Have you ever won anything?

[PrimRoseLaffington]

Just that - have you ever won anything? I don't mean things where you're guaranteed to win so you keep spending. And I don't mean achievement awards or similar at work. I mean like prize drawer type of things.

I won £100 in the school raffle when I was 11.
I got a few £10s in the little blue packets in Walkers crisps when they did them.
I win something every month on the premium bonds.

But apart from that, I don't think I've ever won anything. I dabble on competition websites but never won anything from there.

I always wonder who does actually win on these things!

I used to enter competitions as a hobby when DS was young and in bed by 7pm. When i say hobby, I mean probably 200+ per day!

There's a whole section on Martin Lewis' website dedicated to 'professional compers'.

I won a huge amount over the years, literally £100's worth on a monthly basis at a minimum or £1000's occasionally.

Sadly though things changed when social media took over, traditional competitions became 'like and share'. So many shops and magazines closed back then as well reducing the amount of competitions being offered.

There is never a guarantee but the tipping point where you're more likely to win at least £25 per month is around £30K.

I have never won a thing!!!

I'm quite lucky it seems and have won quite a few things but I think its just that I enter more competitions than average. Nothing life changing but I won sharps fitted wardrobes just when I'd bought a new house and a Wii when they first came out. I know someone who won a car from This Morning.

I had a couple of friends who did it as a side hustle for a while, every evening they'd look for competitions to enter then sell what they won on eBay. They won a trip on the Orient Express once.

Hmm .

we won a family ticket to the Santa express with the local radio last year . We had a lovely time and took our nephew and youngest son .

postcode lottery sent a £5 Tesco voucher about six months ago.

I seem to think I won a £10 Morrisons voucher from mums net a long time ago

I used to comp from MSE when my kids were little so won a few things. The best was a weekend trip to Babington House with 1st class train tickets and some free treatments in their spa. It was lovely but I could never afford to stay there normally!

Most recent one was we went to a Wayne Mardle darts exhibition and they did a raffle. The prize was to play a game of darts with Wayne so I sent up our son with the winning ticket and he nearly scored a 180 (third dart just ended up in the 1!)

A fishing reel in a free prize draw in a magazine.

A day's shooting instruction at a shooting school in a 'spot the clay pigeon' competion in the same magazine.

Both useful as I do shoot and fish!

Less useful - a bottle of champagne in a raffle. Gave it away since I don't really like alcohol or fizzy drinks.

When I was about 5, I won Gyles Brandreth's Book of Christmas (might not be the exact title,) for a colouring in competition at the local library. I have won things like a Christmas wreath at a work tombola, and more recently, a bottle of champagne (I don't drink, but I'm sure I can pass it on.)

Best one, which I have mentioned on MN before, was my Neighbours holiday to Australia. Though my sister (who came with me, because she was an Australia fanatic when Neighbours first started in our '80s teen years,) has barely spoken to me since, and I still don't really know why.

I did think that was a scam, when they first rang to tell me I'd won it.

I get the odd win on the premium bonds, won £1000 last November which was nice. I have won a fair few raffle prizes over the years and I won an Nintendo switch 2 and games on an online prize draw website about a month ago.

I’ve won

• Set of 6 rainbow high dolls in an Instagram comp
• £50 worth of hair products from a hair website
• A kids art set in an Instagram comp
• A jellycat bunny in an Instagram comp
• £200 makeover in a local newspaper
• A hot air balloon ride from a radio comp

Nothing major but very exciting. None the less!

Lots! I've won money. Supermarket vouchers. Champagne, concert tickets (Amy Winehouse) hampers and loads more. I'm generally pretty lucky tbh.

I won the daily mail bingo the day before our son was born.

£30 on the Lotto last year.
I did not let it change me, and I sought proper financial advice 😂

In 1988 (aged 20), I sent a cadbury's flake wrapper off in the post, and won 2 British Airways tickets to anywhere in the world, along with £1000 spends (a lot in those days, we went backpacking round Australia for 7 weeks on it). My wrapper was chosen from 82k entries. It was an amazing prize and although not life-changing in the way prizes are now, it was a bit life changing for me as I didn't have any money for even the shortest, most basic of holidays. I have entered competitions for things ever since (and have had some small wins of things too) but it is hard yards now - even for the smallest of prizes, there are thousands of entrants as it is just a couple of clicks. Great as a hobby, or when you have a bit of downtime though, you have to be in it to win it.

A few years ago I won a B&O Bluetooth speaker playing a game on my phone - sold it on ebay for £100. On father's day weekend I won a fb draw for £30 worth of cakes from a local dessert shop. When my now 25yo DS was 2 we won won a selection of pampers kandoo wipes etc that came with a bubble machine too.
My mum won a £350 gaming headset on the Google play weekly draw a few weeks ago - also sold on ebay (shes 73 and does not game).
My friend won a car in one of the big charity raffles a few years back too - after telling her son it was probably a scam and that people would only win the smaller prizes 😄

I won a pineapple in the Weight Watchers raffle 🍍🤣

Was the second prize two pineapples?😂

(Sorry, I hate them - I once had to eat half a pineapple out of politeness when my host served it up beaming with pride at what an amazing treat it was, I will never forget the awful, chewy, acidic horror of it).

Can't remember, it was years ago, probably a manky peach or something 😆

I don't mind pineapple, but I'd never buy it myself.

In the last 12 months I've won a Taskmaster Advent Calendar, £100 gift card for our local independent cinema and a birthday party package at a retro video game cafe!

I won £100 on premium bonds last month, £100 on a lottery game in May, a large steel framed hammock, random smaller prizes on lottery, a couple of postcode lottery smaller prizes, perfume and alcohol. I won €150 on the bingo on holiday a couple of years ago.

Worst prize ever was a stick of deodorant on a raffle…it was a used one 🤢

A donkey derby 70s
£250 on a scratch card 90s

A gift box of designer after shave and shaving balm - I didn’t have a beard in those days….

What??! Tell us more @AKADifferentName

Not much to tell. the Evening Standard used to run competitions to win a flat, I won one. I think it was the last one they did, it was over 20 years ago, paid off the mortgage and massively boosted my savings/retirement fund.