‘I quit my job...now I enter competitions for a living’
Contest queen wins £35k of prizes in 7 years
MUM Rebecca McBain prizes her lifestyle after giving up her job to become a full-time comper.
Rebecca has amassed goodies worth more than £35,000 in seven years.
She first started comping in 2016 while on maternity leave – and handily won a hamper full of baby products and clothes.
When she returned to work as a gym receptionist and had to find £800 a month for childcare, she quit her job to concentrate on contests.
Rebecca’s prize haul includes cash, gift cards, holidays and tailored suits.
Holiday wins to places like Poland and Milan, Italy have allowed her to treat her family to experiences she could never have afforded.
She even won a £1,000 suit for husband Rod, 54, an emergency worker.
The mum of two, 37, enters competitions through Facebook groups, newsletters, websites and magazines.
She says there is a huge community of compers online, such as Lucky Learners on Facebook, who support each other.
Rebecca, of Preston, Lancs, said: “It’s an absolute buzz. It doesn’t matter if it’s a big prize or a little prize. It means I can give my family something I wouldn’t usually be able to give them. Anyone can do it, you just have to get started.The best prize I won was a trip to the Isle of Man.
“The company that ran it paid for everything – food, the ferry cabin, all the kids’ activities. It was a wonderful few days away.”
Rebecca spends two hours entering around 100 competitions every day, while her youngest child is napping.
Funds
She either keeps the prizes or sells them to raise some extra funds.
Her top comping tip is to find contests with low numbers of entrants. She said: “They’re not life-changing prizes, maybe £50 to £100, gift cards, clothes, a lot of toys, pet products and stuff for the house.
“But without it we probably wouldn’t be able to afford to go on holidays or on extra days out.”