take a break, chat, real people etc magazines. I always enter chat, take a break and thats life, never won a thing!! :-( i could do with a win. I enter everything, even the ones online. Are these just ake competitions in these mags or are the genuine.
What I have done over the years is make a note of Readers Tips etc in one magazine, re-word them and then send them into another magazine.
I know it's sneaky, but £25 - £40 is not to be sneezed at
I've won newspaper comps (washing machine) and a few others, small gifty-prizes - but on principle I don't enter ones these days where you have to post in your entry, it's too expensive, I just do on-line comps now.
I once read that you stand far more chance of winning a local competition as the prizes are smaller and people don't bother.
Many years ago I won a full set of garden furniture from a local paper (very handy as I lived in a 3rd floor flat at the time) and very recently I won a sandwich toaster from a comp in a local store
A barmaid i know, who used to work in one of the locals, won a car in Take A Break many moons ago but my mother, who religiously entered every competition in every issue of TAB for the last 15 years of her life, never won a bean!
Another money maker for me is sending in photos of "as we were now and then". I inherited a huge box of family photos from my mum and often send in photos of cousins/siblings etc. They go mad but it is a good little earner.
Mind you, I don't get as many Xmas cards from them as I used to do....
I've won a few competitions on Facebook. The most recent was a very expensive electric toothbrush via Argos and Oral B FB pages, i've also won make-up, toiletries, horror DVDs and computer components.
In the last five years or so I have won a MacBook and ipod, printer, £500 of jewellery, Kindle Fire, an iPad and various smaller things. I have cut back on my entries recently as I am a bit bored of it.
I enter a few comps each day but some people take it far too seriously.
When I was working myself & 5 of my workmates all used to do Take a Break & Chat every week for 20 years, not one of us ever had a win! I still do them tho as you never know. I have one other stuff from other mags (TV choice, Inside Soap).
Mrs O, I am glad you have said you have had some tips published, I always thought they were put in by the mag as some of them are what my mother would have done (she's pushing 80) so as old as the hills!