Miss Thrifty

SKY Travel is running a competition to win a week’s holiday in “one of the best ski and snowboard destinations in the world”.

The winner and his/her guest gets to stay in the Banff Caribou Lodge and Spa in the Canadian Rockies. The prize also includes return flights to Calgary from London Heathrow, car hire, ski lift passes and equipment rental. 

To enter, fill out this form at the SKY Travel website. To enter, you must be a UK resident aged 18 or over.

The closing date is 20 December 2008.

Thanks for the great feedback on my list of Favourite Frugal Twitterers. I’m not the only with a thing for themed Twitter lists, it seems. Two personal finance bloggers, Peter at BibleMoneyMatters and Nittany at Online Banks Blog have drawn up their lists of top ten personal finance Twitter bods. I know that personal finance isn’t quite the same as frugality, but there’s a fair amount of overlap.

Peter’s list: Ten People All Personal Finance Junkies Should Follow On Twitter.

Nittany’s list: 10 Personal Finance Bloggers You Should Follow On Twitter.

Do you use Twitter? If you do, you’ll find me there (follow me at Miss_Thrifty). The more time I spend on Twitter, the more I like: it’s dangerously addictive, but I follow a number of frugal freaks and mommy bloggers, and I’ve picked up lots of money saving tips and pointers. I also get to talk/tweet with some of the people whose blogs I really enjoy, and others who are regular Miss Thrifty readers. Snaps all round!

Anyway, the Twitip blog has asked its readers to submit their “Top Ten must follow lists“, so this got me thinking. I’d find it hard to come up with a “Top Ten must follow list”, but I do have a list of some of my current frugal favourites.

I should add that I’m a total Twitter tart, so this list is in permanent rotation. This lot all tweets/blogs about matters frugal (otherwise @stephenfry would definitely be on the list), and they all meet my following criteria:

• They have been active on Twitter within the past week. There is no point following someone who is never there!
• They don’t fill my Twitter homepage with tedious chatter about inane rubbish. Nope, I don’t want to read blow-by-blow accounts of your visit to the dental hygienist. Thanks all the same.
• Nor are they signed up to advertising programmes such as Magpie, which stream ads onto followers’ homepages. I’m rather particular, so I usually unfollow people who do this.
• Lots of great tips / I find their tweets - at least some of them - useful.
• Other tweets just make me smile…

Here they are: (more…)

If you are planning a trip to the Angels Vintage Sale  (aka The Clothes Sale of my Dreams) on Saturday 6 December, have you seen this?

Angels is running a prize draw to give a small number of vintage fans the opportunity to be the first people through the doors: (more…)

So you want to win a car, huh? Well, Citroen is hosting a competition to win one of its new-fangled C5 models. You can enter for free online, by going to this page of Citroen’s website.

I’m no Jeremy Clarkson - you’ve seen what I drive - so here’s the official blurb:

The new C5 is as dynamic as it is distinctive and this is your chance to win the C5 2.0 HDi Exclusive Saloon. With half leather and heated front seats, alloy wheels, air conditioning, laminated side windows & an acoustic noise filtered cabin this prize will delight one lucky winner.

Here is a review and specs.

The winner’s car will be taxed for six months and - best of all, in my shallow opinion - you can choose your colour. The competition is open to UK residents and the closing date is 19 January 2009.

The Guardian is running a competition to win a week’s skiing holiday in the South Tyrol (the Italian Alps) in February 2009. The prize includes return flights from a UK airport, accommodation in a 4-star “wellness resort” and two six-day lift passes.

UK residents are eligible; the competition page has further details. All you have to do is fill out your name and contact details online. The competition closes on 11 December.

In last week’s vintage shoe shopping guide, I argued that 1940s shoes weren’t worth bothering with. Here’s the evidence.

It may have been different in other countries, but in Britain clothing was strictly rationed during the Second World War. By the time the war ended, there weren’t many pristine shoes left sitting in closets. Everything - including footwear - was taken in a bit here, turned out there and worn to death. Quality and luxury were low on the priority list.

The photograph above was taken in Mayfair at the turn of 1940s/1950s. It’s deliciously Mad Men though, isn’t it? The bright young thing on the end of the row, clutching her glass of champers for all it’s worth, is my Frugal Grandma. Anyway, they all look glam and stylish, from their hairdos

down to their ankles. And then…. (more…)

The Welsh Tourist Board (aka Visit Wales) is running a competition to win a Honda Civic Hybrid. All you have to do is click the button above, download a tourist brochure and enter your details.

The competition is free to enter, and is open to all UK residents, All entries must be received by 31 December, and the draw takes place in January.

I remember getting a free entry into a Seat car competition when I renewed the Thriftymobile’s car tax disc earlier this year. Which was all well and good, until I worked out that with 32 million cars on the road in the UK, I was more likely to win the National Lottery. (Good marketing on Seat’s part, though.)

As decent, bona fide car competitions - ones that don’t cost squillions to enter - are few and far between, I’d recommend giving this Honda Civic one a punt. As beautiful as Wales is, I don’t think the odds are going to be that outlandish. 

Hey! My post about our forthcoming Thrifty Roadtrip has just made Editor’s Pick at the 35th Money Hacks Carnival!

Thanks to My Two Dollars for organising a great carnival this week, with lots of pictures of steam trains. You can’t go wrong with the Old West.

Also in the carnival: I really enjoyed Lisa at Condo Blues’ post about budget-friendly household cleaners. Lots of white vinegar, baking soda - and crystal clear instructions on cleaning floors, counters and dishes. This tip was new on me:

Vinegar in the Jet Dry container of the dishwasher. Vinegar works to keep spots off the glasses just like Jet Dry, Cascade, or a store brand-sheeting agent. Actually, I think vinegar has better sheeting action and keeps water spots from forming on my glasses. Who knew?

Following my round-up of property raffles a few weeks ago, this blog has received oodles of hits from people in the UK searching for home hooplas. So thanks to Miss Thrifty reader Sima for alerting me to the news that the draw for that lovely 11.5 acre fishing estate in Devon, which was due to take place today, has been postponed pending a Gambling Commission investigation.

The issue appears to revolve around the difficulty level of the question that all entrants had to answer correctly before they could purchase a ticket. The couple who have organised the raffle did clear the question (”What is the cost of an adult full season coarse fishing license for 2008/2009?”) with the Gambling Commission before launching their house raffle sale, so fingers crossed that the draw goes ahead. If worst comes to worst, they have pledged to give everyone their money back.

I have copied their statement below, in full.

Apparently the last-minute flurry of interest from the powers-that-be has been sparked by the growing numbers of house raffle sales around the country. Here’s an update on the others: (more…)