A QUIET chat on the couch with a friend quickly became a celebration for Chatsworth resident Jackie Manson after she won a $1000 debit card as part of this week's Bill Busters Bingo competition.

"I couldn't believe it,” Mrs Manson said.

"I was so excited.”

A dedicated reader of The Gympie Times for the last 27 years, Mrs Manson said the prize had come at the perfect time.

"The good thing is our son is coming back from Canada on Saturday and it would be nice to spend some money on him.”

With another son living in Norway who will also be visiting soon, she planned on sharing the prize around.

"I'm sort of think sort thinking half for Andrew and half for Cameron when they come,” she said.

"It will just be a nice thing to do.”

Mrs Manson said it was the first major prize she had won, although she had also previously won a Xbox through The Gympie Times many years ago.

While she didn't enter many competitions, being a regular reader of the paper made entering Bill Busters Bingo much easier.

Having been retired for 12 months, Mrs Hanson said she kept busy by splitting her time between visiting her children, getting together with friends, and enjoying her extensive garden.

Having won so sparingly in the past, she harboured similar expectations this time around which made the win even more fantastic.

"You do enter things and you always think 'well I'm never going to win'.”