Get in Shape at Home
It’s been claimed the best things in life are free — and we were unable to agree more . That’s why Free Stuff Bloggers are back with our third yearly list of our favorite freebies. We looked and present the best goods and services, no useless junk allowed. And boy, did we find ‘em, from money management and planning helps to entertainment and vacation free stuff. Go ahead and check them out. Afterward, let us know if our efforts paid off for you or not by sharing your comments with us:
1. Free video games
If you’re trying to find games for the kids — or a reason 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 sorts.
For instructional or just-for-fun games suited to small children, check out PBSkids.org, DiscoveryKids.com, NickJr.com and Scholastic.com/kids.
2. Free Birthday Goodies
A pack of businesses will give you prime freebies on your birthday that just about make getting older worthwhile. For instance, anyone can get free entry to Disneyland or Disney World parks in 2009. Join the birthday club at Toys R Us and your kid ( younger than 10 ) will get a free toy or gift card every year.
If you sign up ahead 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 cafes to ask whether or not they take part in the deal.
3. Complementary shipping
Special delivery! Some shops still offer shipping free on every order, including Alyssagiftbaskets.com ( special-occasion gifts ), Bluenile.com ( jewellery ), Piperlime.com ( shoes ), Shopbop.com ( clothes ) and Zappos.com ( shoes ).
Many merchants offer free delivery if you can pick up the item at your area store, including Walmart.com, Payless.com and REI.com. This is useful for online-only items, oversize purchases or products that have sold out at your local store. Or, look for free shipping deals when you spend a specific amount, for example orders over $25 at Amazon.com. See FreeShipping.org for more deals.
4. Free software
I trust of of us free stuff members already know this but just in case some do not … for the majority of your computing wishes you can get free desktop software. For word processing and spreadsheets, go to OpenOffice.org. For antivirus protection, head to Free AVG. For free basic photograph editing, check out Picasa from Google, or for more complicated touch-ups, try Gimp.org. And to control your finances, use the free programs at Mint.com or Wesabe.com.
5. Free Stock Trades
At Wells Fargo, you get a hundred commission-free online trades per year if your accumulative account balance is $25,000 or more ( including your Wells Fargo checking and saving accounts, certificates of deposit, IRAs and brokerage accounts ).
Also, Zecco.com offers ten free trades per month if you have $25,000 in your account.
6. Free credit report
By law, you’re entitled to one free report every year from each one of the 3 main credit bureaus. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com to discover what banks can see about your credit history.
7. Free television and Movies
Head online to look at free episodes from tons of television shows — old and current — as well as free flicks. And it’s perfectly legal. At OVGuide.com you’ll find a listing of television and flick sites including Hulu.com, Veoh.com and Fancast.com, as well as individual network Web sites,eg ABC.com and CBS.com.
8. Free ATMs
A buck or 2 here and there may not seem like a big score, but if you are 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 2 hundred participating establishments and 32,000 ATMs. Money Pass has six hundred members and 8,000 ATMs.
9. Free ( and risk-free ) Interest
Many banks offer free saving accounts, but they won’t help your cash grow. Instead, employ a high-yield online deposit account for your short term savings,eg ING Direct, HSBC Direct and emigre Direct. They are FDIC-insured and were recently paying around 1.4%. They haven’t any minimum-balance obligation, so you earn that rate whether you have $1 or $100,000 saved.
And consider the free interest-bearing checking accounts from ING Direct and Everbank. They are also FDIC-insured and were recently paying between 0.25% and 1.96%. ( Most traditional banks’ free checking accounts pay you zero. )
10. Airline Freebies
Airlines might be scaling back their advantages, but some still have freebies for fliers. For example, Southwest permits you to check two bags for free , while most others charge extra for baggage. JetBlue lets you check one bag free, and gives you access to free TV, satellite radio and all-you-can-eat snacks. Continental still serves free meals on one or two routes. And all children under age two can fly free on your lap on any airline.
Don’t forget about the free flights you can score by enrolling 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
Typically a year of graduate college costs $28,375 for an advanced qualification at a public college and $38,665 at a personal school. But free money abounds, from grants and financial scholarships to fellowships.
12. Free Rewards
You have to buy groceries and gas anyway, so why don’t you utilize those purchases to get a little more green in your wallet? Sign up for a rewards Mastercard and get free money, present certificates, airline miles or other benefits. ( of course, it’s only free if you pay the remaining balance in full every month without incurring interest fees. )
When you have to make a purchase online, start at BondRewards.com to earn another cool freebie : You click an associated online retailer ( there are hundreds ) to do your shopping as normal, and a proportion of your purchase is given back to you in your BondRewards account. You then redeem your rewards for U.S. Savings bonds or money.
13. Free financial recommendation
Not to toot our own horn ( okay, maybe just a little ), but Kiplinger.com is a treasure-trove of free fiscal advice. Our tools and calculators will help you to get on the right monetary track.
Our expert columnists will answer your personal-finance questions. For example, Kim Lankford answers your general finance questions, Janet Bodnar tackles family and kid subjects and Knight Kiplinger advises readers on ethics and cash matters.
14. Free Mobile Apps
Make best use of your gadgets. You spent all that money on a new iPhone. Now download some free apps to help you save cash and regain the price tag. For example, the free Mint.com or Quicken apps help you track your expenditure and manage your money and investments on a tight schedule. AMT Hunter can help you find a surcharge-free machine near wherever you are. And iShop will help you search for the best price on an item before you purchase.
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
If you haven’t been to the general public library lately, dust down your card. It’s your ticket to heaps of free books, mags, CDs and pictures. Many libraries also offer free lectures, book readings and community clubs to residents.
16. Free Online Bill Paying
Stop paying your debts by check and put their payment on automatic. At many banks, including B. O. A, BB&T, SunTrust and Wachovia, you get free bill paying with each online checking account. ( be sure you studied the fine print — some banks may need you to maintain a certain balance in your main account to get the freebie. )
But even though your bank doesn’t give you this freebie, you can most likely organize for automated bill paying directly with the parties sending the bills, for example your utility, credit-card, telephone and mortgage firms.
17. Free kids’ Meals
Yes, there is such a thing as a free lunch — or dinner. Youngsters eat free at Denny’s, Lone Star Steakhouse and Roadhouse grill every tuesday night ( and some Saturdays ) with a paying adult. IHOP, Golden Corral, Marie Callender’s and Chevys eateries offer kids-eat-free deals at select locations. You can search for eateries in your neighborhood at KidsMealDeals.com.
18. Free Digital storage space
With free online backup storage, you can defend your vital files and photographs from computer crashes, theft or natural disaster. Case in point: As an example, Spideroak.com and Myotherdrive.com each give you 2 gigs of free and secure digital space for storage. You may store your valued photographs and videos at sites like Photobucket.com and Flickr.com. You may also store your images at photo-print ordering sites such as Snapfish.com, Shutterfly.com or Walmart.com, so long as your account is active.
19. Free Tech Recycling – With Benefits
Not only is it getting easier to keep your old electronics out of the dump, but you may even get some free cash in exchange. Services like BuyMyTronics.com, Gazelle.com, MyBoneyard.com and GreenPhone.com recycle or refurbish your old tech and send you a check in exchange. They take cameras, cell telephones, MP3 players, games consoles and more.
If you can’t find anyone prepared to pay for your dinosaur, look for other free places to reuse. As an example, Best Buy will take plenty of your tech castoffs for no charge. And keep your eyes open for free e-recycling days in your town.
20. Free Capital Gains
For 2009, anyone who has invested would’ve made money in the stock market. Who wouldn’t like to let their investments grow 100% tax-free? Take a pass on paying capital-gains taxes by making an investment in a Roth IRA. Any money you put into your Roth grows tax free, and you will not owe Uncle Sam a dime when you cash out in retirement. It’s all yours.