Getting Free Stuff

Written By: Deanna

Confession: I'm a little obsessed with trying to save money. My husband kind of hates it, but he tolerates it pretty well, and even he admits that he loves having more money in the bank, which means he loves saving too. He just won't admit to that.

I think it is safe to say that we all want free stuff, right? So, today I wanted to come at you super quickly with a list of 10 ways you can get free stuff. Sound good? Good! Let's get to it.

Books: We've talked about getting free books before, but let's talk about all the ways you can get free books - without stealing or illegally downloading from authors!

One way, although maybe the hardest, is to start a book review blog. This is an amazing way to find new authors and to help the writing community. Also great for any writers out there who want to reach out to more writers and get to know the publishing world a little better.

An easier way? Get a library card. Really! Why do I know so many people without a library card? I just don't get it. I absolutely adore my local library.

Don't want to leave your house? That's cool too. Amazon has a lot of books that the authors have listed for free. However, make sure to read the reviews before buying. Some of these books are... less than appealing (we're talking scary a** content and badly written).

If the idea of going through all of those books seems like it would take too long, websites like BookBub allows you to get daily news letters full of free (best selling) books that have high ratings, so you can tip the odds in your favor.

As an author, I want to take a quick second to remind you that pirating books is not okay. You don't go into Starbucks and steal a coffee, do you? You work hard for the money you make and so do authors. If you wouldn't like people stealing from you, don't steal from authors.

DVD's: Library, again but I won't go into detail about that.

Friends & Family: If 10 people lives in the same house, would it make sense for them all to buy the same movie? No. So, why does it make sense for a group of best friends to all buy the same movie. Just swap with each other.

Websites: For Canadians, this might be Kijiji, for Americans it might be Craigslist. You can also use local Facebook buy/sell/trades. Either post an add or look for people who want things gone free of charge.

Credit Cards: I want to take a quick second to talk about credit cards. No, not getting free ones, but there are lots of credit card options that allow you to collect points for travel, gift cards, or cash back. Just make sure that, in the long run, the interest rates are worth what you will be collecting.

Flowers: This is a trick I got from my mother. If you're willing to do a little work, and get the word out there via friends, family, newspaper ads, and websites, you can get free plants/flowers from people who are looking to get rid of them. Whether their garden is just getting overgrown or if they are looking to downsize, during the spring and summer months, you can easily find people willing to part with a few plants.

Clothes: Again, online sites come in handy here. Normally, I look online for people who are moving/just want to get rid of their clothing. Most of the time, I come across ads like "whole lot in garbage bag, you take all for free" and I jump on them. I may not like everything in the bag, but as long as I get a couple of things, I'm happy!

Kids: Okay, so you can't get the kids for free, but you can get stuff for them! A lot of restaurants offer free meals to those under the right age, and like suggested above for clothes, you can always look online. I threw a baby shower and while looking online, I saw some amazing free deals. One was a whole bunch of toys that the mother just wanted to get rid of. All free, for over 20 toys! Sadly, when I contacted her about it, they had already been picked up, but that doesn't mean you can't get lucky!