Thanks, Mum

Family historians often talk about the physical traits, personality quirks, and abilities which we feel we inherit from our forebears.  In my case, this blog is the result of the influence of my own mother who was my mentor and inspiration in all things financial – especially when it came to getting the most out of her money, and wherever possible, free stuff.  Today is her birthday and I thought I’d mark the occasion by sharing something that she found very useful in her efforts to save a bob or two.

A very handy way to find out what free offers (often time-limited) are available in the world of genealogy is to sign up for newsletters.  Nowadays these are usually in email format, such as Who Do You Think You Are? magazine’s weekly email.  Of course, many of these messages are thinly-disguised attempts to try and convince you to buy something, but very often they contain information and research tips that are useful by themselves.

For instance, a couple of weeks ago the WDYTYA? newsletter advertised the fact that for a limited time, MyHeritage was giving free access to its Danish and Finnish records. This week’s email highlights the Victorian film collection held by the BFI which they will release for free viewing on 24 May, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s birth.  What a fascinating archive that must be!

And of course there are many other family history-related organisations that try and promote their services by sharing news of events, special offers, or free access, such as archives and record repositories.  A top tip for signing up to marketing communications is to have a dedicated email address you use solely for this purpose.  That way, you will only need to see these newsletters when you choose to, they'll be much less intrusive, and the sender won’t have a note of the address you normally use.  So if a company persists in contacting you despite your requests to unsubscribe, it won’t be nearly so bothersome.

Thanks, Mum!