Posted on: July 13, 2009 by Matt
Over the past year or so I have been finding new and different ways to get free stuff. Some items I earn through various programs online and others are just through enrolling in certain services. Today I figured I would take a few minutes and share some of the ways that I get the occasional little item or gift card for free or with very little effort anyway:
- Swagbucks: All you do is search and earn points over time. They use a Google based engine so the results are pretty good. Over time the Swagbucks add up and you can redeem them for prizes and gift cards. So far I have managed to get $15 in iTunes for free (my girlfriend was happy about that) and now there is even a $5 PayPal option. There are also relatively inexpensive $5 gift cards for Amazon and plenty of raffle like contests going on. A pretty good deal considering I have not changed my routine all that much.
- CashCrate: When I have a bit more time to kill I sometimes complete random offers over at CashCrate. I have received payment from them in the past and know that they do pay out. The trick is that you have to get to the minimum payout ($20), know what to do with the offers and be willing to put up with some tedium.
- Live It With Charter: I just found out about this service but if you are a Charter customer then you can get signed up to earn free reward points based on how much your bill comes to. Then they hold redemption days where you can cash in your points for merchandise. A pretty cool deal for not having to do anything.
- UPromise: I have a UPromise account that I let collect money that I will hopefully apply to my Sallie Mae student loan. I have gained some cash from just going about my normal life as well as a bit from shopping online through my Upromise account.
- Credit Card Rewards: My credit card has a rewards system and I generally let the balance build up until we can get something fun. Right now I am about at the point that I could cash in and get a $50 gift certificate. When the time comes to actually cash in my points I will go through it with my girlfriend and see what she wants.
Posted on: June 8, 2009 by Matt
Last night my girlfriend and I were watching a show called Taboo that featured a segment on the Freegan lifestyle. Freeganism is an anti-consumerist lifestyle choice that focuses on living as inexpensively as possible. From what I could gather – they lifestyle consists largely of not buying anything and gathering your belongings and food from other people’s trash. The segment included clips of people foraging through dumpsters digging up all sorts of food including:
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Meat
- Breads
- Soda
Basically – you name it and they were dumpster diving for it. It was like frugal living taken to the extreme.
Now – to be totally honest: I have on occasion picked a couple of items in the past out of the trash. Mostly a piece of furniture here or there that was left next to the dumpster. My first entertainment center came from a neighbor that was throwing one away. I figure if something is in good condition and I have a use for it then why not? One person’s trash is another person’s treasure right?
However – the thought of digging through dumpsters looking for food never really crossed my mind. The folks on the show seemed to pull quite a bit of decent looking produce out of dumpsters and they claimed that they have not ever gotten sick from the food. They also noted that they do wash all food that they gather through a bleach mixture prior to cooking and eating just to make sure any nasty bacteria are killed off. I found the idea rather intriguing but also a bit dangerous with some possible serious health risks (hazardous or medical waste in the dumpster with your food? Not for me).
On the other hand – I did start to think more about how wasteful we are as a culture. We throw away a lot of food on a daily basis that is perfectly good for consumption and I would like to see that diminish a bit. The concept is great for those that do not mind gathering their meals from the trash and I think the concept is somewhat admirable – just not for me and my family.
Posted on: November 13, 2008 by Matt
While flipping through some blogs this morning I happened upon a post over at IowaHippieChick that advertised a free 8X11 Custom Cover Photo Book from SnapFish. The deal is courtesy of Oprah and SnapFish.
The deal is good for one 20 page custom cover photo book and runs until 11:59 PM PST tomorrow (11/14/08). You then have until 11:59 PM on Sunday (11/16/08) to complete your photo book. From the looks of the disclaimer you will still be responsible for shipping and handling but for that cost I think I will be looking to pick up a photo book for a family member as a gift for Christmas.
The full text of the disclaimer for those interested is:
This offer is only good for one standard 20-page 8″ x 11″ custom-cover photo book per household. Coupon dispersal ends at 11:59 p.m. PST Friday, November 14, 2008. Free photo book must be redeemed by 11:59 p.m. PST Sunday, November 16, 2008. Offer does not include customary shipping and handling changes or additional pages. Offer applies only to mail-order delivery to U.S. customers. Offer cannot be combined with other coupon codes. Coupon cannot be resold or otherwise transferred and is void on the earlier of redemption or the offer end date.
If you missed the link above then just click here to get to the page to get your free book.
Posted on: October 22, 2008 by Matt
I have been reading a lot lately about the number of people that use pharmacy shopping to get some really good deals including a number of free after rebate (FAR) items. My girlfriend loves shopping at Walgreens due to the selection of interesting and fun cosmetic products and the politeness of the people that work there (at the Walgreen we visit everyone is really polite and friendly). We also find that the store is generally cleaner and easier to navigate than other pharmacy stores in the area. The only problem I have been able to identify so far is that the nearest Walgreens for us is about 15 or 20 miles away in New Hampshire; we generally stop in when we are headed in that direction.
Normally our little shopping trips to Walgreens involve getting a handful of items that are needed around the house and browsing. However our last trip may have changed the way that we shop at Walgreens a bit and may have also addicted us to the monthly sale and rebate items.
Our trip started out normally, I followed my girlfriend around so we could talk and joke while looking at all the cosmetics. I then decided to go up and grab a weekly sale flyer and the monthly rebate booklet. I proceeded to go compare prices on batteries that we needed and peruse the ads. When I caught back up with my girlfriend and asked her “How would you like to get some free foundation?” she looked back at me with curiosity. I opened the rebate booklet and reviewed the details of the FAR items and informed her that I had read online that we could actually make a little money on these items by getting the rebate on a gift card.
She was sold and pretty darn excited about the prospect of having a Walgreens gift card and some free (actually paid to get) some of the stuff on a monthly basis! We spent a good portion of the car ride home discussing how the program works and deciding that the gift card would be hers to spend on a monthly basis while I would keep up on the monthly ads and rebates and file for the rebates.
While my little shopping trip may seem like old news to a number of readers I am excited and view the trip as a success for several reasons:
- My girlfriend has questioned rebate items in the past: On a previous trip to Walgreens I noted some body wash that was free after rebate. When I pointed it out she commented “Who really sends those in anyway.” I replied that I did and she shrugged and commented on how it seems like a waste of time and the company always finds something wrong with the rebate anyway. After this trip and explaining how we can process them online I think that she has changed her tune.
- A number of the free after rebate products she will use: Not only are we making a small profit by purchasing some of the FAR items but they can also replace otherwise costly alternative brands.
- The gift cards will offset some cost of future trips: Like I said, she loves shopping at Walgreens. An free extra $20 per month will help us out financially.
- She is now excited about checking out rebate items: With her looking forward to the next month’s worth for FAR items from Walgreens (along with normal rebate items) I am hopeful that she will start to look at rebates for other items while shopping as well. I also think that knowing I will take the time to submit the rebates will encourage her to keep rebates as a viable saving method in mind.
Finally – the best part is that since our nearest Walgreens is in New Hampshire we do not have any sales tax on the purchases.
Posted on: October 21, 2008 by Matt
Throughout my day I tend to use several free pieces of software for various tasks and have also started using some of them on my home PC. I use some of the software to clean up machines, some to increase security and some to even keep my personal computer from getting all cluttered up. Here is a short list of some of the free software that I use and how I find it useful:
- Microsoft Virtual PC 2007: I could easily devote a whole post to using Virtual PC (VPC) and the many different applications I find for it. Currently I use VPC for the majority of my web browsing and anything related to my blog or completing offers on CashCrate. You do need an operating system available for install but it will run free versions of Linux if you do not have or want a Microsoft OS available.
- Ubuntu Linux: Need an operating system for your virtual PC? Here is a good place to get one for free. Download and use the ISO as an installation source for your VPC. Microsoft Virtual PC allows you to select an ISO image as your virtual CD drive so you can install without a CD.
- OpenOffice: Sick of paying Microsoft up to $300 to have a copy of Office? Well you do not have to anymore! Sun’s OpenOffice provides full compatibility with Microsoft Office formats and is a free download.
- ISO Recorder: One of the most useful utilities I have found. I often use this to create an image of a CD onto my hard drive. After the image is stored I can use a blank CD to restore the image or other tools like Daemon Tools Light to mount the image into a virtual CD ROM.
- Daemon Tools: Creates a new virtual CD-ROM drive that allows you to mount ISO images as CD’s. Very useful if you like to keep your software in ISO format in stead of on CD’s like I do.
- SysInternals: Sysinternals was recently purchased by Microsoft (well maybe it was more like a year ago) but the utilities that they have are extremely useful. There are utilities for processes, disk usage and even system recovery and maintenance (ERD Commander now known as Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset).
- ZoneAlarm: A free software firewall. I have not used this in a while so am not able to provide a lot of the merits. I have moved more in the direction of hardware firewalls.
- AVG AntiVirus: One of the many free antivirus software programs out there. I prefer this one to some of the others and generally find it does an adequate job.
- Ad-Aware: My first stop for spyware removal. Generally does a decent job of removing most basic spyware but some malware still manages to reinstall itself after removal but still worth an initial attempt.
I use most of this software on a weekly if not daily basis (ZoneAlarm being the exception) and find them all fairly useful. Plus they are all free – saving me money as well as my company and clients money when I am using them for work. If you have any questions or would like a more developed “how to” guide on any of the software listed – please just drop me a comment and let me know! I can then plan on getting together a future post on the software that has more depth.
