10 Freebies

Here's a bunch of nifty free things you can get...

1. Free entrance to the National Parks on Saturday for National Public Lands Day.
2. Free entrance to state parks on Saturday (not sure if all states have this but examples here and here).
3. Free covid test kits (you can order them here starting Monday).
4. Free credit reports (I pull mine once a year just to make sure there is nothing happening with my credit that I don't know about).
5. Free money from class action rebates if you qualify.
6. Free National Park Passes if you qualify.
7. Free money from your state's unclaimed property office if you qualify.
8. Free local things (ie: in my area we have Freecycle, Craigslist freebies, free animals from the shelter on occasion, and lots of free tourist/locals activities).  YMMV
9. Birthday freebies (sign up now and by the time your birthday rolls around, your email box will be filled with free stuff!).
10. GoFundMe.  Of course I have heard of GoFundMe but never really looked into it until this week when a friend asked me to write the blurb for a campaign she wanted to create to help her friend who has cancer.  After checking it out, I found that you can ask for funds for just about anything not just emergencies and medical stuff but funds to travel, start a business, make a record and so much more.  

The Great Grocery Shrinkray and Other Things

Hubby and I were shopping at the military commissary a couple days ago and were excited to see that we could get a container of coffee for only $4.80!  Unfortunately when we got home and compared the coffee to one we had in the pantry, we realized that the coffee we had just bought was only 24 ounces but the older coffee was 30 ounces!  This has been a common problem for years but I really though that containers of coffee always stayed the same :(

And other things...

• Today when we pulled into a parking lot, the guy next to us got out of his car and asked if we could give his car a jump because his battery was dead.  He started hauling out his jumper cables but we quickly grabbed the little jumper box we always keep in our car and had his car started within minutes.  He was pretty surprised that such a small device could jump a car but this is the second time we have used it and both times we were impressed with how well it works.  This is a great tool that everyone should have!
• Here is a big list of useful websites.  I know of many of these sites but I learned of some sites that I had never heard of before and have added them to my favorites list.  Cool!
• With our current economic system teetering by a thread, it's always good to learn new skills, like how to live without money.  Hopefully it doesn't come to that but one never knows...
• Something I have been noticing around Las Vegas as well as other places is people posting their Venmo/Cash App/etc link in public places in the hopes (?) that strangers will send them money.  Apparently this is a thing now?  I've seen this quite often on the back of peoples cars ("just turned 21 buy me a drink!") and on Facebook/Twitter/etc.  Hmmm
• Did you know that you can Google 'Halloween freebies' and come up with pages and pages of free stuff?
• And here is a reminder to check to see if you qualify for any class action rebates.
• Finally, this weekend I am attending the free Community Safety Forum at the Mob Museum.  If you ever come to Las Vegas when this monthly event is happening, you can sign up to attend the event then get free entry to the Mob Museum (the cost to visit this museum is usually $30!).
  

Freebies and Other Money Things

Here are some freebies and other interesting money links that have come across my feed reader...

• Today Only!  Denny's is giving away free 'Beyond Burgers'.
• On February 22nd, your kids can try out ice hockey for free!
• This guy went viral when a Rolex watch he bought for $345 in 1974 was recently appraised for nearly $700,000.  The appraisal literally knocked him off his feet!
• And a good reminder...wealth is what you don't spend.

It Was Free...

Today I was wondering what my fun/free/frugal thing would be since we had no plans other than for hubby to go bowling with his league and as I was walking through a building to go pay my HOA payment, I noticed a guy sitting at a table with a pile of pens/lanyards/etc as well as information on the college he was promoting.  Usually I walk right by these sorts of things but I saw the lanyards and I thought "hmmm those are probably free" and since I had no other plan today I thought "hmmm this would be something to blog about" so I went up to the table and had a nice conversation with the guy and I asked for a lanyard and he said sure, take one!  Obviously this isn't life changing, but the point of this year is to be proactive to do fun things, to get free things, and to do frugal things and walking up to a stranger and striking up a conversation was both interesting (the guy was very nice and knew a lot about this school, I'd never heard of it) and it scored me a free thing.  Now I'm having visions of 'One Red Paperclip'!

On another fabulously free note, here is a list of 1150 free movies which you can get online.

10 Holiday Freebies in Las Vegas

I came across a bunch of freebies being offered in my city and figured these or similar programs may be offered in other cities as well for the holidays:

1. Our animal shelter is clearing out all of their rescues by offering free dog and cat adoptions through the end of the year.
2. Our city has free Christmas tree recycling after the holidays.
3. Tipsy Tow operates on New Year's Eve to get people and their vehicles home safely for free.
4. Our bus system is free on New Years Eve and New Years Day to get people to and from events safely.
5. Amazon is offering free shipping for everyone (not just Prime members) for a few more days.
6. There are plenty of free holiday lights shows to check out (examples here, here, and here).
7. It's snowing in our local mountains so you can bet that families will head up there to let their kids play in the snow.
8. Our library system is amazing!  They are offering everything from free meals and crafts programs for kids to performances and other events for the whole family (this is a great, free, way to keep the kids occupied while they are on Christmas break from school).
9. There is always something happening in Las Vegas.  We are looking forward to checking out the new Eataly on The Strip and visiting the Christmas Clydesdale horses which will be on display at a local casino.
10. Our usual freebies which we will be enjoying over the next week or so: free walks with the walking club coupons, free bowling with hubby's bowling coupons, free buffets with our military coupons, and maybe a free hike at our local state park!

A Bunch of Great Deals!

In no particular order...

• Vitamin Water will give someone $100,000 to go without their phone for a year.  
• Here are 300 birthday freebies you can sign up for.
• Here are 163 free things to do in America's destination cities.
• Here is a website that lists lots and lots of free places to camp (you may not use this til next spring/summer but it's something to add to your favorites list).
• Every so often I check this list of freebies to see if there is anything I would be interested in.
• Here are 24 ways to lead an anti-capitalist life in a capitalist world.
• The Internet Archive has a bajillion different resources--from books to TV shows to old time radio shows and more!

Freebies!

Even though I haven't been shopping since the beginning of the year, I do occasionally check DealNews.  Today on the site I saw that it was free pretzel day today at Auntie Anne's so when we went to a casino which happened to have an Auntie Anne's in their food court I asked if they were doing the free pretzel give away they said they were (no one was in line so I didn't think they were doing the freebie giveaway but apparently not many people know about this?).  Anyway, hubby and I each got our free full-sized pretzels and they were tasty!  Yeah freebies!

10 Casino Freebies

We spend a lot of time in casinos.  Hubby plays poker a few days a week and I go with him and do my work so I can have a change of scenery from the house.  Of course I am always on the lookout for freebies...

1. Free wi fi.  Nearly all of the casinos we go to offer free wifi; sometimes you need to ask the poker room staff for the code (usually casino hotel guests pay a daily fee for wifi but sports books and poker rooms offer wifi for free with a code which anyone can ask for).
2. Free beverages.  I mean the really free ones (you don't order from a waitress which makes your "free" drinks not free if you tip the waitress).  About half of the poker rooms we go to have a self-serve place where you can get your own coffee/tea/hot chocolate/etc. at no charge.
3. Free buffet.  Today we had a nice buffet lunch before hubby played poker because he signed up for a player's card and let them know he was a veteran so we can regularly print out free buffet coupons on "Military Mondays".  The coupons are 'buy one get one free buffets' and we paid for the second lunch with comps...
4. "Free" comps.  If you are going to play in a casino anyway, you might as well rack up the comp points that many casinos offer.  Most casinos credit poker plays with about $1 per hour in comps which can then be used anywhere on the property--for buffets, movies, even hotel rooms.  Generally we get free meals with his comps.
5. Free entertainment.  There is all sorts of free entertainment to be found at casinos, from live bands and floor show to free rodeo events (Southpoint Casino) and free 'sock hop' dances (Sun Coast).
6. Free slot pulls and slot tournament.  You should get a player's club card at every casino you go to (they are free).  When the casino has your address they will often mail you small "freebies" like a free slot pull or entry into free slot tournaments as well as occasionally free buffet coupons, etc.
7. Other free comp points.  It was hubby's birthday a couple of days ago so we went to a couple of casinos and at each casino he swiped his player's card at, he was given free additional comp points, not from playing, just free because it was his birthday (he racked up about $15 in additional comp points this way).
8. Free buffet dinners on holidays.  Several casinos in the area give veterans free buffet dinners (for both the veteran and a guest) on Veteran's Day and Memorial Day.  These are completely free--just show up and show them your military ID!
9. Free handouts.  Whenever you get a casino player's card made they will usually hand you some small freebie like a key chain, card holder, etc.
10. Free nightclub entry.  This is a tricky one as it usually only works at the hottest casino nightclubs and you have to be young, beautiful, and female.  But if you fit those qualifications, the people at the door will usually let you in for free, skipping the $30 to $50 cover charge.  Occasionally guys can get in for free as well by contacting a club promoter.

National Parks and National Monuments are Free This Weekend!

This is the first holiday weekend of 2011 in which all National Parks and National Monuments are offering free entry! What a great way to spend time with the family and enjoy a free activity at the same time! Read more here.

Read This!

I just came across a great free e-book called "In the Trenches--Financial Survival During Times of Hardship". I have read through about half of it--second half since within a month I am figuring we won't even have any bills to crunch numbers on--and it is a great read. Plus, it's FREE! Go here to download it.