Comping is great - and one of the fun parts can be not only spotting a prize that's on offer, but thinking about how you might use it.
We've all been there, you see a comp for something, maybe in Compers News, maybe over at The Prize Finder or somewhere else, and you start to think 'ooh, what if I won that?'.
The funny thing is, that can sometimes be the case even if the prize is something you'd never really think to buy otherwise!
Spotted a comp for a book you'd never read? Your first thought might be who you'd pass it onto if you won. And chances are, if you love your comping, you might still enter a comp like this, just in case.
But one great way to help ensure that you're entering comps where you might have some extra control over the items you eventually walk away with after a win, no matter what your tastes, is to spend some time focusing on competitions that offer the likes of money or vouchers as prizes.
Cash, of course, is useful to all of us - there'll always be something you can think of buying if you win money.
There's the option, too, to save it for later if it's not going to come in handy right now.
Yes, winning cash - especially a lot of cash - can be like having your own choice of prize.
Vouchers are clearly a little less flexible, but if you stick to picking comps where you can win vouchers that can be used for things you want, this can often still offer you a lot of flexibility about what treats or practical items you pick to use them for.
And of course you may want to use a voucher you've won that's for a shop you don't use yourself to buy gifts for others, for example.
With both voucher and money prizes you're usually given more flexibility than you'd have if you had simply won a particular product or products at the same value.
These sorts of prize can be big and small. Towards the slightly smaller end, be sure to enter the £50 comp on the back of January's Compers News soon, for example.
We mention that because the deadline for entries to this - and the other 'Prize Puzzle Entry Form' chances to win from that issue - is the last day of this month, January 31st.
Once you've entered the back page Picture Quiz and the other Compers News comps from that issue - some of which feature voucher prizes - you'll already be in with more of a chance of getting a money or voucher prize. Remember that it's possible to enter online as well as by post, so now that you're on our site, you might as well get your entry in that way!
Another step you can take your quest to try and strike it (at least a little bit more) rich through comps is - you guessed it - the Compers News Listings File pages where you can mop up any voucher and money comps there's still time to try your luck at.
Still hungry to try your luck? Accolade's The Prize Finder has a section for money and voucher prizes and the like.
Just as in Compers News, you'll find larger and smaller prizes here - one that caught our eye was the chance to get £10,000 paid towards rent or your mortgage, which is currently on offer on the Research Opinion Poll website.
Among the voucher prize comps listed is one, closing January 31st, from women's mag Company. This has a River Island themed question to answer and a River Island themed prize - vouchers for the fashion retailer.
Also among the listings is the massive £1 million prize that Walkers have on offer, and which we've written about in detail on the blog before. You'll have seen this advertised on Walkers' products in the supermarket, too.
