Super, Savvy Savers Win Title

Beating thousands of families, the Abell family from Oakham have triumphed to be crowned the UK’s savviest family. They win the title after showcasing their money-saving talents in the national Nectar Savvy Family competition.

The Abell family were originally selected to go head to head with seven other frugal families in a blogging competition. For five weeks, the families kept thousands of readers updated at nectar.com/savvy with advice on how they save money on everything from shopping and days out to holidays and household bills. The Abells were deemed the most creative and ‘savvy’ when it comes to saving money, offering the most beneficial advice for other cost conscious consumers in the UK.

Mum, Julie, comments, “Taking part in the Nectar Savvy Family competition has been fun for the entire family and we’re so excited to be rewarded for our money-saving efforts. With seven of us to feed and clothe we’ve always considered ourselves to be a savvy family, but competing against so many other resourceful families encouraged us to go the extra mile and become even more inventive with our ideas.”

With fears that a triple-dip recession could still be on the horizon, more and more families are searching for advice on how to be money-savvy. The Abell family’s blog proves a handy resource for top tips on how to get the most out of your money.  Some of their money-saving advice includes:

·  When the seat handle on my car broke off I knew exactly where to get a new one - the scrapyard - 50p! Being a five car family means that we have to be savvy when it comes to repairs. We are lucky my granddad is a mechanic and can help us with anything serious, but even small repairs can be expensive if you are not savvy.

·  Make your own heat packs - It took me five minutes to run a ½ inch seam around a piece of old blanket. We then used a funnel to fill it with rice and I hand stitched the corner. Less than 10 minutes later I was relaxing with my home-made heat bag, you can fill some with rice, flaxseed and wheat using home grown lavender and herbs to scent them.

·  Head to the market at the end of the day – we found bowls of fruit and veg reduced from £1 each to three bowls for only £1 - a great saving. Buying your fruit and veg this way makes a real saving on the family shop, especially when there are seven of you in the household.

The blogs were judged by a panel that included property developer and television presenter Sarah Beeny, who also wrote her own savvy blog on how her family make their money go further (see blog at nectar.com/savvy).

Sarah says: “The standard of the finalists’ blogs was really high and, through judging the competition, I’ve learnt lots of innovative tips to help save money for my family. The Abells proved to be a cut above the competition and wholly deserve to be crowned the 2013 Nectar Savvy Family winners. Writing my own blog during the competition has helped me to be extra-savvy and my family is going to keep using all of the tips we’ve picked up throughout the process. Being money-savvy is so simple these days; there’s really no excuse. It’s amazing what a few simple changes can do to make your money go further!”

Fellow judge, Nectar’s Marketing Director, James Frost, adds: “This has been a great year for the Nectar Savvy Family competition and the panel were blown away by the dedication and innovative tips from our finalists. The blogs offer sound advice on how to face the tough economic climate and demonstrate that it’s still possible to have fun on a tight budget.”

As well as being crowned Nectar Savvy Family 2013, the Abell family has also been rewarded with a fantastic haul of goodies for the whole family to enjoy from Nectar and its partners including:

·  Four easyJet flights

·  £500 to spend on eBay

·  £500 gift card from Sainsbury’s

·  £500 from BP to spend on fuel

·  £500 gift card from Bella Italia

·  A year's cover from British Gas on a Home Care policy

·  A 32inch Smart LED TV from American Express

·  £500 Nectar eShops prize package

·  £500 Vision Express gift card

·  100,000 Nectar points

First established in 2009 in response to the UK's economic downturn, Nectar Savvy Family has captured consumer imagination and established loyal followers with thousands of clever and unusual money-saving hints and tips being offered and shared.

To read all the Nectar Savvy Family blogs, which are live on the website, visit nectar.com/savvy.

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For further information contact Katy Jameson, Stuart Henshall or

Emma Scott at Clarion Communications

T: 0207 343 3142/3209 E: nectar.team@clarioncomms.co.uk