Blogging battle begins as eight families bid to be crowned UK's savviest

Eight cost conscious families are in the running to be crowned Britain’s savviest, having been selected from thousands to compete in the annual money-saving advice competition, Nectar Savvy Family. For the next six weeks, these frugal families will be blogging at nectar.com/savvy about how they make their budget stretch further, sharing their best money-saving tips, for the chance to win a bumper prize package worth £10,000.

Over the course of the blogging period, the Nectar Savvy Family competition will give insight into the daily lives of families from across the UK, working together to beat tough financial times whilst still managing to enjoy quality experiences and activities together. The finalists are:

•  The Beesley Family from Tonbridge, Kent

•  The O’Callaghan-Bowskill Family from Lincoln

•  The Smith-Wilby Family  from Leicester

•  The Johnson Family from Birmingham

•  The Joyce Family from Brightlingsea, Essex

•  The Staniforth Family from Leeds

•  The Oliver Family from Forth, South Lanarkshire

•  The Wedge Family from Warrington

At the end of the blogging phase , the family deemed to be the ‘savviest’ will be selected by the judging panel, which includes TV property presenter, Sarah Beeny, Money-Saving Champion and founder of LetsSaveMoney.com, Sarah Willingham and Nectar Managing Director, Will Shuckburgh.

The winners will be treated to a £10,000 prize package from Nectar partners, including:

•  Family holiday worth up to £3,000 from Expedia

•  £1,000 gift card from Sainsbury’s  

•  £1,000 to spend on eBay

•  £500 gift card from Homebase

•  Four return flights to Alicante from easyJet

•  32” TV and iPod nano from American Express

•  £500 gift card from Vision Express

•  100,000 Nectar points from BP

•  Merlin Entertainments family annual pass 

•  English Heritage annual joint adult membership

•  Hive Active Heating ™ by British Gas 

•  A choice of any six annual magazine subscriptions as featured on nectar.com/spend

•  Joint annual Royal Horticultural Society membership PLUS two tickets to a Royal Horticultural Society Flower show (Hampton Court Flower Show or Tatton Park Flower Show. Children go free)

•  200,000 Nectar points from Nectar

Sarah Beeny, property developer and television presenter, who returns to the judging panel for 2014, comments: “I pride myself on having an eye for a good deal and, as a Nectar Savvy Family judge, I’ll be on the lookout for those families who are being inventive.  What really excites me is when I find a tip I hadn’t previously thought of, everyone knows the basics, the new ones are the ones which normally make a family stand out.”

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.

Visit nectar.com/savvy to follow the families’ progress over the next six weeks, as they share their money-saving hints and tips on a range of weekly themes includingLeisure and Hobbies, Holidays and Activities and Household/DIY.

                                                                 ENDS

For more press information, case studies or images please contact the Nectar PR team on:

nectar.team@clarioncomms.co.uk / 0207 479 0910

Notes to Editors

The eight Nectar Savvy Family finalists

•  THE BEESLEY FAMILY (Tonbridge, Kent)

The Beesley family from Tonbridge in Kent consists of stay-at-home mum, Rebecca, her husband Richard, a local government officer, and their three children Joshua (9), Daniel (8) and Trinity (2). The whole family gets involved in money saving, with the kids pitching in to save electricity and water around the house and looking out for coupons in the local papers. For the Beesleys, being savvy is not about doing less or cutting back – instead they find themselves spending more time together as a family by putting the money they save to good use on days out and trips away. They have fun hunting down a bargain and entering competitions as a team, and recently won a free hotel stay for the family which they plan to take later in the year.

•  THE O’CALLAGHAN-BOWSKILL FAMILY (Lincoln)

Prison officer, Karen and her fiancé, Matthew are passionate about finding simple ways to save money so that they can treat themselves from time-to-time without breaking the bank. The Lincoln based couple is currently saving for their wedding next year and they have plenty of savvy tips for cutting costs on the big day – including growing their own wedding flowers! Karen is a keen chef and loves inventing new recipes and shopping around for more affordable ingredients so that the pair can enjoy tasty meals together without sacrificing on taste.

•  THE SMITH-WILBY FAMILY (Leicester)

The Smith family consists of IT consultant, Craig and his partner, Victoria who works full-time as a carer. The Leicester couple are both very much involved in being as savvy as possible to ensure they have solid savings for the future. Craig and Victoria are super savvy when it comes to cooking, making one large meal on a Sunday night which they eat for dinner before using the leftovers for lunch for the entire working week. 

•  THE JOHNSON FAMILY (Birmingham)

The Birmingham based Johnson family consists of artist, Susan, her engineer partner, Cass and their two daughters Jessica and Sophie. Susan is always on the hunt for a great supermarket deal, keeping her eye out for vouchers in the mail and competitive prices online. When the family goes on holiday, they always book far in advance and take carry-on baggage so they have more money to spend on treats. Clothes are bought out of season in order to benefit from super savings and Susan encourages her daughters to get creative and give home-made gifts.

•  THE JOYCE FAMILY (Brightlingsea, Essex)

The Joyce family consists of housewife mum Hannah, her husband who works in retail and their two children, Owen (7) and Zhara (1). All members of this Brightlingsea based family get involved in maintaining their savvy lifestyle, including the grandparents who live nearby. The Joyces have a ‘no spend day’ each week which not only helps to cut down on costs, but also helps mum, Hannah to say ‘no’ to the kids.

•  THE STANIFORTH FAMILY (Leeds)

The Leeds based Staniforth family consists of housekeeper Charmaine, her IT analyst husband, David and their two children, Oliver (8) and Charlie (2). Charmaine is a bargain hunter who enjoys saving on the everyday things so the family can enjoy days out and holidays. The Staniforths like to use social media to keep on top of deals and follow all of the brands they use on Facebook for exclusive offers and vouchers.

•  THE OLIVER FAMILY (Forth, South Lanarkshire)

The Olivers are a Lanarkshire based family of four consisting of stay-at-home mum, Sara, her husband who does charity support work, and their two children, Joshua (4) and Hannah (2). This frugal family makes the most of life on a budget and regularly challenges themselves to a £100 grocery shop.

•  THE WEDGE FAMILY (Warrington)

The Wedge family from Warrington consists of homemaker, Nicola, her fiancé Richard, a railway safety & compliance manager and their two children James (5) and Amy (1). This money-conscious family loves nothing more than saving and making money. The family ensures they sell any unused products they no longer need and when their children have grown out of clothes and toys, they love using social media to sell items, putting the money towards days out for all the family to enjoy together.

Nectar Savvy Family competition

·  What: Nectar Savvy Family is an annual competition to find the UK’s savviest family, encouraging the nation to act smarter with their cash. Families are invited to enter by simply completing an online questionnaire on the Nectar Savvy Family website (www.nectar.com/savvy) and share their hints and tips on a dedicated blog for six weeks.

·  Who: The competition is hosted by Nectar, the UK’s largest loyalty programme, with judges, property developer and TV presenter Sarah Beeny, consumer champion, money saving expert and founder of letssavesomemoney.com, Sarah Willingham, and Nectar Managing Director, Will Shuckburgh.

·  Where: Eight families have been selected to showcase their money-saving savviness, with their tips shared via social media and blogs hosted on nectar.com/savvy, along with posts written by Sarah Willingham, who will reveal how her own family make their money stretch further.

·  When:  The winning family will be announced in May 2014.

·  How: During the six week blogging period, families will offer advice based on different weekly themes including: Leisure and Hobbies; Holidays and Activities and Household/DIY.  Special weekly themes include Food and Shopping where families will respond to a challenge posed by Nectar partner, Sainsbury’s; and Recycle and Reuse where families will be asked to take on a challenge set by another of the Nectar partners, eBay. The focus for the sixth and final week of blogging will be decided by the Nectar Facebook community, which will be asked to suggest a ‘surprise’ theme for the families to respond to.

·  Why: The family deemed the ‘savviest’ will be treated to a £10,000 prize package from Nectar partners, including the following:

o  Family holiday worth up to £3,000 from Expedia

o  £1,000 gift card from Sainsbury’s  

o  £1,000 to spend on eBay

o  £500 gift card from Homebase

o  Four return flights to Alicante from easyJet

o  32” TV and iPod nano from American Express

o  £500 gift card from Vision Express

o  100,000 Nectar points from BP

o  Merlin Entertainments family annual pass 

o  English Heritage annual joint adult membership

o  Hive Active Heating ™by British Gas 

o  A choice of any six annual magazine subscriptions as featured on nectar.com/spend

o  Joint annual Royal Horticultural Society membership PLUS two tickets to a Royal Horticultural Society Flower show (Hampton Court Flower Show or Tatton Park Flower Show. Children go free)

o  200,000 Nectar points from Nectar