› Budget101 Discussion List Archives › Budget101 Discussion List › 20 Things to Get For Absolutely Free
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September 4, 2009 at 8:07 pm #275898
rtebalt
Fabulous Freebies 2009
by Erin Burt
Friday, September 4, 2009We looked for primo goods and services, no useless junk allowed. And boy, did we find ’em, from financial management and planning helps to entertainment and vacation freebies.
Go ahead. Embrace your inner tightwad:
If you’re looking for games for the kids — or an excuse to act like a kid yourself — head to Kongregate.com, Popcap.com, Pogo.com and OnlineFlashGames.org for thousands of free online and downloadable games of all types.
For educational or just-for-fun games suited to young kids, check out PBSkids.org, DiscoveryKids.com, NickJr.com and Scholastic.com/kids.
A slew of businesses will give you prime freebies on your birthday that almost make getting older worth it. For instance, anyone can get free admission to Disneyland or Disney World parks in 2009. Join the birthday club at Toys R Us and your child (younger than 10) will get a free toy or gift card every year.
If you sign up in advance to join the club at your favorite eatery, you could score free food on your birthday too. For example, you can get a free meal at Famous Dave’s BBQ and free ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery and Baskin Robbins. Search the Web for “birthday freebies,” then call your local restaurants to ask whether they participate in the deal.
Special delivery! Some retailers still offer free shipping on every order, including Alyssagiftbaskets.com (special-occasion gifts), Bluenile.com (jewelry), Piperlime.com (shoes), Shopbop.com (clothes) and Zappos.com (shoes).
Many merchants offer free shipping if you can pick up the item at your local store, including Walmart.com, Payless.com and REI.com. This comes in handy for online-only items, oversize purchases or goods that have sold out at your local store. Or, look for free shipping deals when you spend a certain amount, such as orders over $25 at Amazon.com.
4. Free Software
For most of your computing needs, you can get free software. For word processing and spreadsheets, go to OpenOffice.org. For antivirus protection, head to AVG Free – Download Free Antivirus and Antispyware for Windows 7, Vista and XP.
5. Free Stock Trades
At Wells Fargo, you get 100 commission-free online trades per year if your cumulative account balance is $25,000 or more (including your Wells Fargo checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, IRAs and brokerage accounts).
6. Free Credit Report
By law, you’re entitled to one free report once a year from each of the three main credit bureaus. Go to http://www.annualcreditreport.com to find out what lenders can see about your credit history.
head online to watch free episodes from hundreds of tv shows — old and current — as well as free movies. and it’s perfectly legal.
at ovguide.com you’ll find a list of tv and movie sites including hulu.com, veoh.com and fancast.com, as well as individual network web sites, such as abc.com and cbs.com.
a buck or two here and there may not seem like a big deal, but if you’re frequenting atms outside your bank’s network, the surcharges can add up quickly.
get money from an atm that belongs to a surcharge-free network. allpoint has about 200 participating institutions and 32,000 ATMs. Money Pass has 600 members and 8,000 ATMs.
Many banks offer free savings accounts, but they won’t help your money grow. Instead, use a high-yield online savings account for your short-term savings, such as ing direct, hsbc direct and emigrant direct. they’re fdic-insured and were recently paying around 1.4%.
They have no minimum-balance requirement, so you earn that rate whether you have $1 or $100,000 saved.
10. Airline Freebies
Airlines may be scaling back their perks, but some still have freebies for fliers. For instance, Southwest lets you check two bags for free, while most others charge extra for luggage. JetBlue lets you check one bag free, plus gives you access to free TV, satellite radio and all-you-can-eat snacks.
Don’t forget about the free flights you can score by signing up for an airline’s frequent-flier program (enrollment is also free). See the “Program Guide” at WebFlyer.com for the lowdown on each airline’s rules.
11. Free Money for Grad School
12. Free Rewards
You have to buy groceries and gas anyway, so why not use those purchases to get a little more green in your wallet? Sign up for a rewards credit card and get free money, gift certificates, airline miles or other perks. (Of course, it’s only free if you pay the balance in full each month without incurring interest charges.)
13. Free Financial Advice
Not to toot our own horn (okay, maybe just a little), but Kiplinger.com is a treasure trove of free financial advice. Our tools and calculators will help you get on the right financial track.
14. Free Mobile Apps
You spent all that money on a new iPhone. Now download some free apps to help you save money and recoup the cost. For instance, the free Mint.com or Quicken apps help you track your spending and manage your money and investments on the go. AMT Hunter can help you find a surcharge-free machine near wherever you are.
There are plenty of other useful applications at the iTunes App Store, with free recipes, weather updates, diet help, music, games and more.
15. Free Books, Movies, & Music
Many libraries also offer free lectures, book readings and community clubs to residents.
16. Free Online Bill Paying
But even if your bank doesn’t give you this freebie, you can probably arrange for automatic bill paying directly with the parties sending the bills, such as your utility, credit-card, phone and mortgage companies.
17. Free Kids’ Meals
You can search for eateries in your area at KidsMealDeals.com.
18. Free Digital Storage Space
For instance, Spideroak.com and Myotherdrive.com each give you 2 gigabytes of free and secure digital storage space. You can also store your cherished photos and videos at sites such as Photobucket.com and Flickr.com. You can also store your pics at photo-print ordering sites such as Snapfish.com, Shutterfly.com or Walmart.com, as long as your account is active.
19. Free Tech Recycling — With Benefits
If you can’t find anyone willing to pay for your dinosaur, look for other free places to recycle. For instance, Best Buy will take many of your tech castoffs at no charge. And keep your eyes open for free e-recycling days in your city.
20. Free Capital Gains
It’s all yours.
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› Budget101 Discussion List Archives › Budget101 Discussion List › 20 Things to Get For Absolutely Free