Everything Else

This includes everything else I discuss on Pounds and Sense, including Health, Holidays, Relationships, and so on.

April 1, 2019

Win a Marks & Spencer Easter Hamper in the UKMB Easter Giveaway!

Nick Everything Else events, competitions

Today I have another great giveaway to share with you. I’ve joined forces with some of my fellow UK Money Bloggers to put together a giveaway of not one, not two, but three Marks & Spencer Easter Hampers.

These hampers sell for £50 apiece on the M&S website. They contain an assortment of Easter goodies, beautifully presented in a stylish dark brown hamper. The full contents are as follows:

Assam tea (25g/10 bags)
Caramel eggs (120g)
Simnel cake bar (400g)
Cheeky chicks (120g/pack of 6)
Mini luxury hot cross buns (325g/pack of 9)
Hide and seek egg hunt bag (135g)
British strawberry soft set jam (113g)
Chicky choccy speckled eggs (100g)
8 Easter biscuits (200g)
Bubbly bunny (23g) x 4
Presented in a dark-stained wicker hamper with brown faux-leather handle and straps

In the event of supply difficulties, or with discontinued products, M&S say they reserve the right to offer alternative goods or packaging of equal quality and value. If you need to know about any possible allergens in the contents, full information can be found on the M&S website.

Here then are all the details you need to enter, provided by my colleague Emma Drew (who is co-ordinating this event). Good luck! It would be great if a Pounds and Sense reader wins one (or more) of the prizes 🙂

This Easter, some of the UK Money Bloggers have come together to offer you the chance to win one of three M&S Easter hampers. Three lucky winners will win an Easter hamper delivered before Easter. Keep reading to find out how you can enter.

Who are the bloggers behind the giveaway?

The UK Money Bloggers are a group of bloggers, podcasters, and influencers in the UK who are passionate about helping you to improve your finances. Whether you want to make more money, spend less, understand investing or pay off debts, we all contribute something unique to the community. Here’s who we are:

The prizes

You can win one of three Easter Family Hampers from M&S.

The rules

The giveaway is open until midnight on 14th April 2019, when the winners will be chosen.

The giveaway is open to UK residents only.

Winners will be contacted by email from hello@emmadrew.info

Should the Easter hampers be out of stock then a suitable replacement will be found.

How to enter

You can enter by completing as many of the Rafflecopter widget entry options below as you would like. You can also enter daily by tweeting from the Rafflecopter widget.

Comment with your best money saving tip to unlock more entry options.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Listed on Loquax.

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March 29, 2019

SnapIt Glasses Repair Kit Review and Giveaway

Nick Everything Else events, sponsored post, competitions 0 Comments

All of us who wear glasses know how annoying it is when one of the small screws that hold the frames or arms in place comes loose and falls out.

Even assuming you can find the tiny screw, reinserting it is no joke, especially if your eyesight isn’t great (which of course is likely to be the case if you need glasses!).

So I was delighted to receive a free review copy of the SnapIt Glasses Repair Kit, pictured below.

The clever thing about this inexpensive kit is that it includes screws with a long ‘tail’ that are easy to insert into the spectacle frame. You then tighten the screw and snap off the protruding tail (hence the name, of course) for a perfect quick repair.

Here’s a step by step illustration of the process. Please excuse the fact that I used an old pair of glasses for this demonstration, so they aren’t exactly in pristine condition!

As you can see, I’m repairing an arm which has come loose. The first step is to insert the screw into the appropriate hole in the frame. You get five different screw sizes to choose from. The long tail on the screw makes doing this a doddle.

Next you use the little screwdriver provided in the kit to screw it in. Here’s a picture with a 20p coin beside it to give you an idea of the size.

It takes just a few moments to tighten the screw, so it looks like this.

Finally you just snap off the tail (easy again). Hey presto, a perfect repair!

Giveaway

As you can tell, I was very impressed with the SnapIt Glasses Repair Kit, so I was delighted to be offered one to give away to my readers. To enter the competition, just follow the steps on the Gleam form below. The more ways you enter, the better your chances of winning!

Win A Snapit Glasses Repair Kit #17

Terms and Conditions

Competition ends on 18th April 2019
All entrants must be over the age of 18 years
The prize will be sent directly to the winner
No cash alternative will be offered
Open to UK residents only
One random winner will be chosen
If your entries are found to be false all of your entries will be void and deleted
Your details will be used to contact you if you are the winner of the competition
The prize winner’s details will be passed on to the prize provider in order for your prize to be sent

Good luck in the giveaway. If you have any comments or questions about this article, as always, please post them below.

And if you are a company or agency interested in running a giveaway like this on Pounds and Sense, please do drop me a line.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf on SnapIt, who were kind enough to provide a kit to me free of charge and are also providing the prize in my giveaway.

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March 22, 2019

Get Feedback and Advice on Your Writing at Best Writing Forum

Nick Making Money, Everything Else writing 7 Comments

I know quite a few Pounds and Sense readers have an interest in writing, whether for pleasure or profit (or both). So today I thought I would share some information about an invaluable free resource for writers and aspiring writers.

Best Writing Forum is a discussion forum for writers that was set up by my old friend (and former publisher) Karl Moore a year ago. It was created in response to requests from members of My Writers Circle, another online forum I helped set up with Karl and managed for almost ten years.

In the last few years My Writers Circle has changed ownership several times and been rather neglected. So in response to members’ requests, Karl set up the new forum as an alternative place for writers to share their work and get feedback and advice.

Best Writing Forum uses the popular SMF messageboard software. Anyone who was ever a member of My Writers Circle will find it quite familiar, therefore. Of course, the board names and overall design are a bit different, but most people soon get the hang of it. And if you have any problems, there is a dedicated volunteer moderator team on hand to help you out.

If you have any interest in writing, I highly recommend that you check out Best Writing Forum. And if you like what you see, please do sign up. It’s free of charge and only takes a few moments. You will then be able to:

get feedback from fellow writers across the world in Review My Work
Talk about poetry and get comments on your own in Poets Corner
check out the latest writing markets on the Writers’ Opportunities board
ask any writing-related questions you may have on the Ask a Question board
exercise your writing muscles on the Word Play board,
shoot the breeze on any subject at the BWF Bar and Grill
and much more! .

Now is a great time to join Best Writing Forum, as it’s still quite new and you really can play a part in helping guide its future direction. I’ll hope to see you there soon!

Note: this is an updated version of an original article about Best Writing Forum first published on my Entrepreneur Writer blog in December 2017.

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February 11, 2019

Blue Monday Competition – The Winner!

Nick Everything Else competitions, events 4 Comments

Updated 15 February 2019

In this post last month I set out a contest/giveaway to win six packets of the new Bahlsen Choco Moments biscuits. To enter, you simply had to comment on the post in question, saying why Bahlsen biscuits cheer you up.

For whatever reason there weren’t as many entries to this competition as my previous one. In fact only five people had entered by the closing date of Friday 1st February.

Still, those biscuits won’t eat themselves, so I used the random number generator at Random.org to pick the winner. Unfortunately the original winner failed to come forward, so in accordance with the rules set out in my original post I have gone back to Random.org to select another winner. I am therefore pleased to confirm that this was entry number 3 from Sally Jenkins (who is, coincidentally, a friend and near-neighbour of mine). Congratulations, Sally!

Thank you to everyone who entered, and commiserations to the entrants who didn’t win this time. A particular mention for Nicola, who came up with the best rhyme, and for the eventual winner, Sally Jenkins, who clearly went to some effort to create a catchy slogan. In this competition the winner was selected at random according to the rules set out in my original post, but I did appreciate the effort you both made with these entries!

You can, of course, buy delicious Bahlsen Choco Moments biscuits in Waitrose and Sainsbury’s supermarkets (and at the online store Amazon).

And finally, thanks again to Bahlsen Biscuits for sponsoring this contest. Watch out for more contests and giveaways on Pounds and Sense soon!

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Bahlsen Choco Moments Blue Monday Competition

January 21, 2019

Blue Monday Competition: Win Delicious Bahlsen Choco Moments Biscuits!

Nick Everything Else events, sponsored post, competitions

NOTE: This competition is now closed. The winner has been announced in this blog post!

The third Monday in January has been dubbed Blue Monday. It’s meant to be the most depressing day of the year, with cold days, dark nights, and a payday that still feels a million miles away.

So today, to cheer everyone up, I am running a giveaway for some delicious Bahlsen Choco Moments biscuits. This is – of course – a sponsored post.

Choco Moments are the ultimate indulgent snack. With a thick coating of rich chocolate over a crunchy biscuit base, they are the perfect melt-in-your-mouth treat to pick you up on a bad day.

They are available in two delicious flavours: Choco Moments Crunchy Hazelnut (my favourite) combines smooth, creamy milk chocolate with warm hazelnut crunch and is mouth-wateringly more-ish; while Choco Moments Crunchy Mint perfectly balances deep notes of dark chocolate with lively and refreshing crunchy mint.

To be in with a chance of winning A WHOLE SIX PACKETS of Choco Moments biscuits (both flavours included) just leave a comment below by 9 am on Friday 31st January 2019 saying why Bahlsen biscuits cheer you up. I will pick a winner at random and arrange to send them the prize.

Just one comment per person, please, and allow a few hours for me to approve your comment if you haven’t commented on my blog before. This competition is open to UK residents only.

Please check back here (or on the PAS Facebook page) after 1st February 2019 to see if you are the winner and claim your prize (you could also subscribe via the box in the right-hand column to be notified about all new posts). Due to online privacy rules I won’t be able to contact you otherwise. Note also that once the competition has closed it will not be possible to leave any further comments on this post.

If the winner doesn’t claim their prize within seven days, I reserve the right to pick another winner at random instead.

Finally, even if you don’t win this time, don’t be blue. Bahlsen Choco Moments biscuits are available at an RRP of just £1.99 in Sainsbury’s and Waitrose supermarkets!

Good luck, enjoy your coffee/tea and Bahlsen Choco Moments, and remember that from today onward the year can only improve 🙂

Disclosure: as stated above, this is a sponsored post. I am receiving some delicious Bahlsen Choco Moments biscuits as a thank-you for posting it

Comments on this post are now closed.

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January 9, 2019

Competition: Win a Burt’s Bees Natural Gift Set!

Nick Everything Else events, competitions 2 Comments

By courtesy of my friends at Wow Free Stuff, I’d like to offer you the chance to win a Burt’s Bees Natural Gift Set just like the one below.

This attractive gift set contains beeswax-based natural skin-care products, including lip salve and hand salve. On average, Burt’s Bees products are 99% natural, with over half their products 100% natural. They contain no petrochemicals, phthalates, parabens or sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), and are not tested on animals.

To enter the competition, click here to sign up for the Wow Free Stuff newsletter and like their Facebook page. Twenty-five gift sets are up for grabs, so there really are plenty of chances to win!

Entrants must be UK residents aged 18 or over. The competition ends on 1st February 2019.

Thanks to Wow Free Stuff for collaborating with me on this competition. As always, if you have any comments or questions, please do post them below.

Disclosure: As stated above, this is a sponsored post on behalf of Wow Free Stuff. I am receiving a free gift set myself and also a small payment.

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December 28, 2018

My Top Twelve Posts of 2018

Nick Everything Else events 0 Comments

As is customary for bloggers at this time of year, here are the top posts on Pounds and Sense in 2018, based on comments, page-views and social media shares. They are in no particular order. I have excluded any posts that are no longer relevant.

I hope you will enjoy revisiting these posts, or seeing them for the first time if you are new to PAS. Don’t forget, you can always subscribe using the box on the right to be notified of new posts as soon as they appear.

Thank you very much for your interest in Pounds and Sense. I will look forward to seeing you here again in 2019!

If you have any comments or questions, of course, please do feel free to leave them below.

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December 24, 2018

Happy Christmas 2018!

Nick Everything Else events 2 Comments

Just wanted to take this opportunity to wish all my readers a happy and peaceful Christmas, and a fulfilling and prosperous new year.

Pounds and Sense was launched in December 2016, so it has been going for two years now. Thank you to everyone who has visited the blog during this time, and especially to all those people who have commented on my posts and/or signed up to be notified of new ones. You can do that by entering your name and email address in the ‘Subscribe’ box on the right (hint, hint!).

I hope you have found at least some of my posts of value, and they have helped you to save money and make money in these financially uncertain times. If you have any comments or suggestions for topics I ought to cover in the coming months, please do leave a comment below or contact me directly. The same applies if you would like to guest post on the blog or work with me on sponsored posts or promotions.

I’ll be back with more advice, tips and information (and biscuits!) soon, but for now I hope you and your family have a wonderful festive season. I’ll leave you with one of my all-time favourite Christmas songs, by Greg Lake.

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December 6, 2018

Bahlsen Choco Moments Giveaway – The Winners!

Nick Everything Else events, food 2 Comments

In this post last week I set out a contest/giveaway to win a packet of the brand new Bahlsen Choco Moments biscuits. To enter, you simply had to add a comment on the post in question. I then proposed to pick a winner at random.

Unfortunately I made a bit of a hash of this. I temporarily forgot that the deadline was at midnight on Tuesday 4 December, and to compound this I was out most of the day yesterday. So I didn’t put an announcement of the contest ending or switch off comments on the post (which I have now done).

What’s more, there was a rush of people entering yesterday – I assume details may have been shared on a high-traffic competitions site or some such. Even though they were technically too late to enter, I felt bad about disqualifying them all, especially as I hadn’t made clear on the blog that the contest was closed (although the Tuesday midnight deadline was clearly stated in the post).

So to try to be fair to everyone, I decided that rather than have a single prize, I would have two. The first was just for the 9 people who entered before the original deadline, and the second was for everyone who entered until comments were closed yesterday (including the original nine, who thus got two chances to win). I hope that will seem fair to everyone.

I used the random number generator at Random.org to pick the winners of both draws, so here they are:

First 9 draw – Mrs Elizabeth Sumner

Whole 26 draw – Helen B.

Please could the winners contact me privately via my Contact Me page and let me know their full postal name and address and also whether they would prefer the mint or hazelnut flavour. I will then arrange for their biscuits to be sent to them.

Thank you to everyone who entered, and commiserations to everyone who didn’t win this time. You can, of course, buy delicious Bahlsen Choco Moments biscuits via all good grocers and supermarkets and online stores such as Amazon.

Apologies again also for the confusion over the deadline. In my defence, this is the first giveaway of this type I have conducted on Pounds and Sense, and I will learn from it and try to do better next time!

And finally, thanks again to Bahlsen Biscuits for sponsoring this contest.

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November 28, 2018

Giveaway: Win a Pack of New Bahlsen Choco Moments Biscuits!

Nick Everything Else events, food, sponsored post

This draw is now closed. Thank you to everyone who entered. The winners are revealed in this post.

As a bit of fun today, I am running a giveaway for some delicious Bahlsen biscuits. This is (of course) a sponsored post.

Everybody knows the festive season is the season of indulgence when every home and office is well-stocked with tasty treats and guilt-free pleasures. It’s a chance to treat those you love to something they’ll really enjoy and can nibble on all season long.

The brand new Bahlsen Choco Moments are the ultimate treats for Christmas, the perfect way to spread joy to friends and family during the festive season.

Choco Moments from Bahlsen – the experts in chocolate biscuits – are the perfect accompaniment to festive gatherings and cosy nights in. With a thick, luxurious coating of rich chocolate with crisp, satisfying crunch, drenched over buttery biscuit, they are the perfect melt-in-your-mouth treat, and come in two delicious flavours that will fight for space in your biscuit tin.

Choco Moments Crunchy Hazelnut combines smooth, creamy milk chocolate with warm hazelnut tones that are mouth-wateringly moreish, while Choco Moments Crunchy Mint perfectly balances the deep notes of dark chocolate with lively and refreshing mint.

So prepare to spread the Christmas joy and treat your loved ones to a seriously Choco Moment – the perfect moment to unwrap this festive season.

*** To be in with a chance of winning a pack of Choco Moments Crunchy Hazelnut or Crunchy Mint – your choice! – just leave a comment below by midnight on Tuesday 4 December 2018 saying why you love Bahlsen biscuits. I will pick a winner at random on Wednesday 5 December and arrange to send them the biscuits. Even if you don’t win, you can of course pick up Bahlsen Choco Moments biscuits from all good supermarkets and grocery shops and online stores including Amazon. The winner will be revealed here and via the Pounds & Sense Twitter and Facebook pages by Thursday 6 December 2018. UK residents only, I’m afraid. ***

Good luck, and let the season of indulgence begin!

Disclosure: as stated above, this is a sponsored post. I am receiving some delicious Bahlsen Choco Moments biscuits as a thank-you for posting it 😀

UPDATE: The winners are revealed in this post!

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