By: Amy Hannold
24/7 MOMS Frugal Editor
A great day is finding freebies in your mailbox. They certainly beat bills and junk mail! Where can you find legitimate, no-strings-attached free items and offers?
Before you start signing up for freebies, create a record for your freebie requests and items received. Good notes will remind where you found the freebies and of any important details. The columns you need are “Date”, “Item”, “Source”, “Notes”, and “Received”. A second log or notebook would be helpful to record usernames and passwords for sites you’re receiving freebies from.
Magazines:
Free magazine subscriptions can be yours, no credit card required in exchange for completing a review on a given topic. Another source, no surveys required, is ValueMags.com. In your records, note the date, length of subscription and source for the subscription.
Photo Prints, Coupons, Magazines, Merchandise, and More:
MyCokeRewards, Pampers Gifts to Grow Codes, Lean Cuisine Delicious Rewards, Stouffers Dinner Rewards, Nature Made Wellness Rewards, and Disney Movie Rewards:
Your loyalty to these products can earn you gifts with their rewards promotions. A few tips: read program details carefully and observe any expiration dates. Use coupons to buy the products and barter/trade proof-of-purchases with friends.
Online Rewards Programs:
Recyclebank.com: Be rewarded as you become more earth-friendly. Watching short videos, pledges to conserve resources, recycling and other steps move you closer to a variety of rewards.
Swagbucks.com: A search engine (and more) that pays you. Many options at Swagbucks.com earn you “Swagbucks”, which you can redeem for gift cards, sweepstakes, and other items.
Money-Saving Websites Point the Way:
Local and national money-saving sites post their freebie finds, codes for product loyalty programs, and printable coupons.
Look for the Codes: Specially marked packages may offer codes for loyalty programs. “Stack” the deal by using coupons to buy the participating products.
Surf the Net for Freebies:
Visit the website of your favorite products and retailers. Follow them on social media and by email for unadvertised offers. A phone call or email to favorite manufacturers can also net you great coupons.
A Few Words of Wisdom:
Use your rewards program points sooner, rather than later, as some are discontinued or you lose points to inactivity. Don’t pay for freebies or conduct endless surveys by unfamiliar sites. Take your leads for freebies from trusted sources. Use a “junk mail” email address and don’t give companies your “exact” vital statistics. If it’s been awhile since you checked in with a loyalty program, visit the site to refresh your active status. In your shopping notebook, keep a list of products you’re looking for to boost your points balance. Every once in a while, visit your favorite money-saving sites for updates on loyalty programs or conduct an internet search with key words to find available free points codes.
