Student wins $10,000 for budgeting skills
Winning $10,000 in a contest would open up all kinds of opportunities. The winner would then have to decide what to do with all that money. Would they buy a car? Pay off student debts?
USU student Lori Thompson faced that question December 2011 when she won Cheapster, a web reality contest presented by Zions Bank.
What did she do with the money?
“I haven’t spent it yet,” Thompson said in an interview Jan. 24. “I’m still saving it.”
For someone who won a contest about saving money, such a response makes sense.
Thompson said neither she nor her husband had student debt and both of their cars were already paid off when she won the contest. She will likely spend the prize money on her education, she said, but hasn’t yet seen the need.
Thompson, a senior studying human movement science and psychology, currently interns at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado.
The contest pitted 10 young adults against one another. Each was given a set amount of money to complete a series of tasks, such as purchasing and creating a meal or decorating an office cubicle. Contestants tried to impress the judges by spending the least amount of money. The program’s seven episodes aired on the web at www.cheapster.tv.
Ashley Murray, Cheapster public relations associate, said in a party after the contest aired that Thompson was presented with 10,000 $1 bills.
A photo of Thompson and her husband holding the orange laundry basket full of cash later appeared on Cheapster’s Facebook page. After the party, the money was deposited in a student savings account at Zions in Thompson’s name.
When asked what how holding the prize money felt, Thompson said, “heavy.”
Thompson said the challenges in the contest were a little more stressful than regularly saving money.
“I think the main thing about saving money is you need time to research,” Thompson said. “We were kind of on a tight time schedule, so that part was a little stressful — trying to figure out what we were going to do in 10 minutes and do it fast.”
Thompson said her parents, who own an auto body and repair shop in Duchesne, Utah, taught her skills she could use to save money. When Thompson turned 16, her parents gave her a Ford Mustang, she said. The car had been totaled, though, and Thompson had the responsibility to repair it. The second-youngest in a family of eight siblings, Thompson said her older brothers and sisters helped her repair and paint the car.
Janice Taylor, Thompson’s mother, said Thompson has always shown an interest in saving money.
“There have been times when I could see that my bank account was going to go in the hole, and I would call my little college student who is making minimum wage and ask if I could borrow some money for a few days until I got the check that was coming in,” Taylor said.
Thompson said her close friends and family followed the program as new episodes were posted on the web.
“I didn’t really know if I wanted them to (watch),” Thompson said. “It’s kind of embarrassing. When I watched it, I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, I can’t believe I said that.’ I’m such a drama queen on the show.”
Thompson said throughout the duration of the contest, she didn’t expect to win but she enjoyed the experience.
“I was there to have fun, to make friends and if that’s all I got out of it, I was fine with it,” Thompson said.
Thompson’s attitude may have helped her win the cash. In the final episode, after the judges tallied points earned for each challenge, Thompson was the last of the three finalists. In a surprise twist, the judges brought the eliminated contestants to vote for the champion. The vote decided the contest in Thompson’s favor.
Fellow Aggie Eric Richardson participated in the competition. Richardson, a junior majoring in psychology, said Thompson’s consistency and kindness may have helped her win.
“She would always find a good price for what she was doing and have a really good plan,” Richardson said. “She was helping other people out and being really nice the whole time. She was really classy.”
– steve.kent@aggiemail.usu.edu