Ј20 challenge

A question about : Ј20 challenge

Instead of spending Ј16 a month on the lottery I'm going to see if I can take that money, plus a bit more, and see how much I can make it grow in a month.

So, shamelessly looking for inspiration here. Do you think you could double it? Or maybe make half as much again? How would you do it?

Best answers:

• Its a good idea. Do you mean use the Ј16 to make the extra with or start with nothing?
• I mean take the Ј16 I would have spend on the lottery, plus another Ј4 (from 'pin money' pot) to make Ј20. Then see how much I can make with this as a starting point.
  I guess as the months went on, if I made anything, some could be fed back into the system.
  So far, I've come up with zilch ideas. Need to think beyond ebay....
• Can you sew?
  I've been making tote bags from recycled fabric from charity shops. I've been giving them as gifts but a number of people have said they'd have paid. I think upcycling is the way to go. Buy some nasturtium seeds and get them going in old teapots, clapped out kettles, anything you can pass off as retro!
• Sadly, I can barely sew on a button, but I love the idea.
  I like the nasturtium idea too. Iam quite green fingered. My 16 year old is hoping to sell plants too. She has a few things on the go, so it would completement her efforts. Thanks
• TBH, I'd just stick it all in an ISA. Find one with the highest interest rate you can get. Ј20 put away every month for a year is Ј240, plus say 1.6% interest (in the top paying HSBC ISA I found via MoneySupermarket)= Ј242.10.
  Better than wasting it on something that's a gamble- IMHO- selling on eBay, at Craft fairs etc etc is just not worth it.
  Take that over 10 years and you've got over Ј2k- tax free!
• I like the idea of this thread! Feels a bit Apprentice. I am not very creative or good at sewing etc but wish I could think of a good little sneaky side business like this!
• You might well be right Wizzbang. Lol.
  I'd just like to have a go at doing something a little more creative with it. I will keep thinking on it
  Hope you come up with something too selement
• Ј20 a month is absolutely nothing to invest in a 'business'. You'd have to have something guaranteed to make you profit to make it worth it. As I say, I cannot think of anything that small that would ever be worth the effort. Craft fairs, eBay etc do not pay anymore. It's all too easy to spend money and much harder to save. Compound interest is what you ought to be thinking about here, not quick returns. If you replace spending on the lottery with spending on something else, you'll never break the spending cycle.
• If you are looking for a very long term investment, you can invest your Ј20 into silver coins. Silver is at its bottom and very volatile. If you can buy an ounce silver coin a month and willing to wait 5-10-20 years, I think it could be a very solid investment. Buy from reputable dealers, in person and cash and store it in a safe place.
• Could you spend it on BOGOFs or half price offers of stuff you would buy anyway, keep a note of what you spent it on and the next time you would have bought that thing put half of whatever it would have cost you back into the kitty?
• Wow, the OP seems to be on my wavelength. I always liked my flutter on the lottery but when it got put upto Ј2 a throw and the prizes seem to have gone down it did made me questions whether it was worth it. I did switch one ticket a week to a scratch card and have had more small wins on that than the lottery!
  Anyway, I like the idea of putting the money I would spend to good use and making more from it. At the moment we are doing up dd2 bedroom. In the process I have realised that I keep starting jobs but never finish them e.g. I have material but never made the craft etc.
  So you have inspired me to use my first Ј20 to do this and do a table top sale at end of March.
  I like the idea of saving as well so if all goes to plan I might put half of what I make into a savings account and reinvest the rest and build from there.
• @Tammy2
  I don't see silver as a speculative investment, but as a hedge against a currency collapse. It's more like "fire and forget" rather than checking all the time when it's a good time to buy or not. However I think it's a rather good time to buy, provided you have the nerves and the stomach to digest all the volatility. At the moment silver costs less that its mining cost, therefore miners are putting less silver in the market.
  I think gold is a better investments but 1 oz. gold coin at the moment is about Ј850, while a 1oz silver coin is about Ј17, including VAT. That falls within your price range.
• Thanks, I'll look into it.
• If you are any near Birmingham, try the Jewellery quarter, or even better Atkinsons in Sutton Coldfield, they sell a single 2015 Britannia for Ј21.71.
  I also want to add: avoid buying directly from Royal Mint or Post Office because they charge a 40-50% premium.
• Is bullionbypost a better bet?