the richest man in atherstone

This series of articles was inspired by a wealth-building strategy created by Stuart Goldsmith. It is called 'Double Your way to a Million' and you can sign up for your free copy on this webpage.

Ten minutes ago I had the opportunity to leapfrog to step 9.

I went to the local shop to pick up a few bits and the young girl on the checkout gave me an extra pound in my change.

Being an honest guy, I pointed out her error and gave her the quid back. She thanked me and I left. On the way home, I started thinking that I could have been on step 9 now if I'd have kept quiet (it was given to me freely, after all) but I am certain I've made the right moral decision. I think I'd be the same if I found a wad of notes on the floor. I'm sure I'd hand it in at a police station.

However, I think the odd discarded coin or two would be different. This begs the question 'How much is it ethically okay to keep?'

I think the answer varies from individual to individual and factors such as where the money was found, and in what circumstances, play some part in making the decision.

For now, I'm still on step 7 and, hopefully, should be on step 8 by sometime next week.

This series of articles was inspired by a wealth-building strategy created by Stuart Goldsmith. It is called 'Double Your way to a Million' and you can sign up for your free copy on this webpage.

Looking for inspiration for my "Double Your Way to Million" project, I searched the Internet to see if there was anyone else doing the same thing. I was amazed to discover that there are loads of other doublers out there recording there experiences in their blogs. I've made a list of my favourite three here:

XInfinitum's Double To A Million Plan

Gerard's Double Your Way To A Million Blog

Scott's Double2Mil Blog

I considered making a more comprehensive list but I would just be repeating the information on the websites above. Additionally, a number of other doublers are not following the rules from the original report, despite using the same basic strategy. To find even more doubling journals use the links on the aforementioned websites.

I am contemplating putting up a full 'blogroll' of other doublers in the near future.

This series of articles was inspired by a wealth-building strategy created by Stuart Goldsmith. It is called 'Double Your way to a Million' and you can sign up for your free copy on this webpage.

Last night, I went round my mum and dad's house and asked if I could trade my 8p for 16p in coppers that I had found on the dresser. My mum agreed.

While I was there, I fixed my dad's printer. I requested 16p as a token of his appreciation taking my total up to 32p.

Step 5 complete.
Cumulative Cash: 16p

Step 6 complete.
Cumulative Cash: 32p

This series of articles was inspired by a wealth-building strategy created by Stuart Goldsmith. It is called 'Double Your way to a Million' and you can sign up for your free copy on this webpage.

I was chatting with one of my work colleagues and mentioned that I had recently got a Gmail account. He asked if I could send him an invitation (the only way to get one in the UK is by invitation). I said sure but only if he traded my 4p to 8p (for my time and effort, not for the invitation). He agreed. We traded and I sent him an invitation for a Gmail account.

Step 4 complete.
Cumulative Cash: 8p

This series of articles was inspired by a wealth-building strategy created by Stuart Goldsmith. It is called 'Double Your way to a Million' and you can sign up for your free copy on this webpage.

I asked my work colleague to trade my 2p for 4p. Slightly perplexed, again he agreed.

Step 3 complete.
Cumulative Cash: 4p

This series of articles was inspired by a wealth-building strategy created by Stuart Goldsmith. It is called 'Double Your way to a Million' and you can sign up for your free copy on this webpage.

I asked my work colleague to exchange my penny for a 2p. He did then asked me why. I told him I was doing an experiment but couldn't divulge the details just yet.

Step 2 complete.
Cumulative Cash: 2p

This series of articles was inspired by a wealth-building strategy created by Stuart Goldsmith. It is called 'Double Your Way to a Million' and you can sign up for your free copy on this webpage.

I drove to Sainsbury's in my lunch break and parked right at the back of the car park. I strolled to the entrance scouring for coins on the ground but it wasn't until I got to the foyer that I saw the glitter of a penny. I hung around for a few seconds or so to make sure no-one was looking. I felt slightly embarrassed as I picked it up.

Step 1 complete.
Cumulative Cash: 1p

As I was surfing the Internet last week, I came across this advertisement for a free 'Double Your Way to a Million' report. Usually I dismiss these kind of webpages as Get Rich Quick Schemes that aren't worth my time but this particular one intrigued me and, as it only asked for my name and email address, I signed up.

I quickly received an email from them asking me to confirm my request by clicking a link, which I did followed by a second email containing a PDF of the 'Double Your Way to a Million' report.

The report describes a strategy for making a million pounds in 28 steps by doubling your money each time. It also explains how you can do it starting with no money whatsoever, which eliminates the fear of risk that may come about if you used your own cash. I can't go into all the details and rules as they are copyrighted by the author and it would be unethical to plagiarise his work, however I would urge you to sign up to receive it from here.

I enjoyed the read and was inspired to try this idea out for myself. It looks like fun and could almost be described as a game. I'll be reporting my progress here on my journal soon.

For the following few days I received a few more emails from the same guys that sent me the report. They were interesting but none (so far) have been as useful as the first. They haven't sent me any SPAM and I can unsubscribe whenever I want, so there haven't been any downsides to it.

What's this got to do with making money as an affiliate? Well, having decided to try out the 'Double Your Way to a Million' game, I sent the guys an email to make sure they didn't mind me writing about my experience in my online journal. They replied to tell me it was fine although I wouldn't be able to disclose the information in the report. They also mentioned that I could sign up as an affiliate to encourage people to download the report and I would make money on any products that they sold to visitors that had signed up from my website.

It looked like a good idea, so after asking them a few questions and reading the terms and conditions, I became an affiliate.

Is it a good affiliate programme? I don't know is the truthful answer. Neither do I know if the products they sell are good value because, as yet, I haven't tried them for myself. I do know that the free 'Double Your Way to a Million' report that they send with their first email is a fantastic read. If anyone has bought any of the products I would be interested to hear what they think of them. For me, this is an experiment into the profitability of affiliate programmes.

I would encourage anyone to sign up for the 'Double Your Way to a Million' report as it is 100% free, an entertaining read and a marvelous idea. You'll receive a number of other emails from the same company offering additional products that you have to pay for as well as interesting articles on wealth building but there is no obligation and you can unsubscribe at any time. If the products do take your fancy and you decide to purchase them, I get a percentage of the profit.

Click here to sign up for your 'Double Your Way to a Million' report.

It is free and all they ask for is your name and email address. You've got nothing to lose by doing so.

Grocery Shopping Part I
Grocery Shopping Part II
Grocery Shopping Part III
Grocery Shopping Part IV

Regular readers will know that I've spent the last month and a half working on ways to lower the cost of our grocery shopping.

On the whole, this project has been very successful, reducing the bill by over 20%, so I thought I'd share the strategies and tactics I've used by compiling a list of ten useful tips.

1. Make a shopping list - Write down exactly what you will be eating for each meal each day. Include a separate section for snacks and household goods (bleach, toothpaste, washing powder etc). Then, when you go online or to the supermarket, you'll know exactly what you require and won't under or over buy.
2. Set a target - Take a look at your previous shopping receipts and set a price target for your next shop. Having a goal to achieve will keep you focused. As an example, our shopping bill was around £43 a week for 2 adults and 2 young children. I aimed to get it down to £35 per week the first time and £32 the second time. I overshot my targets a little but it gave me something to aim for.
3. Stay in control 1 - Don't be tempted to buy something you don't need just because you fancy it. Stick to your plan from tip 1.
4. Stay in control 2 - In the same vein as the previous step, don't be tempted to buy something you don't need just because it's cheap. Stick to your plan in tip 1.
5. Buy more fruit and less chocolate - Fruit is generally cheaper and more filling than chocolate. I told my kids that they could only have chocolate on Friday's, Saturday's and Sunday's and in return they could choose what fruit we bought. They now love having fruit after meals in the week, partly because they feel like they've chosen it themselves and partly because they liked fruit anyway. Oh, and of course it's healthier too.
6. Look out for multi-buys - Many supermarkets offer 2-for-1 or 3-for-2 offers on various products. If there is something on your list (from tip 1) that is offered as a multi-buy, get it. However, make sure you'll be able to consume it before it's sell by date and you have enough space to store it, otherwise the exercise becomes futile.
7. Buy cheap no-frills brands - I've found many of the cheap products (the Smartprice brand at ASDA) to be as good as and somethimes better than the more expensive brands. And they're much cheaper, too. Try them, you'll probably like them and save money at the same time. For example, ASDA do 'Puffin' chocolate-covered biscuits that are almost identical to 'Penguin' bars but cheaper. However, some of the no-frills products are poor quality (baked beans, for example) so it will take a bit of trial and error to identify products with the best quality : price ratio.
8. Look at the quantities - It is easy to overlook the quantities of products but it is vital you do so for comparison purposes. For example, I was looking for some orange squash and found one brand was a bit cheaper than another. It wasn't until the squash was delivered that I realised I'd paid a little less for 1 litre when a few pence more would have got me 2 litres. Compare on price and quantity.
9. Search for discount codes - Many supermarkets offer discount vouchers that can reduce your overall bill. I used codes from this website get a tenner off when spending £50 or more. The MoneySavingExpert forums are also a good source of discount codes.
10. Don't make sacrifices - It is essential that you and your family don't feel as though they're losing out otherwise you'll be forced to go back to more expensive items. Make sure you get enough food to last until your next shopping period. There's no point starving to reduce your shopping bill. Explain to them what you're doing and ask them to let you know what they like and what they don't. They'll feel happier about it if they feel involved and can give you input. Talking from experience, I can say that it is possible (in fact it is quite easy) to reduce your bill without reducing the quality or amount of the food/drink you consume.

By following these tips, next time you go shopping you'll be able to make significant savings.

Good Luck.

Grocery Shopping Part I
Grocery Shopping Part II
Grocery Shopping Part III

It's time for the fortnightly shop again and I was surprised to see that we've still got loads of frozen food left from the last time, despite spending less money. This means I'll be able to make a huge saving this time round as I won't need to buy as many meals.

After adding what we needed to the shopping cart, the bill came to a shade over £40, more than half the average cost before I started this project. I got a voucher code from this website to get £10 off, but this only worked for orders over £50, so I added a few extra 'luxuries' (including a scented candle, a pizza cutter and a bread knife) to the list to tip it over the £50 requirement. So, essentially, I got these items for free.

I don't expect to be able beat this amount next time because we won't have as much left over in the freezer but I think it's possible to get a similar figure once every third two-weekly period. My aim is to spend no more than £200 every 6 weeks, which averages around £67 per fortnight. That's a saving of around a tenner a week and over £500 a year!

I have been considering changing my savings account for a while now due to the low interest rate of my Lloyds TSB Online Saver (currently 3.83%). The reason I have kept my money in this account for so long is that it is exceedingly convenient to transfer money to my current account as this also resides with Lloyds TSB and the transaction is immediate.

Don't get me wrong. The Online Saver Rate isn't poor. There are plenty of worse products, however there are also quite a few products that are much better.

As I mentioned in my last post, I have a few grand that I need to keep quickly and easily accessible for when we move house.

I plan to keep my £1000 in Premium Bonds as there are five £1'000'000 prizes next month instead of the usual two. I also plan to continue utilising my Lloyds TSB Monthly Saver, which has a rate of 8% (6.4% after tax). This is more than any savings account offers. That leaves me with the £3'800 in my Online Saver. I will keep £800 in there for emergencies (due to the convenience of immediate transfers) and the remaining £3000 will be moved to a better savings account.

Following this thread on the fantastic 'Cash Questions' forum, I decided it would be prudent to calculate how much of a difference changing my Savings Account would make.

Currently, I am earning 3.83% (3.07% NET) on my savings per year. That's 0.0084% per day (3.07 divided by 365). Changing savings account means I would lose out on 6 days interest (3 days to transfer it to the new account and 3 days to transfer it back). That's 0.05% (0.0084 multiplied by 6).

That means that my new savings account needs to have a NET interest rate of at least 3.12% (3.07 plus 0.05) to earn me exactly the same over the course of one year as I would if I left my money where it is. Over a six month period, which is a much more realistic prediction of how long my cash would be in the account, I would need a new interest rate of at least 3.17%

For comparison purposes, you could say my existing account has an interest rate of 3.17%.

Looking at the Savings Account market, the best interest savings account I have found is IceSave offering an interest rate of 4.25% NET (paid monthly). This is more than 1 percentage point higher than the 3.17% I valued my Lloyds TSB Online Saver at and would earn me over £30 more on my £3000 per annum.

On top of this, it would be useful to have an Icesave account up and running in case I should come into any money as it guarantees to keep the AER a quarter of a percentage point (0.25%) higher than the Bank of England interest rate for the next three years.

I should add that ICICI offer the same rate, however, I had a bad experience with them earlier this year and consequently will not be be using them again.

So, I just applied online for the Icesave account, which was very quick and easy to do and am now awaiting my paperwork.

In my case chasing percentage points was worthwhile as it made quite a big difference even after deducting 6 days interest, however, if I already had a table-topping product, it probably wouldn't be worth the effort.

Since I started this journal, I've been saving 10% of my earnings (recently upgraded to 12.5% when I quit smoking) and have accumulated a nice pile of cash. It breaks down as follows:

Lloyds TSB Online Saver - £3800
Lloyds TSB Monthly Saver - £2000
Premium Bonds - £1000
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Total - £6200
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That's a healthy sum and I'm pleased with my progress thus far. I am constantly seeing investment opportunities that I would dearly love to pump my cash into for higher returns. But there is a problem.

We have our house on the market.

This means I need to keep the cash liquid and easily accessible in case we require a bigger deposit on our new property.

I am feeling in limbo at the moment. I feel I am missing out on utilising my money on the opportunities I see, yet I cannot 'tie-up' the cash in case we need it when we move house.

It's an awful feeling that I hope you, dear reader, never have to experience.

The sooner we sell our house and buy another, the sooner I'll be happier and feel in control again.

Has anyone else had any similar experiences?

Grocery Shopping Part I
Grocery Shopping Part II

Followers of my series on grocery shopping will have seen that I have reduced our fortnightly spend from around £86 to £71, a saving of £15. That's a saving of £390 a year.

No-one in the household felt as though they were making sacrifices and everyone enjoyed the products I bought. In fact, my wife pointed out that it seemed as though we actually had more.

I originally planned to do this for just one fortnight, however following my success, I've now offered to do it for the next fortnight too.

Again, I did my shopping online and, with the plan of not spending any more than £70 and achieved a little over £67. I'm a little worried that I've forgot something important but I've checked and re-checked and everything seems to be there. Maybe I'll get my wife to check it...