Five Things You Should Get for Free

This is just a list I came up with off the top of my head.  I’m sure not everyone will agree with them and there are some exceptional situations where you will have to pay for these items.

  1. Pens- I get free pens as promotional items all the time.  I don’t understand why people pay big bucks for fancy pens.  The only thing you need a pen to do is write and in my experience a free pen writes just as well as an expensive one.
  2. Matches- I don’t need these too often, which is good because it is harder to get free matches anymore.  They are still available at many bars and casinos though.
  3. Drinking Water- This isn’t completely free since you do pay something for the water coming out of your tap.  A glass of water would only cost a fraction of a penny though.  If you carry a reusable drinking container you should rarely if ever find yourself having to purchase bottled water.
  4. Music- It is free on the radio.  You can borrow cds from your local library if you feel the need to listen to a particular song.  If you need to own the music I see promotions for free MP3 downloads all the time.
  5. DVD Rentals- If you have a Redbox near you than you don’t need to rent DVDs.  Redbox comes out with a free code every Monday and that code is good once for every credit/debit card you have.  That allows you to get multiple free rentals.  A quick Google search will turn up even more free rentals.
  6. Stock Trades- Blogging Banks suggested getting free stock trades with Zecco.  I use them and haven’t had any problems so far.  I believe there are some other ways to get free stock trades as well.

Check out the comments for many more freebies.

21 thoughts on “Five Things You Should Get for Free”

  1. Well, my assistant is getting a free pen – for his birthday. I got him a sells elsewhere for $55 Cross pen engraved with his initials. 🙂 However, it was on sale after Christmas at Cross.com for $19. By the time I paid for engraving, shipping, tax and fancy gift wrap it was a total of $41, but hey. I would love it if someone would buy me a nice pen, they feel sexy in your hand…LOL But otherwise, you’re right, pens for free! 🙂

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  2. Ooo, good post!

    1. Newspapers — I read the three major local papers online. If I really want a hard copy (usually just for the Sudoku puzzle), I’ll pick one up at school for free (my local papers give away free copies at the downtown university campus).
    2. TV and movies — either I borrow them on DVD from the library, watch them on network websites, or trade .avis of eps with friends. (I haven’t figured out bitTorrenting yet, so my approach is low-tech.)
    3. Books — between BookMooch, the library, and the preview copies I get from work, I’ve stopped buying, unless it’s to support a friend at their book launch, or to buy a second-hand textbook (which will be resold when I’m done with it).
    4. Cloth or plastic bags — I’ve gotten enough cloth bag freebies to last me for a lifetime; I bring them to the grocery store so I don’t get charged for plastic bags
    5. Sunglasses & umbrellas – the lost and found at my job is overflowing with these
    6. Manila envelopes, manila paper, bubble wrap, packing boxes — can be had for free at your local bookstore, where they have to throw out or recycle a massive quantity of all of this stuff every week
    7. Plant food — pasta water seems to be doing the trick nicely
    8. Financial advice: I entertained the thought of hiring a financial advisor, but blogs + David Swenson’s books + social-networking-investment-community websites have been doing well enough for me
    9. Airline reservations — I see no reason to pay a travel agent when I can do it all myself, online, for less.
    10. Mugs — there’s another promotional item I get given dozens of

    Reply
  3. Rachel- That is a good list. I do most of them myself. My school has free newspapers as well. Haven’t tried the lost and found for sunglasses and umbrellas but I’m sure that would work.

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  4. I was glad to see Rachel mention ways to save on books. I prefer http://www.bookins.com to BookMooch because Bookins adjusts its points to give you a fairer value for what you’re trading. You get enough points for signing up, which is free, to get a current hardback, several paperbacks or one or two DVDs, so it’s well worth it. I found my listings moved faster with Bookins, too. Check it out and if you decide to sign up, please use this link so I’ll get some points, too! http://www.bookins.com/index.php?p1=1c_0cq0cA

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  5. Oh – there are so many freebies! If you are diligent enough, you could very likely get away with using just freebie toothpaste and shampoo forever! And there are also so many free magazine giveaways nowadays (try Valuemags and Mercury mags).

    I remember free road maps at service stations – but even now there are free state maps and area maps from tourist agencies and transit maps if you ask…And gratis area guides, too. I collect them for my visitors and friends.

    There are also all kinds of things with ads on them – note pads, post-its, pencils, erasers, pencil sharpeners, cups, keychains, to to mention visors, etc. – the list of gifties goes on and on. Look for them at the next fair or convention or meeting you go to…And you can recycle the padded bags that your freebies COME in numerous times (otherwise they cost $.)

    There are also free calendars that are sent to you – or which you can print out from the net – and free books you can download from sites like Gutenberg –

    My sunglasses and reading glasses come from the 99 Cent Store – but I did get a lovely umbrella from a travel gathering that has Tucson on it…

    You can also get free copies of newspapers at fairs when they are trying to get subscriptions –

    And free water bottles with advertising on them!

    I also supplement my skin care regimen with all the lotion samples I get from my freebie sites (and pick up at health food stores)I have a month’s or more worth – and they are also great for traveling….Ditto soap samples.

    There are also lots of items for people with kids – coloring books and activity books and all sorts of stuff…

    Now to mention samples of supplements – And free t-shirts, too!

    Check out mommysavesbig.com or freestufftimes.com
    for 2 updated freebie sites….

    Reply
  6. Paper clips! You find them all over the place.
    Scrap paper: What ELSE do you do with junk mail? (Or, in my case, printouts from courses I’ve finished.)
    “Stationery”: For those who still write (well, scribble) notes on paper, use the other sides of junk mail, or those printouts.
    Plastic bags: I reuse bread bags, produce bags, bagel bags, etc.
    Wrapping paper: Use the Sunday funnies, or maybe some of those free maps. 🙂

    Reply
  7. You know what else is free…. Air you can find it anywhere.
    Sex is harder to get, but if you’re willing to put in the time to go out on a week night, you just might find that woman or man that’s been drinking heavily because they’ve down on their luck and can’t say no to a inviting smile an a chance to get a free STD.
    Also another free item is blowing ass. This is perfect to do when you see some one getting a little greedy with the free air. All you have to do is walk passed the person taking advantage of the free air, pull one cheek apart(It’s called the one cheek sneak, a silent technique developed by high school girls that needed to honk ass but didn’t want to give up their position.) and give them a nice gust of hot garbage right to the dome.

    Email me for more free tips on how to more like the folks that run Hollywood. TTFN & WWHD

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  8. Just so you know I went mommysavesbig.com and they offer something free from the easybakeware company. It is NOT free. It cost $1.00 to ship and they automatically charge your credit card $15.00 a month!!

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  9. I agree that pens are free but it always seems that the pens that I get for free run out of ink faster than the ones that I can refill. The free ones do serve a pupose… when someone needs one, I give them one of the free ones I have received and don’t care if I get it back or not!

    There is less waste when you have a refillable pen as well!

    Reply
  10. Pingback: Beat the Bookstore

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