Now Now Grumpypants…
Friday 6th June, 2008 - £8,920.19 in debt…
As I said in my monthly update extravaganza, I’ve discovered Consumer Pulse and it’s turning out to be a nice little pocket-money-spinner.
If you’re after money-making tips, please beware: You can only sign up if you get an invitation in the post. You might say this is rubbish and elitist (is it? …Probably not), but it makes me feel like a VIP so I don’t care what you think.
The site is run by TNS, which is apparently the UK’s leading market information group. “What’s a market information group?” I hear you ask. Well, apparently it’s something that provides “market measurement, analysis, insight and advice to national and multi-national companies”. Right-oh.
Anyway, I don’t really care who runs Consumer Pulse. It gives me money to spend on shiny things.
The set-up is this:
(1) You register
(2) You answer a few questions about your household
(3) You get some points
(4) Whenever you buy stuff, you answer questions about your purchases
(5) You get more points
(6) And what do points mean? Prizes! Yes, you then browse through the vouchers available (for high street shops like Waterstone’s and Next, holidays, restraurant meals, days out, etc), send off for one, and spend it. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
Luckily, you can build up points really quickly. Register 20 purchases and you get £10 in vouchers. You also get the equivalent of £5 when you sign up, and more when you update your details. Every step is simple and clearly laid-out, and registering a purchase takes about 30 seconds.
This, along with the fact that I’m not getting paid for two weeks, has encouraged me to budget. If I can restrict myself to buying treats using vouchers from Consumer Pulse, surely I can seriously reduce my outgoings…?
In the style of Spendaholics, I’m giving myself £20 a week for the next two weeks. This is just for day-to-day things – my direct debits will still leave my bank account, but I’ll withdraw £20 today and next Friday, and that will be all my disposable cash.
If I find something I want to buy myself as a treat, I’ll try to cover it with a voucher. If that’s not possible, I won’t buy it.
This is going to be HORRIBLE.
