I'd put £100 towards my student overdraft
Extra cash at Christmas is always a welcome bonus, especially with so much expense at this time of year. But what would you do with £100?
We asked MoneySavers on the forum what they’d do if they won £100. Would they spend it on Christmas presents or food? Or would they buy themselves a treat? Pay the bills? Or something else?
It was a particularly relevant question, as many users have recently reported winning £100 after entering The Mirror’s Big Lotto Giveaway promotion after it was posted on our Competitions Time forum board.
For some, £100 may not seem a huge amount – but every little helps, and the responses we received highlight the wide range of financial issues you could use an extra hand with.
Pay for energy bills
With energy prices rising, I wasn’t surprised to see an overwhelming number of you would put £100 towards paying for bills (join our free Cheap Energy Club to cut costs).
Forum user the frugal frog wrote: "I would top up my prepayment meter so I could actually have the heating on for once. May sound sad to some, but that’s what I would do. Oh, and I would buy some nice tea bags. I am fed up of 28p ones."
While @hamzah1992 tweeted: "Buy a hat, scarf, coat, and gloves. I’m frozen and it seems best with energy prices on the up."
Put it in savings
Paying off your mortgage and putting extra cash into a savings account were also popular suggestions.
@HelenLay tweeted: "Overpay on my mortgage. A £100 overpayment would save about £300 in interest. Every little helps."
Forum user Skippycat wrote: "I would put it in my ISA (the other half and I are saving for our wedding and a new bathroom)."
If you’re torn between repaying debts or saving, see our Clear Debts or Save? guide for more information.
Buy Christmas presents
Many of you said you’d use £100 to spread festive cheer with Christmas presents for loved ones.
Forum user leftinthemiddle said: "Buy my daughter a Kindle as she really wants one for Christmas."
Another forum user, whitewing, wrote: "I would buy some extra presents for everybody. We are thrifty with our budget and times are still quite hard so everyone pretty much knows what they are getting. I would buy decent little surprises."
If you’re buying gifts this year, think about signing up to the No Unnecessary Present Pact like some of the MSE team. If you’re wasting time buying presents some people don’t want, or getting carried away with presents you do want to buy, we reckon you should give it a go.
Donate it to charity
As well as giving to friends and family, Christmas is a time of year when many donate to charities. Some of you said you’d do this with a £100 windfall.
@Manc__Mike tweeted "Donate half to the Disasters Emergency Committee and half to Children In Need", while @andieuridge wrote: "I would split it three ways. Christmas for daughter and husband, and 1/3 on food for a local food bank."
As for me, I’d put £100 straight onto repaying the overdraft on my student bank account. But what would you do? You can let us know on the discussion below, on the forum thread.
