Why pay for it when you can... WIN IT
YOU NEED to spend money to make money, so the saying g goes. But as our ‘ comping queens’ are about to prove, this isn’t always the case.
‘ Comping’ is where you systematically enter as many competitions as you can, from online prize draws to magazine e quizzes. The idea is that the more e you enter, the more likely it is the e odds will turn in your favour.
But how to get in on the action n — and is it worth the effort?
‘MY DAILY COMMUTE NETTED ME £15,000’
BUSY mum-of-two Hollie Hutchinson finds time to enter up to 20 competitions a day on her daily commute and in her lunch hour.
Since she started comping six years ago, the 34-year- old from East Yorkshire has won £15,000 worth of prizes.
These include a family holiday at a five-star retreat in Bath with Hoseasons, which would have cost £3,000, and unique experiences, such as a private barbecue with celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal.
Hollie also blogs about dealhunting and competitions on her website Thriftymum.com.
‘In the week, I look for quick-toenter competitions on social media, and at the weekend I do the ones that require more effort like writing a caption,’ says Hollie. ‘Some require you to take a nice photo, so I involve my sons, Ted, two, and James, three.’
‘MAMMA MIA! I WON A GREEK HOLIDAY’
SAMANTHA KING spends 50 hours a week entering competitions during coffee breaks from job as a shop assistant and continues late into the night.
She enjoys the buzz of the process and some of her prizes have been priceless. The 49year- old from Wiltshire won a Mamma Mia!-themed holiday for two in Greece when the film was released in 2008.
‘I went on the trip with my best friend, Sara, and it was wonderful — it also inspired me to take comping more seriously.
‘In July, I’m going to meet Sir Tom Jones for a day at Newbury horse races through a competition on Facebook. He is charming on TV and I’ve always been a huge fan of his music.’
Not everyone in the family is a fan of Samantha’s comping habit. ‘My husband, Will, says I love comping more than him, especially as I take my phone to bed!’
‘I’M A NECTAR-POINT MILLIONAIRESS!’
RETIRED carer Bonita Jackson has caught the comping bug, too, after winning the Daily Mail’s Nectar Millionaire competition this month. Readers who enter the code on the back of the newspaper on the MyMail.co.uk website 20 times in a month are automatically included in a prize draw to win a million Nectar points — equivalent to £5,000.
The 65-year- old from Stokeher on-Trent says she will put the points towards a new kitchen.
‘ I’ve never won anything before, but now that I’ve won this I’ll definitely enter more,’ says Bonita.
‘I just can’t stop smiling and it goes to show that if you don’t enter any prize draws, then you will never know what you could be missing.’