Newsfeed
Kiplinger.com has a list of 64 freebies that is great! Their list of something-for-nothing deals has only quality goods and services that you would pay good money for, but don’t need to. From free food to free investing and financial services to free technology and entertainment, there’s something for everyone.
Here is the list of all 64, but for more information check out the Kiplinger slideshow here. Scan the list, you may be surprised by some of the freebies you find. We were!
- Free Stock Trades. Use fee-free online trading platforms such as Loyal3 or Robinhood. Also, some of the more-traditional brokers such as Fidelity or Charles Schwab sometimes offer promotions.
- Free Resources for Income Investors. There are millions of pages of free information online, but it’s hard to get through. Kiplinger’s favorite free sources for reasoned discussion and hard-to-find financial data for income investors are Closed-End Fund, InvestinginBonds.com, EMMA and TCW.
- Free Samples. From small tubes of toothpaste, shampoo, mouthwash and deodorant to books, magazines, food and clothing. Blogs and sites that cull freebie offers from a variety of sources are out there, such as Hey, It’s Free! and Mr. Free Stuff. Plus manufacturers such as Betty Crocker, Pillsbury and Procter & Gamble regularly offer a limited supply of samples and full-sized products. But beware of offers that require you to pay for shipping. Also, follow your favorite brands on Facebook and Twitter to hear about freebies first-hand.
- Free Perks for Your Pooch. There are plenty of free goods and services dog owners should take advantage of to save money. From restaurants that offer free treats to dogs during happy hour to hotels that don’t charge extra for pets. For here for a list of 8 freebies for your dog.
- Free Eye Care. For those without private insurance who are 65 and older and haven’t seen an eye doctor in three or more years, EyeCare America can help.
- Free Preventive Care. By law, most health plans now must provide a variety of preventive-care benefits for free, even if you haven’t met your plan’s deductible for the year. These include screenings for high blood pressure and cholesterol, mammograms for women older than 40 and routine vaccinations for children and adults. Click here for a full list.
- Free Rx Drugs. Several supermarket pharmacies, such as Meijer, PriceChopper and Publix, offer select antibiotics, diabetes medications and other generic drugs for free. Pharmaceutical companies also offer free and low-cost drugs to low-income people without prescription-drug insurance. Use the RxAssist database to find them. (On a side note, because of a promotion the pharmaceutical company was offering we recently spent $35 on medication that would have cost $600 through our insurer).
- Free Diet and Fitness Help. Use Fatsecret, MyFitnessPal or SparkPeople if you need help sticking to a diet and exercise plan. Also, ask if your workplace has a wellness plan. These programs may include free gym access, among other things.
- Free Wellness Classes. You may be able to find free fitness and wellness classes in your area. Some are hosted by communities, some by stores such as Lululemon Athletica who offer free weekly yoga classes.
- Free Parks. Some national parks don’t charge entrance frees. And on several days throughout the year all national parks are free. Click here for the schedule. Also, several state park systems offer older adults free admission.
- Free Museums. Many top-notch museums, galleries and zoos offer free admission year-round. Some let you in for free on certain days of the week or month. Bank of America cardholders can gain free admission to more than 150 museums on the first full weekend of every month.
- Free Concerts and Performances. Take advantage of the occasional free concerts that some performing arts centers hold. In addition, communities across the country have free lunchtime and evening concerts in the park during summer months. Or you could volunteer as an usher at a local theater.
- Free Sports. Available during spring training for Major League Baseball and summer training camps for the NFL. Or watch Olympic athletes train in Park City Utah, Colorado Springs, Colorado and Chula Vista, CA.
- Free Fishing. Most states have free fishing days when you can fish without a license. Check them out here.
- Free Hobbies. Many local retailers offer free workshops, such as Williams-Sonoma, REI, Apple, Home Depot, Lowe’s and Michaels. Check out your local library, too.
- Free Movies and TV. Watch free movies and TV series online at Crackle.com or head to the TV networks’ Web Sites. If you sign up for text alerts from Redbox, you’ll get a promo code each month for a free movie rental.
- Free E-Books. You can legally download thousands of books whose copyrights have expired, including War and Peace, Moby Dick and Little Women from Gutenberg.org or the University of Pennsylvania. You can also search for free e-books on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iTunes. You can also borrow e-books from your local library.
- Free Audiobooks. You can get them from Librophile or Loyal Books. They have classic books, including children’s titles.
- Free Music. Listen online or use the apps to listen to Pandora or Spotify.
- Free Tuition. A handful of schools actually offer a free college education. And many offer tuition waivers for older adults. See the Kiplinger website, slide 21, for more information.
- Free Grad School. Many employers help pay for an advanced degree.
- Free Classes. Many colleges and universities post course material and lectures on their web sites, including Johns Hopkins, Notre Dame and MIT. Saylor.org complies a list of what is available. You can also go to iTunes U for more than 250,000 free lectures, videos and other materials from 600 universities, including Oxford, Stanford and Yale.
- Free Computer Classes. Brush up on your computer skills at your public library, which may offer a variety of free computer and technology classes.
- Free Language Lessons. Go to Open Culture for a list of lessons around the web that you can download to your MP3 player. Your public library may also offer courses or software.
- Free Resume Help. Stop by an American Job Center, a service provided by the U.S. Dept of Labor, in your area. Also watch for workshops at your local library, community center or college.
- Free Financial Advice. Well, you can find this across Kiplinger.com and their related social-media platforms.
- Free Capital Gains. Invest in a Roth IRA and let your investments grow 100% tax-free!
- Free Baby Stuff. There are a variety of freebies available. Get free infant formula samples from Similac. Or a free baby nutrition kit from Gerber. Sam’s Club offers free samples of its diapers and wipes (though it looks like that is on hold right now). Or sign up with diaper manufacturers like Pampers for free samples. If you create a baby-gift registry at Target or Amazon you also get free samples and coupons.
- Free Portfolio Checkup. Are your investments as diversified as you think they are? Use Morningstar.com’s Instant X-Ray tool.
- Free Retirement Planning. A free tool at Fidelity.com is for everyone, not just customers.
- Free Credit Reports, Scores and Monitoring. Go to AnnualCreditReport.com for a free copy of your credit report from each of the three credit bureaus once a year, no strings attached. Several sites, such as Credit.com, Credit Karma, Credit Sesame and Quizzle, also offer free credit reports, as well as credit scores and monitoring.
- Free Credit-Card Perks. By using your credit card to pay, you may be entitled to some freebies. Such as free rental-car insurance, vacation cancellation insurance, luggage that is lost, stolen or damaged during flights, extended warranties, cell-phone replacement and free museum admission. Call your card issuer to find out what perks you qualify for.
- Free Checking. This is getting harder to find without having to jump through a lot of hoops. Look to online banks such as Ally or Bank of Internet USA.
- Free Cash Back on Your Purchases. There are everyday purchases that you make that you might as well get cash back on. Sign up for a rewards credit card or shop online at rebate portal sites such as BeFrugal, Ebates or Extrabux.
- Free Food at Restaurants. They may have an annual freebie day, or offer freebies on certain holidays. Such as free pancakes from IHOP on National Pancake Day, or free doughnuts on National Donut Day from many doughnut stores, among others. Look for them and take advantage!
- Free Ice Cream. Many ice cream and frozen yogurt shops offer freebies throughout the year, especially if you join their clubs.
- Free Fruit. FallingFruit.org has an interactive map that shows where you can harvest your own fruit from trees and plants that grow on public lands.
- Free Kids Meals. Visit KidsMealDeals.com to find restaurants where kids eat free.
- Free Birthday Treats. Many places offer birthday freebies if you sign up for their email lists or join their birthday clubs. Here is a list of best birthday freebies.
- Free Stuff on the Road. Stay at hotels that offer free breakfast, free Wi-Fi, free fitness facilities, free parking, and other perks. Priceline has a searchable database of hotel freebies.
- Free Hotel Stays. Sign up for loyalty programs to rack up points towards free stays. Hotels.com Welcome Rewards gets you a free night after booking ten nights through the site.
- Free Flight Perks. Southwest lets you check two bags for free and on many flights you can also watch some TV channels for free on their Wi-Fi. JetBlue lets you check one bag free, plus access to free TV, satellite radio and all-you-can-eat snacks.
- Free Price Watcher. Yapta.com tracks your flights for price drop after you buy your ticket. If the price goes down, they notify you and help you collet a refund or travel vouchers from the airline. They do the same for hotels, too. Tingo automatically rebooks your room at the lower rate if the hotel drops its price. For rental cars, try AutoSlash.
- Free Lodging. Avoid hotel feels by house swapping or house sitting, couchsurfing, or even farming.
- Free Tour Guides. Team up with a local or get free audio walking tours from iTunes, Audissey Guides or iAudioguide. Do a web search and find other free audio tour downloads.
- Free Travel Apps. Free mobile apps can help you save time and money when you travel by car. For example, GasBuddy helps you find the cheapest nearby gas prices. Waze provides real-time traffic information and Last Minute Travel offers access to wholesale prices for hotels and discounts on theme parks, sporting events, etc.
- Free Passport Photos. It costs about $15 at the post office, instead take your photo with your own digital camers and upload it to ePassportPhoto.com. They will help you size it properly.
- Free Document Shredding. Don’t own a shredder or have a stack of papers to shred? local governments, police departments and solid-waste agencies in at least 23 states offer free shredding events.
- Free Calls. If you have limited minutes on your mobile phone plan, then use free services such as Skype, Viber or Vonage.
- Free Wi-Fi. More restaurants and retailers are offering free Wi-Fi. Go to WiFiFreeSpot to find places when you’re away from home or download the Free Wi-Fi Finder app on iTunes.
- Free Software. For many basic computing needs, you can get free software. Try Google Docs for word processing, spreadsheets and multimedia presentations. To manage finances, try the free budgeting program from Mint.com. For photo and video editing, try Google Photos or Pixlr.mint
- Free Texting. If you don’t get unlimited free texting on your cell phone plan, try Textfree or WhatsApp.
- Free Legal Advice. Kiplinger suggests using Nolo.
- Free Tax Software and Guidance. If your adjusted gross income is below a certain level you could qualify for free tax-prep software and filing, or for free tax help from the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. Click here for a complete list of options.
- Free Digital Storage Space. Apple iCloud, Dropbox or Windows OneDrive all give you free, secure digital storage space.
- Free Auto Services. Auto service chain Pep Boys offers five free services. Advance Auto Parts also has free services.
- Free Trees. Some utility companies offer free trees to help reduce energy use through strategic planting. Local governments and conservation districts also give away seedlings on Arbor Day. Many cities, counties and utility companies also offer residents free mulch, if you pick it up.
- Free Tools. National auto-parts retailers, such as Advanced Auto Parts, AutoZone, O’Reilly Auto Parts and Pep Boys, let you borrow expensive-to-own, specialty tools to repair your car. You’ll have to pay a deposit, but you get it back when you return the tool. Several cities also have tool lending libraries that let residents borrow tools–from plumbing to circular saws to demolition–for free. Check this list to see if there’s one near you, but some do require a membership fee.
- Free Shipping. If you love to shop online but hate to pay for shipping, go to FreeShipping.org. They will direct you to retailers who offer free shipping on every order, big or small. Also, many retailers offer free shipping if you’ll pick up the order at the local store.
- Free Sales Tax. Technically this isn’t a something-for-nothing deal, but it’s definitely a money-saving opportunity. Fifteen states have sales-tax holidays in July or August. See a complete list here.
- Free Grocery-Shopping Assistance. Free mobile apps can help you save money at the supermarket. For example, Favado automatically matches coupons with items on your shopping list.
- Free Shopping Apps. Have too many loyalty, membership and library cards on your key ring? Use the free Key Ring app to store all your bar-coded cards on your phone, then simply scan your phone at the point of service. Slice helps online shoppers stay organized, and ShopSavvy scans any bar code in the store and instantly compares prices. For in-store coupons, try Coupon Sherpa or RetailMeNot.
- Free Beauty Products. If you sign up for Sephora’s Beauty Insider rewards program (it’s free!), you’ll get a free beauty product during your birthday month, and you can take free beauty classes at select stores. Ulta gives you a free gift during your birthday month if you sign up for their emails. Allure magazine gives away free beauty product samples each month to hundreds who fill out an online form. And, several makeup companies alert their Facebook fans to free samples, so check out your favorite brand for offers.
- Free Money. State treasuries and other agencies are holding billions in unclaimed assets, and some of it could be yours. Search states where you have lived to see if you have any unclaimed property. (We did this last year and discovered over $35 in one state). Click here to find out if you have any money coming to you.
Hopefully this very exhaustive list gives you some information about freebies that are out there that you were unaware of before now. Now, please excuse me as I go reserve a rental car for our family’s summer vacation using AutoSlash…
