I Love Free Stuff!

I am holding onto my money so tight these days that ole Ben Franklin is practically screaming. So how do I keep my money instead of letting it run through my fingers like it usually does? Easy, I go in search of free stuff, including:

• Hubby's computer got a virus. His first thought was to haul it over to the Geek Squad but I used Google to figure out the problem (indeed it was a virus) and how to fix it (reboot the computer in safe mode then restore it to an earlier restore time point). I was so surprised I was actually able to fix the computer and hubby was amazed too!
• And to prevent the virus from happening again, I went to www.download.com and downloaded some free (but good!) anti virus software (AVG). They also have all kinds of other software to download on the site at no charge.
• Instead of hunting for the perfect calendar for my purse and paying for it (I may be the last person on the planet to eschew the calendar on my smart phone for a calendar booklet), I simply had hubby stop by his bank and pick up free calendar booklets that they hand out this time of year. I actually really love these small calendars which are the perfect size to fit in my purse but still have big enough spaces each day to write down the stuff I have to do. Best of all, they're free!
• Walking through the mall a few days ago, I came away with free samples from See's Candies and Hickory Farms. Yum! Also, although the membership isn't free (actually it is for me as a client gives me a free membership card each year) you can also fill up at no charge by walking through the food section at Costco a couple of times...we sometimes do this on Sunday's when we are bored (and hungry).
• My library is growing thinner as we get rid of nearly everything we own. But I was bored the other night and looking for a good book to read and seeing as how all I have now are a bunch of non fiction books and not a single trashy romance brain candy novel at my disposal, I went online to www.amazon.com and downloaded their free Kindl e-reader for my computer then went to town downloading free books from the site. I got some great reads absolutely free!
• I went to our community library today and checked out some books. I almost always hang out at Barnes and Noble and just read books from the shelves but when I go there it is my habit to always buy a drink in their cafe which now runs about $4 a beverage. Instead of depleting my money and increasing my waist size, I decided to give the library a shot and found a whole stack of great books. For free!
• CraigsList is awesome...and free! Since we are in the middle of getting rid of nearly everything we own so we can travel for the next year or so, I can't rave enough about the free ads I can place on CraigsList. CraigsList is hands-down the best way to advertise the stuff I have for sale and we have been able to get rid of plenty of things at reasonable prices this way.
• Filling out a simple form got me a $50 Visa gift card which just came in the mail today. Actually I did have to buy a smart phone through my wireless carrier but I got a great deal on it because I renewed my contract with them. When I got the phone, they gave me everything I needed to fill out to get the rebate which I quickly mailed in and ta-da, the gift card came in the mail today. I know some people who think it is too much hassle to fill out rebate forms but it is usually super simple and definitely worth the small amount of time it takes to do this.
• And then there is my penchant for whining and throwing a fit, especially when I have a consumer problem. Actually I probably am not that bad but when I had numerous problems with said smart phone above, I went to the retail store and called their customer service line to complain (a lot). The result after having about five issues with the new phone was a replacement for the phone and they are even sending me another phone absolutely free so I will end up with two brand new phones, one of which I will eBay and get the cash from it. Complaining works!
• Leftovers are free too, relatively speaking. I mean you have already paid for the groceries or restaurant meal so why let the leftovers go to waste? Americans throw out literally tons and tons of food each year. I used to be one of those people but now we make a conscious effort to eat as many leftovers as possible and therefore waste very little food.

That's all I can think of now. Besides, my leftover turkey is warming up in some gravy and is just about ready to pour over some leftover rice for dinner tonight.