts and standing order loop setup.
£13 Interests from Savings in 2022 (no Objective)
Any interest payments generated as a direct result of keeping money in a bank or savings account.
Interest on Savings Objective for 2023: £200
Interest rates climbed from practically zero to 3.50% in 2022. Bad news in the big scheme of things but a positive for savers as we can now expect a 5% risk free return from Savings Accounts deposits (see post 5% Savings Accounts are back. Time to ditch my CrowdProperty IFISA?). My intention is to gradually transfer moneys kept in my IFISA account to a risk free savings account. That will be part of my reviewed Investment Strategy. However, nothing is stopping me from placing my own money in savings accounts and collect the interest payments as Free Money. In this sense, I have opened three savings accounts where I intend to keep my hard earned cash.
£5,000 @ 5.12% Barclays Blue Rewards Rainy Day Saver. I can collect interest on up to £5,000 kept in the account ; up to £256/year
RBS Regular Savings Account. I can save a maximum of £150 per month and collect a 5.12% interest on the first £1,000 saved ; £39/year
Nationwide Regular Savings Account. Same as RBS ; £39/year
I am going to remain cautious just in case I need to withdraw my savings to allocate moneys for an unexpected use. However, I can reasonably aim for £200 Free Money just from interest payments alone.
How will it be achieved? Using my own money to place it on savings accounts and collect the interest payments as Free Money.
£288 from Cashback in 2022 (vs £200 Objective)
Money collected from Cashback Websites as a result of an online purchase. Cashback is a commission over a sale that gets reimbursed to the buyer.
I beat my target with ease in 2022. Not only that, I am expecting significant payouts to materialize in 2023. As for my method, there are two main cashback streams:
- Unavoidable purchases.
- Casual purchases.
To understand the distinction by means of an example: car insurance is a must whereas a pair of fancy trainers is a discretional buy. I made £119 cashback from must-do purchases and £169 from casual buys in 2022.
Cashback Objective for 2023: £350
What unavoidable purchases I am expecting to incur in 2023?
- Car Insurance.
- Home Insurance.
- Broadband Switch.
Based on 2022 cashback figures, I can accrue £42 + £35 + £100 = £177 from these three line items. Second element to consider is casual purchases. Looking at my historic patterns of spending, I can most certainly allocate a cashback number of £100 to this second stream. In addition, I have £380 marked as pending on my TopCashback account at the moment.
On this basis, I am going to raise the bar to the £350 Free Money mark from Cashback only in 2023. It looks like it can reach a higher figure, but same as before, I need to remain cautious in case some of the transactions do not track or are rejected by the merchant, which although not very likely, is always a possibility.
How will it be achieved? Pending cashback, cashback from unavoidable purchases and cashback from casual purchases.
£285 from Promotional Sign ups in 2022 (vs £200 Objective)
Not strictly restricted to but mainly bank switch incentives and promotions. Banks will pay hard cash providing a new bank account is opened and a switch tool is used to close an old account in the process.
I switched/opened two bank accounts in 2022 for a Free Money Profit of £285 (£125+£160). All I had to do was to monitor offers on the market and jump on the opportunity to sign up as soon as available.
Promotional Sign ups Objective for 2023: £200
My main handicap is the fact that I have a number of accounts opened in view to collecting bank perks. In addition, I have opened bank accounts with almost every High Street Bank in the past meaning that, more often than not, I would need to reapply for most of the offers. As a rule of thumb, it would involve a two to three year wait to qualify for the bonus as a previous customer. On the plus side, the size of the reward is getting bigger due to intense competition between banks. Whereas in the past two bank account switches would be needed to bag £200 in Free Money, I can collect a sizeable £200 from a single switch nowadays. In any regard, I deem £200 as a reasonable and achievable objective.
How will it be achieved? One or two Bank Switches depending on size of the reward on offer.
£680 from Decluttering Sales in 2022 (vs £500 Objective)
This is Free Money coming from selling personal and household items I will no longer need. I am not buying stuff to resell for a profit. They have to come from a pool of redundant items that I once had a use for.
Not my best year in terms of decluttering by a long mile. Too many ups and downs for my liking and some odd returns but still £680 in the pot. In all honesty, I have a feeling that I just did the bare minimum to reach target.
Decluttering Sales Objective for 2023: £500
I have a data set showing that I can count on a basket of clutter valued at an average of £500 every year. On this basis, I have no incentive to deviate from a £500 Objective. This is by no means a passive income source, so I will need to sow and reap as the year progresses. It should not be a struggle on paper.
How will it be achieved? Current listings asking price is totalling £300. An estimated £500 of clutter will be found in the household over the coming year.
£380 from Freebies in 2022 (no Objective)
This is unexpected Free Money coming my way from a variety of sources: from items donated that I can sell and cash out from, to a free bet at the bookies, a tax return, a test sample or money left and forgotten about at the bottom of a drawer.
I came across £380 unexpectedly in 2022. £50 as a result of settling a complaint, £150 from a tax rebate and £180 from a refund. That is 20% of all my Free Money Earnings for the year. This sum is not irrelevant by any means, however, I cannot possibly set an objective as these will be random events by nature. I just do not know when, why, and more importantly, how much they will bring home. Objective is £0 by default because I have no means of influencing the outcome one way or another. Fact is, they will materialize at some point.
2023 Free Money Objectives Summary:
£125 per month or £1,500 Total Free Money in 2023.
Free Money Streams: bank rewards, interests on savings, cashback deals & rebates, decluttering sales, promotional sign ups and freebies.
Free Money Objectives by Source:
- Banks rewards: £250.
- Interest on Savings: £200
- Cashback: £350.
- Promotions: £200
- Decluttering sales: £500.
That’s it. The Task is set. I just need to walk the path to get myself there as I have done many times before. I will tell you all about my Journey here, at cash4nothing.com. Stay with me if you are keen to find out more.
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