Topic: I won £50 - should I use it to buy Bitcoin? - page 2. (Read 1061 times)

If bitcoin is still at the early stage of creation(like being cheap) I would have said that investing your £50 won draw in bitcoin is not a bad idea but a good move since bitcoin is cheap. But here we are on how expensive bitcoin is, $26k + currently. Investing £50 into bitcoin will never give much gain.

It will be a good idea for you to go by what you prefer instead of food as you have replied to humanvelocity when he suggested you use the £50 for a nice dinner, which prefers to fry a sneak instead of food.

If I am to say that's a good choice than Investing the £50 into bitcoin just because you believe that we will see a sharp rise in the price of bitcoin later this year or next year when the £50 won't earn you many profits

https://twitter.com/damoshe4love/status/1281367409623019521/photo/1

In my country, because of the ruggedness and durability of Volvo cars from the 80s and 90s, they are mostly converted to pickup vans. They are mainly used to carry iron rods and timber. Another good fact about these cars is that they are easily maintained, mechanics are available and the parts are cheap. But the main problems is that most of the spare parts are scarce. But I can testify that they fit the roads of my country. I once owned a Mercedes 190 and till date I am regretting why I sold it. I was advised to sell it because of its high fuel consumption. But it was reliable and easy to maintain and I loved it.   

We have had many cryptocurrencies that have bragged that they will unseat bitcoin and become the number one coin in the world. Most of them did not last more than one year. Before now most people couldn't differentiate between bitcoin and other coins. They were deceived that all cryptocurrencies are the same. Some of them lost money because of these misconceptions. But people are currently having more access to bitcoin education and they can now differentiate the features of these coins.    

2022 was the year that exposed the vulnerability of exchanges. Anybody dealing with them is ready to bear the risk.
If you think the dollar is a failing currency, then my country's currency is dead and buried.  

I was also surprised that the predictions of the US and NATO regarding the fall of the Russian economy because of the sanctions didn't come to pass. Russia had to re-strategies by creating new business partnerships with other countries. If the US keeps shutting its doors to bitcoin, other nations that acknowledge its benefits will open their doors wide.    

Thanks for the continuing intresting replies.

- Low mileage on a red block Volvo is arouind 500,000. Cars from the 80s and 90s, and in particular some Volvos, Mercedes and BMWs, were built to last, and don't have built in obsolescence and excessive technology. A friend was quoted £700 for some repairs to a Nissan Juke, it was discovered that a brake sensor was faulty, and he had to wait 3 days for one to be delivered, and pay an extra £200 for supply and fitting. With my Volvo, I press the brake pedal, and fluid is pushed against the pad pistons, and the car stops. They is no computer control, sensors or relays to privide false information and cause the car to pull to the side. Of course it has the fancy modern concept of servo assistance. Volvo 740s are underpriced in my opinion, and I'm using the saloon as a daily driver. I also buy E5 petrol, and not the 10% ethanol scam stuff that the UK governement is pushing at the moment.

It isn't that Bitcoin is the best, it is that Bitcoin is unique. I realised early on that it had managed to create a virtual asset that was also a hard asset, and it is the only crypto that does this. Because of public awareness of the technology, it is unlikely that another crypto with these properties will be created.

There is so much flux and fraud in the crypto exchanges, that I decided not to use them. I'll still buy Bitcoin via P2P with trusted members here, but I'm really focused on selling domain names for Bitcoin. I've just turned down $2,500 for a name, and I'm asking 0.2 Bitcoin for it. The dollar is a failing currency, and is of no use to me.

I agree that the price of Bitcoin is likely to go up in the near future. The US promotion of Bitcoin by pretending to ban it whilst highlighting its virtues, is certain to increase its popularity. US sanctiuons boosted the Russian and Chinese economies, so lets have some Bitcoin sanctions.

There are so many coins in the market but Bitcoin is still the best. If op want to invest in Bitcoin then he has to do that as soon as possible so that he would not use the money for something else that would make him not to be able to invest the money. Investing in Bitcoin with as little as $50 is not too bad since op can always buy more Bitcoin and hold since the market is always volatile to either give it more value or reduce the value. The holding can double with time if he keep buying more and ready to hold it for a long time since we are already in a bear market hoping for Bitcoin price to increase with time.

I think it's the opposite, since the premium bonds are government-run, they probably want you to believe your expected return is higher than it actually is 
But I guess it's still better than buying lotto tickets.



If it has original parts and fairly low mileage, it could be worth even more than £5k actually. But I don't think anyone would buy a car priced as a classic for everyday driving and to save money. They'd go for a cheap car that is not yet considered a classic.

I don't buy the median theory, but then I'm not a statistician, your theory sounds a bit like government speak.   I do know that the chances of winning a £1,000,000 are about 1:3billion, and that most of the winners have a £30,000 holding. This used to be the maximum, but it has now been raised to £50,000. That would tend to imply at many bond holders have other substantial investments, and buy the bonds to diversify their portfolio. Being realistic, I expect any prizes that I win will be in the £25-£100 range, and 3 or 4 of those will keep me ahead on returns. I don't like ISAs for various personal reasons, and I haven't got any.

Anyway, I bought another Volvo a short while ago, and this one is in potential concours condition. I paid £850 fior it, and it is probably worth £4,000-£5,000. These classic cars seem to be appreciating as people turn away from electric cars. I think many are becoming aware of the environmental damage resulting from buying new cars, and the savings you make from driving reliable classics.



The estate is interesting, as it has a factory fitted rear view camera, unusual for a 1989 car. The camera was made for the US market, and the screen is mounted in the passenger sun visor. I'm not sure how a UK model managed to get one installed.

I think premium bonds are specific to the UK. It's an interesting concept, instead of earning a fixed interest as with the regular bonds, premium bonds do not earn interest but they enter a lottery instead. So the average expected winnings stand at a bit above 3% p.a. (not quite true for smaller investors as I posted above) but you also have a chance of winning big, with the top prize being £1 million.

Great alternative for playing Lotto, as you don't spend money on the tickets, but not so great as an investment,

Well I can understand  the right corner you can be and since you're a bitcoin  maximalist, I really don't need to begin preaching the benefits and importance of bitcoin  to you as I believe  you're already conversant with them.
I dont know of the bond you mentioned and this is the first time I'm hearing of it but I think it also sound great but what are the criteria for drawing the raffle and picking the winner and if its truly fair, then I don't mind saying that you keep giving it a shot but as for the £50 I think you can simply just keep  pushing  the winnings into bitcoin  since you also talked about diversifying.

You would think so but not quite. this is nicely explained in this Martn Lewis's article:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/premium-bonds/

So are ISAs.



Makes sense, but consider if the difference between a higher rate account and premium bonds is worth paying for the tiny chance of wining £1 mil.

Hey not so fast!Bitcoin can be highly rewarding but for noobs it can also go the other way round.
In my early days I used to follow crypto channels on YouTube and follow their advice. Obviously it did not make me rich but smarter.
Investing in bitcoin is no child's play. Simply hodling wont achieve you anything if you do not know how bitcoin and the market works. What makes people invest and why and when. Believe me if you come to know how indicators predict you wont need any indicator in your whole life.
For some negative news is panic time for some it is the golden time.

Surely the odds are the same for a £25 investment as for a £25,000 one. Of course the chances of a win are higher for a larger holding. Don't forget the 3.3% is tax free as well. The first eligible draw for my bonds was in January, and if you assume that I will pick up another £50 before the end of the year, then I will still be down on the interest I could have earned.. But I wouldn't have had the fun of checking every month to make sure that I haven't won £1,000,000. Also, I wouldn't have been able to start this thread, and as I mentioned, I have found the replies very interesting and illuminating. When considering replies, you need to take into account my personal situation. I'm a rebellious prepper, who is over 80, and because I decided to opt for an offgrid lifestyle, I don't really want for anything. Well maybe some alloy wheels for my Volvo daily driver.


I appreciate the need for emergency fod supplies, but I already have 3 removal crates full of tins and pasta ( those are the 3 foot long crates), and those include sardines, salmon, tuna, and varieties of meat, as well as vegetables and soup. I should probably buy some Bitcoin right now, as I suspect it will drop a bit further, and then shoot up. However, I try to deal in domain names to build my Bitcoin investment. I can get a much better return on my investment by buying classic Volvo cars. I paid less than scrap value for Cinderella ( the volvo in the image), and it probably worth around £1,500, because it is a bit of a rat rod, but it is a great daily driver. It only cost £50 to pass the government inspection a couple of months ago, as it didn't need any repairs. Not bad for a 1988 car!

[edit]
I forgot to mention that I still seem to be on the good luck roll. Somebody had left £4.71 in change in the do iy yourself checkout at the supermarket. Not a lot, but all these bits are mounting up.

Why even bother? Premium bonds yield 3.3% p.a. and there were some calculations that you'd need at least ~£10k to get that, otherwise the yield is even lower.
So, unless you're into gambling, you can get better return on fixed-term saving accounts.
Or, considering RPI is something around 13%, you can ironically just spend it on a long-lasting goods (clothes, canned foods etc) before their prices go further up. Probably still a better move than 3.3% bonds.

I hope you'll be lucky once again and earn more money in the month of July. I would recommend that you consider investing at least a portion of your earnings in Bitcoin while using the remaining part to enjoy life. It's unfortunate that the draw is scheduled after your birthday, which falls on June 20th, but that's just the way it is and you can't do anything about it 

You could probably explore alternative P2P sites online. As far as I know, there are some platforms that don't necessitate any form of verification and you might come across ones that accept UK sterling as a payment method.

Not only buy some Bitcoin but keep doing it. Just as savings. Keep byuing monthly. If you can afford it, why not? Instead of doing it with a bank and with fiat, do it with Bitcoin!

Well I seem to be on a roll at the moment. This £50 win, plus the £100 I mentioned on the economics board, and a £30 cashback payment on my debit card all seem to be good omens. Also, I noticed a 50 pence piece under the bench in the cafe, and I picked up £20 in the street. They were those horrible shiny plastic notes that seem to work their way out of your pocket if you aren't careful. I spent a year playing cards for a living in my late teens, and one thing I learnt was that you should run your winnings and cut your losses. This is the opposite of the bahaviour of most people, who quit while they are ahead and chase their losses. So what is the point of this post? I wanted to say that I'm pushing my luck, and I bought another £500 worth of bonds. Unfortunately, they won't go into the draw until July, the they won't be eligible on my birthday ( June 20th ).

I did make a half hearted attempt to buy some Bitcoin in this forum, but, as I can only pay by UK Sterling faster payments, I didn't get any takers.

I think what you do by wanting to buy bonds again with the aim that one day you will be able to get a bigger prize, of course it's very good, but if you compare it to investing in bitcoin at a time like this, of course it's worth considering too. because investing in bitcoin by comparing buying bonds where only hoping to get a lottery is of course very disproportionate to investing in bitcoin, in my perception that investment in bitcoin is more attractive because there is certainty compared to only lottery which is not necessarily possible.
but everything is returned to those who have the funds because they will experience it themselves and there should be no intervention whatsoever, as long as they feel that what is being done is the best, just do it.

The government in England is very clever at pretending that it is not taxing things, whilst secretly taking money. Premium Bonds are one example. They purport to be tax free, but infact the interest that is used to create the prize pool is paid at under market rates. So bond winnings are effectively taxed at source. They do the same thing with the National Lottery., as you don't pay tax on the prizes. However, the lottery company pays tax on the money it receives. Another scam is horse racing bets. You have to pay tax on your winnings, but you can elect to pay this on the amount you bet. So you are effectively buying a bet for the government, win or lose you have still paid it. Of course the government taxes the bookie on his profits as well. I suspect one of the main reasons governments are stressed about Bitcoin is the fact that it is hard for them to impose taxes if users avoid exchanges. I'm surprised that the new bank notes didn't include QR codes - that would have allowed the government to track the passage of serial numbers through the economy.

Congratulations on your win and happy to hear that you have finally been credited the amount you won regardless of them holding it longer than expected. Hey Jet I will like to know why the government couldn't send the it once you were announced as the winner, where they waiting for some clearification or they were waiting for you to keep requesting for it to be sent.I will also like to know if some kind of amount was deducted the €50 for tax please do well to update me.

Congratulations on receiving your prize yesterday. It is nice you received it.


That is one thing with the government when it comes to payment or anything that involves cash. The delay in payment is hell. They will tell you there are laid down procedures for payment process to scale through. They will find every possible means to scrutinize you, the payment and to know where such fund is coming from before anything takes place so if they find any fault, they would take the money and pass charges against you so they do not pay you but the Same government officials and politicians are at it embezzling funds meant for public use and nobody is going after them but they will find all means to take away the little  you have added to their own.


Sir, leaving my prize with the government is not feasible as they can not be trusted. They are not tired of looting.. I think my little prize would be good enough for me to take it and help the poor and needy as the case maybe. That would make me satisfied as I did it myself instead of the government.

I received my £50 prize yesterday. The gov seems to be quick on telling me that I won, but slow on transferring the money ( surprise, surprise ). I belive you get same day credit if you decided to leave your prizes with them.