April 16, 2014 7.33 am This story is over 119 months old

Lincoln family bid for UK’s savviest savers crown

Penny pinching: A Lincoln family is in the running to be crowned the UK’s savviest spenders.
Karen O’Callaghan and her fiance Matthew from Lincoln are in with a chance of becoming the Nectar Savvy Family of 2014.

A Lincoln family is in the running to be crowned the UK’s savviest spenders, having been shortlisted in an annual money-saving advice competition.

After pitting their thrifty credentials against almost 2,000 entrants nationwide, the O’Callaghan-Bowskill family have been shortlisted for a prize package worth £10,000.

The family, headed by Prison Officer Karen and her fiance Matthew, are one of eight chosen to keep a ‘savvy’ blog for six weeks.

They are calling on people in Lincoln to back them in their efforts to win the title of Nectar Savvy Family 2014.

The winning family will be announced in May 2014.

At this stage in the competition, the families involved are sharing their best money-saving tips and advice through their own blog.

Some of the O’Callaghan-Bowskill family’s top tips include:

  • Never miss out on a savvy opportunity. When out walking, look out for any fruit that may be ready for picking. You can stash all the fruit you find in the freezer until you need them. You can use these to make tasty treats like jam which can be put in food hampers for lovely homemade Christmas gifts.
  • Have a Terramundi pot in your house – a money savings pot where the only way to access your money is to smash it open. This means you can save up all your small change and treat yourself to something special when it’s full.
  • When doing some research for your holiday, look into the costs of buying things you need abroad. Buying our wedding rings was cheaper outside of the UK (saving £150).

Karen O’Callaghan said: “We’ve always strived to be wise with our money and to have fun together as we think up new and creative ways to get the best possible value for every pound.

“We have plenty of fab advice up our sleeves, but we’ll need everyone’s support if we’re going to be crowned the champions. We’d love it if everyone in Lincolnshire got behind us by reading our blog, commenting and sharing our posts.”

Sarah Beeny, property developer and television presenter, who will return as a Nectar Savvy Family judge, said: “The O’Callaghan-Bowskill family were one of the families that really stood out for us and I’m looking forward to reading their blog over the coming weeks and learning the finer details of how they make their money go further.”