Spread betting is not just about trying to earn a bit of extra money, it also has some seriously practical uses too!

You can use spread betting for hedging. You may have heard this term before and thought hedging was the preserve of big business, or something you pay a gardener for! All a hedge means is an investment to limit your loss, simple eh? Set your level suitably and you will be well protected!

You could use spread betting on interest rates (also LIBOR) to protect against any spikes in interests rates which would impact upon a tracker mortgage. Spread betting on interest rates is a little more complicated, a buy bet means you think interest rates will go down and a sell bet means you think it will go up.

You could place a spread bet on gas to “Insulate” yourself from the rising cost of heating bills! Heating bills have risen massively in the last few years and with further rises tipped for the future, this could save you a small fortune.

The list is endless, how about hedging off more risky investments in your share portfolio, hedging off other spread bets, protecting against currency fluctuations when travelling abroad or even future petrol rises!