A THRIFTY Lake District family is in the running to be crowned Britain’s most money savvy having been shortlisted in a national award.

The Yates family from Ambleside are among the best six cost cutters in the country in a competition that was entered by 1,000 families.

Kelly Yates, 37, who along with her partner, Andy, 33, runs a balloons and Jester company, have been tasked with keeping an online blog.

This will allow them to share their ideas and hopefully inspire other families to keep costs down.

Mrs Yates entered the family, including their three-year-old son, Arthur, into the six week Nectar Savvy Family competition as she felt their frugal habits would make them worthy of the title.

These include trawling the web for deals, heading to supermarkets to buy reduced items, buying from charity shops or car boot sales and selling unwanted wares in order to save up for big occasions.

"My mum always said I could find a sale in a charity shop," said Mrs Yates. "I have never been in debt. If I can't afford something I don't buy it.

"I tried to write a very general blog of what to do which people could incorporate into their lives independent of where they live."

The couple have combined their two outlooks for life to perfect their thrifty living.

Mr Yates likes to put back into the earth what he takes out by picking fruit and recycling goods. This links in well with his wife’s inclination to always hunt for the fairest price for items she is buying.

The couple managed to decorate their home in Kirkstone Road from top to bottom with a £50 budget.

Mrs Yates has also entered free competitions which has provided the family with cameras, snowboarding lessons and lots of other goodies.

If they are crowned champions in this competition they will be rewarded with: four EasyJet flights to any destination, a Sainsbury's giftcard worth £500, a free week's car hire in Europe courtesy of Hertz, £500 from BP to spend on fuel plus lots more recession-busting prizes.

Their blog will be reviewed against the other participating families by a panel of judges, including financial expert, Jasmine Birtles, last year’s winning Mum, Hannah Mills, and Nectar Marketing Director, James Frost.

For more information and to follow the Yates family’s progress in their bid for the Savvy Family crown, visit www.nectar.com/savvy.