Thrifty Savers Share Tips with Scottish Friendly to Win Six Gruffalo Cuddly Toys

Jim Gall
By Jim Gall Posted in Scottish Friendly news and views
January 14th, 2014

At Scottish Friendly, we’re always interested in hearing money saving tips from our customers and we’re very big on savings and investments for families.

Before Christmas, we asked you, our customers, to tell us your best #ThriftyFamily ideas for saving money as a family. The winning tip won a selection of six cuddly toys – a prize for all the family.

We had lots of fun and insightful entries, with some of our favourites below.

Steve Long, wrote: “Don’t fork out for unwanted gifts this Christmas that then lay languishing at the bottom of the wardrobe for the rest of the year. Instead, give personalised vouchers. For example, I’m giving my dad a voucher that promises I will mow his lawn three times.  In return I’m hoping for some babysitting vouchers!” We thought Steve’s suggestion was especially helpful and thoughtful.

The cold nights are drawing in and Stefan Philip Ingram shared some tips on how to keep your home warm this winter.  Stefan, said: “Weatherproof your home before winter truly sets in. Chances are you’ll be using your central heating. Rather than lose all of that precious heat, weatherproof your windows, doors, and everything else you can think of. This can save 20 to 30 per cent alone in energy bills for the year.”

Charlotte Emily Mann’s tip had everyone at Scottish Friendly’s tummy rumbling. “Make gifts for people instead of buying them. One year at Christmas I made my Fiancé’s family a gingerbread house, and spent a day decorating it and they were absolutely blown away! I’d never done it before so it was a little bit risky but I spent a lot of time on it. It probably saved me £100 worth of Christmas gifts for everybody in the household and they were genuinely touched! You could also make your own fudge, chutney, or even fruit vodkas. You could even make a whole hamper to really impress people.” Thanks for sharing your tips Charlotte and we can assure you we’re all big hamper fans here.

However there could only be one winner and congratulations go to Angela Campbell for her best family money savings tip.

Angela said: “We use our local library a lot! They’re such an underrated and overlooked resource, yet offer so much and for free! We read so many books without having to spend a thing. It’s a lovely afternoon out as our local library has a little play area and a gallery, plus there’s loads of free children’s craft events and storyteller sessions – if you were to pay for the sessions with a company it’s usually £5 per child and the books are about the same price each. Every December they have a Santa’s grotto where you can see Santa for free – most places round here are £4 and upwards for the same thing so over the year we literally save hundreds of pounds.”

Scottish Friendly were very pleased with all the entries and we thank everyone for taking the time to enter the competition.  However, Angela’s tip won because it was simple, often overlooked, absolutely free, educational and community related.

We hope the entire Campbell family enjoy their Gruffalo toys.”

You can still read everyone’s money saving tips on the Scottish Friendly Facebook page.







The information provided in this article was accurate at the time of publishing and should be read in the context of the date it was published. Views in this article are those of the author alone and do not necessarily represent the view of Scottish Friendly. No advice has been provided by Scottish Friendly. If you are in any doubt as to whether a savings or investment plan is suitable for you, you should contact a financial adviser for advice. If you do not have a financial adviser, you can get details of local financial advisers by visiting www.unbiased.co.uk. Advisers may charge for providing such advice and should confirm any cost beforehand.