About me
So guys, I have been entering competitions for the past 8 years, while working full time, so missed loads that I could have entered if I’d had the time. But over those 8 years, I won prizes adding up to £10,000.
So where do I go to enter these competitions.
Without a doubt the only place I use is the Money Saving Expert website, that was set up by Martin Lewis.
I use the Forums on this site and if anyone external to the site, posts anything questionable the regulars on the forum are on to it immediately as are the forum team.
In case you’ve not been here before we will start by helping you around the website. First head to the Website
Money Saving Expert: Credit Cards, Shopping, Bank Charges, Cheap Flights and more
Then you need to head to the Forums, which you will find in the top white menu on the image above.
To get the best benefits and to help you know what you have and have not entered, it is useful to join the Forum. So, press the pink button, top right (as above) and complete the registration form (see below).
So where do I find the competitions on the Forum?
Scroll down to the section “Shopping and Freebies” and head right to the bottom.
And click on competitions time.
What is the difference about being logged in to the Forum
Well, if you are not logged in this is your view, giving you the competitions, but none of the extras.
But as below when I am logged in, you can see competitions I have entered, those I have chosen not to, those I haven’t looked at yet and those with new comments.
The main benefit is so you don’t DUPE yourself. With many competitions you can only enter once, if you accidently enter again, you lose all entries.
From now on I am only going to show being logged into the Forum.
What else do I need to know about the competitions on the Forum
There is an agreed format on the Forums as to how posters write new competition post headings, you can see what I mean on the main screen demonstrated above.
E:18/02 means the competition ends on the 18th February
On some you will see FB, T, Insta or similar. I stay away from FB and Insta as they generally want you to tag a number of people in addition to following them. Twitter just usually wants a follow and a retweet, so I’m happy to do that.
GLEAM or Rafflecopter – this is a special competition form the host is using, usually requiring you to like, follow, look at a website, each action usually gets a competition entry.
MD – this is a magazine daily, like Good Housekeeping, with these you can enter every day if you like to increase your chances of winning.
In December there is some thing called Advents, this is a whole new topic and I will do a new blog later in the year for that.
How do I actually enter the competition?
So based on the example above, you just simply click on the web link.
At this stage if I’m entering, I click the entered button, so I know what I’ve entered, but I also click the comp-liment button, this is a way of saying thankyou to the person for adding the competition.
It is thought bad manners in the Forum, to click reply on the thread just to say thank you as it makes people think there has been a valuable comment added.
The above is the form for this competition, a pretty simple one. They are not all this simple.
Other examples of elements of forms you might see.
What you are seeing above is only part of the form. But you will only see little red stars against 2 of the lines. These are essential, the others are not.
Don’t sign up for more than you need to or want to and only complete fields that are essential. If the phone number is not essential, I certainly don’t complete it.
Some newsletter sign ups are essential, but you are free to unsubscribe if and when you want to. I would suggest you wait for a few weeks after the competition has closed though, if it’s something you want to win!
Generally if a company goes a while without posting a competition and they are quite spammy with their emails, I will unsubscribe without hesitation.
How many competitions do you need to enter to win?
The more you enter the more chance you have of winning! I aim to enter, as close to 100 per day as I can, in average over each month.
How will I know if I have won?
Generally, it takes a good month after a competition has closed before you are informed. Usually with the competitions I enter, I am emailed. Some have just turned up, which is always a lovely surprise.
What if I can’t cope with going through all those competitions on the Forum?
Well, that’s where I’m here to help. Once a week I plan to put a list of new Travel related competitions on my blog.
So, I suggest if you want this help, follow my blog, then you will get an email each time there has been new competitions posted.
Also, on the Forum there is a ton of other information, I have only touched the surface. But if you need any help send me a comment via the blog and I will see what I can do to help.
One last bit of advice
It is worth changing just one element of your date of birth when filling in the competition forms, just a small thing to protect your identity, should this be needed.
Ooh one more piece of advice.
Also it’s always worth reading the terms and conditions, as I’ve had to decline one once as the hotel stay was for that same night!
Many of the folks that kindly add the competitions to the Forum also add the Terms and Conditions which is really useful. So if you do win, you can do a search on the site and find this information, while you are waiting for your prize.
Last piece of advice .. for now!
It is always worth scanning the other comments against a competition as sometimes the thread is a duplicate, which could jeopardise your original entry, or someone believes this is a dodgy post. Or the provided answer is wrong. Sometimes, with some of the competitions with multiple answers, the order of the questions and answers changes. So loads of information to protect your competition entry!
HAPPY COMPING FOLKS!! Let me know if you are lucky enough to win anything.
Disclosure – I am not employed by Money Saving Expert and have no links with anyone working there.
Ears and Ideas 