We are all living in this world where it feels like everything continues to become more and more expensive. Here is your friendly reminder to go back to basics. Believe it or not, there are free things all around us. I have spoken about easy ways to live on less and I mentioned some ways to get things for free. No gimmicks, just reality! In fact, you may have done some of the things I’m about to talk about. Here is a more comprehensive list specifically for free things you can find to dress up your life!
1. Social Groups.
Facebook ‘Buy Nothing’ / ‘Freecycle’ groups, Craigslist, NextDoor. On these websites, there are people giving away items for free within their community. The advertisement usually has photos of items that are sitting on the streets, unwanted and available for pick-up. I have seen so many items on the street in great condition near dumpsters and neighborhoods with “For Free” signs. There are gems to be found in your community. All you have to do is keep your eyes open to see them. Remember to use your due diligence and stay safe when picking up items from strangers.
2. Asking friends or family for stuff.
Often times, the people closest to us do many versions of spring cleaning and they have a “Goodwill” pile of sorts (i.e. things they will donate to charity). If there is something you need, ask the people around you if they have it before they give it away to national charity. I have upgraded my wardrobe many times with brand new clothes, used clothes, furniture, etc. from friends and family because they don’t need them anymore. All free to me! Don’t overlook this beneficial resource.
3. Customer Loyalty programs: Being a loyal customer to a retailer comes with a variety of benefits.
You can get discounts on gas, food, pet care, travel, clothes, cosmetics, shoes, furniture, etc. The memberships are usually free but a few are paid (e.g. Costco, Amazon Prime, Sephora, etc.). If you are good at planning your shopping and redeeming points, your expenses will reduce approx. 12-18%. It might not seem like a lot but it all adds up. It’s the difference between a $100/week grocery bill and a $88 grocery bill. Reducing your bill at 12%, it’s a $12/week savings. I know you can think of things to spend $12 on instead of just throwing it away. Be sure to do your research to find the best loyalty programs that yield the greatest benefits for you.
4. Ask for samples.
While you are shopping in-store, you can ask the retailer if they can give you a sample of a product to try. You can also request free samples online from some retailers to be delivered to your home (E.g. Cosmetics, Hygiene products, perfumeries, spices) and they may ask for a review of their product in return.
5. Get a local public library card.
A library offers a variety of education and entertainment for the masses to rent for free. They also have recent books, music, movies and other educational activities you can join freely with a library membership (museums, classes, etc.).
6. Media Subscriptions.
If you’re tired of paying for subscriptions, don’t! There are great free options to satisfy your media entertainment desires. For music and TV, tolerate the ads. You can enjoy Freefy, Deezer, YouTube Music, Pandora, SoundCloud, and NeuroRadio for music entertainment. For movies and TV, you can download apps for free to watch a variety of movies on Tubi, Freevee, Pluto TV, Roku TV, and BiliBili.
7. Use coupons, digital or physical.
They are there to help us reduce our expenses. Your local grocery stores may have their own app with their own coupons. Popular coupon apps: Ibotta, The Coupons, Shop Savvy, Coupon Cabin, and Dosh.
8. Take advantage of national food holidays.
If you are on social media, you may have seen the promotion of, what may seem like, random holidays. For example: “National Donut Day”, “National Coffee Day” which means you will get free food at participating stores.
9. Sign up for free trials.
For this one, I recommend being organized so that you remember to cancel it and don’t incur any fees for trying something new. When you sign up, some trials offer the option to “cancel upon renewal” so that you don’t have to worry about it. It’s usually located in your profile subscriptions settings.
10. Participate in a Sweepstake and/or Contest.
Use your best judgment when signing up for a sweepstake or contest. Never ever enter personal identification numbers like credit cards, social security numbers, bank information, etc. Legitimate and well-known competitions have a history of winners and they don’t ask for that kind of information from their participants. For example: Local Radio concert ticket contests, HGTV Dream Home giveaway (one must pay those property taxes if a winner), etc.
11. Free Online Courses.
If you want to learn a new skill without paying for a college class, you can become educated online remotely from anywhere. Such free courses can be found on: Coursera, EDX, Udemy, and Alison.
12. Ask your doctor for a free sample of an expensive prescription.
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