Question from a facebook follower:
DO you ever get free things and if so where or how do you get it? We are on a fixed income and never have enough to make it through out the month, no entertainment, Skippy meals etc…
Free Food
I like to sign up for free samples in the mail, often these are food items. Over the probably 2 years that I’ve been doing this I’ve received chocolate milk, tea, coffee, coffee creamer, baby formula, protein shake mix, soyjoy bar, granola bars, little boxes of cereal, cream of wheat, dried cranberries, vitamins, pectin for freezer jam, and I’m sure some other things that I can’t think of at the moment. This is an easy way to get some free samples and usually coupons too, but it’s probably not going to make a big dent in your grocery bill. Some people like to save their free samples for car trips or gifts. If you coupon a lot then I recommend this even more, since most freebies come with a coupon.
Fuzzy, the cat we used to have, eating a free can of cat food.
Free Toiletry Items
I probably get more toiletry samples than food samples. Mostly I get shampoo and conditioner. Often they come in little packets that I can get to last at least 2 washings, if not more. Occasionally they’ll come in bigger bottles that last even longer. If you’re not picky about the kind of shampoo you use, this is a great way to get some free! Because of the size I like to save them for trips.
A recent freebie I got was a coupon for a free bottle of shaving cream and $8 off coupon for the razor and blades. Since the razor set was $8.97, I only paid 97 cents.
Other toiletry freebies I’ve gotten are face wash, body soap, lotion, baby wipes, diapers, and laundry detergent. Like the food freebies, it probably won’t help you save hundreds of dollars, but it can help in small ways.
Freebies
Free Gift Cards and other Things
There are different websites you can use to earn points and win things. The only one I have experience with is swagbucks. You can read more about my experience with it here. I’ve used it for gifts, toothpaste and amazon gift cards.
Free Entertainment/Eating Out
She mentioned that they don’t do any entertainment, which I think is very noteworthy since entertainment is a good area to cut out of the budget if needed. There are plenty of free ways to have fun! However if you watch deal-sites you can sometimes find ways to eat out or get entertained for cheaper or even free. I know RedBox does occasional free rentals, some restaurants give you something free on your birthday and things like that.
All of that to say, if you don’t currently have a site you follow for freebies/coupons/deals, I follow Money Saving Mom and check out Free Samples.
Check out my post Giving Freebies as Gifts without Being Tacky.
NOTE: Another reader asked me about the safety of giving out personal information to get freebies, which I’ll answer in another post.