Wonga is all for money saving and careful budgeting, but surviving the credit crunch can be a gloomy business and we all need cheering up from time to time. That’s why we’ve been giggling over a spoof list of thrifty tips for saving a quick quid on Lovemoney.com.

Judging from some of the comments left, not everyone has understood they were having their leg pulled, but some of these suggestions certainly made us laugh…

1) Don’t pay babysitters. Instead, “get young couples who are thinking about having kids to ‘rent’ yours for the evening. They get to see what it will be like, and you can get paid instead of paying for sitters.”

2) Tell everyone you’ll be out of town for Christmas. “That way, you can shop in the January sales for presents.”

3) Scour the office for the humble penny. “A good place to find money is on people’s desks. If you look in the cup that has pens and pencils or the container that holds the paper clips and rubber bands you can be sure to find small coins covered with lint.” (Editor’s note: This is stealing. So I don’t recommend it.)

4) Stamp out food waste in the kitchen. “After eating avocado, rub the inside of the skin against your face, it makes a great face pack. You can also use it to buff your shoes.”

Alternatively:

“I buy whole milk and when nobody is looking the milk gets a good glug of water from the tap to eek it out a little further.”

Or:

“When we have toast and jam, I spread the butter on the outside edges of the toast and spread the jam in the middle to fool my other half. Looks proper but doesn’t really taste any different.”

5) Toilet tips. “Squeeze a loo roll into an oval shape. It doesn’t roll out so easily - and kids tend not to use yards at a time!”

6) Car costs. “Park forward-facing when possible; reversing takes more gas.”

Of course if you’re seriously interested in getting better control of your finances, we strongly suggest using a budget. Use Wonga’s free budget service, it’s easier than you might think.

If you’re a Wonga fan and have already discovered the joys of Twitter - Oprah, Ross, Fry, Kutcher and all - then we’d be delighted if you want to follow Wonga! If you have a Twitter account (and it takes seconds to join if not), simply go to our profiles and click the follow button.

We always aim to offer flexibility, so you can choose between WongaMan and WongaWoman, although we’d naturally recommend you follow both!

We like to tweet about everything from service updates to useful web articles and from money saving tips to what kind of music we’re loving in the office.

We recently received a message of thanks from one of the founders of Kiva.org, the fantastic microfinance organisation the Wonga team loves to support. It gave us such a big smile we just had to share his words…

Wonga.com has a been one of Kiva’s biggest lenders, helping to change the lives of the working poor around the world. Thanks to Wonga.com’s support, one pound at a time, hundreds of entrepreneurs have received funding to help take their businesses to the next level, improving, not only their lives, but the lives of their families. Thanks!

Premal Shah, President of Kiva.org

You can find out more about Kiva and the support Wonga provides by visiting our Kiva page. We lend £1 interest-free to entrepreneurs in the developing world for every new Wonga online loan we process each month.

Wonga’s boss is certainly in demand these days. Fresh from the European Business Awards, he was recently in front of the cameras at Smarta, the website for business owners and entrepreneurs looking for advice and inspiration. It’s great to see Errol alongside the likes of Martha Lane Fox of Lastminute fame and we’re in no doubt that his business achievements will soon be held in the same esteem. Grab a can of Tizer and some Butterkist and enjoy the show.

Wonga is having somewhat of a purple patch for awards this week! As previously reported, our CEO just received a Ruban d’Honneur in the RSM International Entrepreneur of the Year category of the European Business Awards.

And to prove it’s not all about personal glory here at Wonga, the company has been getting in on the act too. We’re excited to learn we are a finalist in two key categories of the 2009 Credit Today Awards - Responsible Lender of the Year and Credit Risk Team of the Year.

It’s very cool that our consumer-friendly approach to instant cash loans, plus the underlying technology we’ve developed, has been recognised. We’ll find out if we can give some of the big boys a bloody nose in May, so watch this space.

Last but definitely not least… Our Wonga website has won the IMA Outstanding Achievement Award in the financial services category. A panel of experienced judges rated every aspect of our web interface and we scored highly in all areas, with a total of 476 points out of a possible 500. We’re working on the 24 dropped points now! The IMAs recognise the highest standards of excellence in website design and development.

As previously reported, the innovation, drive and business success of our founder & CEO has been recognised by the European Business Awards. He was in Rome yesterday to receive a prestigious medal known as the Ruban d’Honneur (ribbon of honour) in the category of International Entrepreneur of the Year.

Adrian Tripp, Chief Executive of the European Business Awards congratulates: “I am very excited about the skills, energy and ingenuity that our Ruban d’Honneur recipients have on display. They are a great showcase of all that is good in European business.”

Naturally everyone at Wonga is as proud as punch and, if he’ll let us get our hands on the medal, we’ll add it to our Wonga awards cabinet.

At the end of an online loan application with Wonga, we’ve been asking for your views on who we should help through our partnership with Kiva. It seems like many of our customers have taken a keen interest and have completed the quick survey.

Kiva allows individuals or businesses to make small loans to entrepreneurs in the developing world - money to help buy livestock, retail goods or machinery for example. Each month Wonga lends £1 interest-free for every new online loan we process. 

You’ve been telling us which countries and types of business you have a preference for and we’re taking the feedback on board. Most popular requests so far are women who are starting businesses in Africa, preferably relating to health or education. We certainly won’t be limiting our lending to these suggestions, but we’ll prioritising them on behalf of Wonga customers.     

Check out the Kiva site for more information about how it works, or join the Wonga lending team. It only takes seconds and you don’t have to make any small loans yourself if you don’t want to - just be part of the team and watch the progress of entrepreneurs we’re helping.