Practice What You Preach

Sue Roberts, board director, Clarion Communications


This year we ran our fourth Nectar Savvy Family competition, inviting families from around the UK to share their favourite moneysaving tips with the nation and be judged for the crown of Britain’s Savviest Family.  The response from the public was, once again, huge…
And having paid out for an Ibiza wedding earlier this year, ‘my husband and I’ needed to tighten the purse strings - so taking inspiration from the families’ tips, we headed out for a long weekend of camping to avoid the normal drain on finances that is a weekend in London.

Seeking sandy beaches in the hope the sun would make one of its sporadic 2012 summer appearances, we settled on Cromer in Norfolk.  And met with gorgeous stretches of golden beaches we had a savvy-packed few days: bat and ball on the beach, delicious local crab and chips while meandering through pretty lanes, kite flying on the green, and BBQ-ing sausages for dinner - even the 2p penny pusher machine in the amusement arcade was good value entertainment.

As we sat outside our tent at the end of the day, cold white wine in hand and the panoramic sea views in the distance, I started to wonder why we didn’t do this every weekend.  Although of course my rude awakening came in the early hours of Sunday morning as we attempted to reset the guy ropes to cope with the hurricane-like winds.

Still, fun times on a shoestring budget has done wonders for the credit card bill, and it’s made me think there’s a lot to be said for challenging yourself to break the mould - so I’ve now perused the hundreds of competition tips for my next instalment.  Next week you’ll largely find me haggling in a high street store…