A-B-C Frugality

Freebies 101

Who doesn’t love getting something for free?  Freebies abound in today’s market as promotional tactics to get you to buy new and revamped products.  If you are smart enough to use these freebies to stretch your budget and fill your travel kits, then you can outsmart the marketing system and become an empowered consumer.

Freebies are available in all shapes and sizes, including:

• Snail-Mail Freebies requested online: these are the most common type of freebie and you can usually have a steady supply of them in the mailbox if you subscribe to our blog and keep up to date with the latest freebies.

• Snail-Mail Freebies requested from the Manufacturer: writing the manufacturer directly is a great way to score freebies (and coupons, too).

• Free after RR/ECBs: Products are often available for free at CVS or Walgreens for free after the rewards you receive back.

• Free Trial Offers: Such as the ever popular “3 Bags of Coffee for 3 Bucks” can be a great way to get full sized products, gift cards and more—however, you must be careful to cancel within the timeframe or you will be charged hefty fees for your next shipment of the product.

• In-Store Samples: Sometimes you’ll be lucky enough to find a table with samples and coupons in one of your favorite stores.  Stores often run special promotion days with samples and coupons, like Walgreen’s “Saturdates.”

Freebies also come with many fun benefits, such as…

• Trial-sized items are great for throwing in a travel bag, and they really do help stretch the budget. That little tube of toothpaste might just mean that you can go another week without buying toothpaste.  And the cat food sample might feed Whiskers for 2 days.  Little contributions that can add up to small savings.

• Samples often come with high value coupons. Even more so, you’ll often be added to that company’s mailing list and receive future coupons and samples without even having to request them!

• They keep your mailbox full! I absolutely LOVE having a full mailbox and seeing what kind of samples and goodies I’ll get each day.  It makes getting the mail (with the bills) less daunting and more like a mini Christmas every day.

It’s not all fun and games.  A Few Warnings…

• Don’t give away too much personal information. Obviously, Name and Address are a necessity.  But if a site is requesting your social security number for a sample of dog food, it is most likely not legitimate.  Sites will often ask for your birthday (to verify that you are over 18).  It’s a good idea to use a false birthday, or at least change the day.  And never give your correct phone number unless you enjoy speaking with telemarketers.

• Watch for the catch. Some sample offers seem GREAT, until you get to the page that says “Now complete 2 Platinum Offers….” Watch carefully when completing the form to make sure there are no catches or obligations with the freebie.

• A Note About Free Trials: As we mentioned above, be sure to cancel before your “Trial period” is up, otherwise you will get charged hefty fees!

Who said nothing in life is free?  Not in the couponing world! Best of luck, and be sure to subscribe for the latest and greatest FREE stuff!!

Here’s one of my favorite Free Sample Sources to get you started!!