Posted by CBS Broadcasting on May 21, 2010 at 17:57:55:
Winning Cash, Cars, Trips Without Spending Money
"Sweepers" Reveal Their Secrets To Winning Reporting
Kate Merrill BOSTON (WBZ)
Vacations, new cars, appliances and home improvements; what if you could have all these things and more without ever reaching for your wallet?
Dozens of people across the country are doing just that.
They call themselves 'sweepers.'
"A sweeper is someone who enters sweepstakes and contests on a regular basis and hopefully has a few wins to tell," explained veteran sweeper Gwen Beauchamp. "There's no other feeling like it. It's a high, and it never goes away."
STARTED WITH DISNEY WEDDING
For Gwen, it all started 22 years ago when she entered a writing contest.
The prize was a Disney on Ice wedding.
"I won. I nearly fell over," Gwen recalled. "Snow White was the maid of honor. Prince Charming was the best man. And Dopey was the ring bearer."
MADE LIFE VERY NICE
So not everyone dreams about getting married next to Dopey, but before you give up on the idea of sweeping, check out some of the other things Gwen and her husband have won: four cars, 90 trips, televisions, computers, cameras, tickets to sporting events, and cash totaling about $100,000.
"It made life very nice," Gwen said.
Life has also been pretty nice and cheap for Carol, who didn't want to use her last name.
"I just got back from four days and three nights in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic," she said.
Carol also has a long list of sweepstakes winnings: jewelry, appliances, clothing, shoes, cameras, watches, trips and lots of gift cards.
SWEEPING SECRETS
So here's the big question.
How do they do it?
They agreed to let us in on a few secrets.
Get Organized
There are several websites that group all the contests on one page to make it easier to enter in bulk.
There is SweepSheet and Gwen is launching her own called SweepsU.
Understand The Odds
Local sweepstakes generally have fewer entries so you have a better chance of winning.
We found a contest for a trip to Punta Cana like the one Carol took, and it was only good out of Logan or JFK in New York.
Contests with more than one prize will also improve your chances.
Use Your Talents
Contests that require some sort of skill like writing or drawing also tend to have fewer entries.
Gwen has had a lot of success with this type of sweepstakes.
"I do a lot of recipe contests, cook-offs and writing contests," she explained.
Don't Forget The Taxes
You don't want to turn down a prize because you can't afford the government's cut or worse, taking the trip and then finding out afterwards that you owe Uncle Sam 25 percent or more of the value of the trip.
AFFORDING THE UNAFFORDABLES
Both Carol and the Beauchamps say if you learn to play the game, you'll come out ahead, way ahead.
"Sweepstaking provided those extra things in life that we could never have afforded," said Gwen.
Gwen and her husband were able to take their kids to Disney World nine times.
THE CATCH
If there's a catch, here it is.
Sweeping takes time.
Gwen and her husband put in more than ten hours a week.
They estimate they win between fifteen and twenty percent of what they enter.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc.
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