the richest man in atherstone

Stoozing is something I happened upon whilst browsing the Internet about eighteen months ago. It is a technique to make free money from credit cards. I thought it was a marvellous idea when I first read about it however I had to put it on hold for a while because I was planning on moving house and didn't want the credit checks from credit card applications having an adverse affect on my credit rating and cutting down my choice of mortgage.

Regular readers will know that I moved house about six months ago and so I decided to pick up where I left off and begin my first 'stooze'.

What is Stoozing?
There are a fair number of credit cards available that offer an interest-free period on balance transfers for a specified amount of time as well as having no balance transfers fees. There are also one or two credit cards that offer the option to do a balance transfer to a current account, rather than a credit card (known as a super balance transfer or SBT in the trade). Using the two, it is possible to get a free loan for the time period of the 0% offer that can be utilised as a method of earning interest.

For example: I apply for a credit card that gives me 0% on balance transfers for 7 months. I am offered the card with a credit limit of £8'000. I do a free balance transfer of all £8000 from that card to the SBT card, then a second balance transfer from my SBT card to my bank account. From there I can put the money in a high interest savings account until I have to pay the money back at the end of the introductory offer. If my savings account has a 5% net interest rate, I would earn £200 interest over 6 months. The important thing to remember is to pay the minimum payments each month and make sure the capital is paid off on time, but I don't think that would pose a problem for me.

My First Stooze
Around six weeks ago, I applied for an Egg Money card. This is a Super Balance Transfer card as I can use it to transfer funds to my Current Account. Egg charge balance transfer fees, so it can't be used as a Stoozing Card but it acts as the 'middle-man' between the Stoozing Card and my bank account.

Next, I applied for an Ulster Bank Credit Card, which offered an introductory 0% interest rate on balance transfers for 6 months. Basically, this means I can borrow money from it and not be charged any interest for 6 months. When it arrived, I found they had given me a credit limit of £2000. A nice amount to test the water with, I thought.

The next step was to perform a balance transfer of the £2000 from the Ulster Bank Credit Card to my Egg Money Card, which was achieved with a quick phone call. I asked for the exact date the interest-free period ran out and made a brief note of the date and time of the call as well as the name of the guy I spoke with (just in case something went wrong).

A week or so later, the funds had arrived in my Egg Money account and I made a quick call to them requesting a BACS transfer of £2000 to my current account, which they did. The funds are in transit as I write.

What Next?
Well, providing everything goes to plan, I should earn around £32.50 over the next 5 months. The money is going to my A+L current account which has an interest rate of 6.5% (5.2% after tax). I am going to keep £1500 in the account and the other £500 will be bounced between this current account and another. The reason for this is that the A+L Premier Direct account requires a £500 deposit each month.

If everything goes well, I plan on applying for a few more credit cards early next year to replace the Ulster Bank card when the introductory period runs out and also to bump up my credit limit so I can earn more interest

Where Can I Find Out More About Stoozing?
For those interested in trying it, stoozing.com is a fantastic resource and has a very useful Guide to Stoozing. What's more, there is a fantastic forum full of friendly 'Stoozers' that will happily answer any questions you have or explain the bits you don't fully understand. I've experienced this first-hand and can say they're a great bunch of guys and gals.

A couple of warnings: Firstly, you need to be on the ball. If you're lazy with your finances and don't have a fine attention to detail, don't do it. A little mistake could easily wipe out your profits or even worse, cost you money. Also, make sure you read those terms and conditions.

Happy Stoozing