June 2009 - FREE Today

In freebie land there is a lot of free "stuff" like face cream samples, ice cream, or free lunch. While free "stuff" is cool, a freebie that provides a service or an experience is in a league of its own. These are the Cadillacs of the freebie world, the type of free offer that makes you leap for the phone. Here are a few of my all time favorite deals, and it just so happens you can still get in on all of them.

 

The first free deal I came across that blew my mind was Walt Disney's offer for free admission on your birthday in 2009. It's true that the rest of the family will still have to pay, but this is a once in a lifetime type of experience that your munchkin is going to remember forever. The impressive cash value of $65 on this freebie doesn't touch the true worth of the offer.

 

Another oldie but goodie I've mentioned before is a free birthday meal at Benihana's. There are several free birthday meals you can get from various restaurants, but Benihana's provides more than just food. Not only is it upscale Japanese cuisine, and a cash value of $30, the experience of watching a Benihana Chef perform and prepare your meal table side puts this free offer on a "whole 'nother level."

 

I discovered the free haircut deal from Herbal Essence on accident. My daily freebie hunt had come to a grinding halt, I was getting nothing but scams and garbage, so I randomly googled "free haircut." Much to my surprise this perfectly legitimate offer popped up. What a great find! There's not too much time left on this one, so if it appeals to you jump on it.

 

The next titan of freebies is the Free Family Summer Camp at Bass Pro. For starters, it's free, and with a family that's huge. Plus. it's something you can do together besides staring vacantly at either a TV or movie screen. Another thing that makes this a great freebie offer is that there is a wide enough variety of activities to keep everyone happy.

 

The Suze Orman Free Will & Trust Kit is another show stopper. According to Suze's information, if you had a lawyer put all this together for you it would cost around $2,500. This is one of those things that a person always puts off until it's too late; this free offer takes away all the excuses. If that isn't priceless I don't know what is.

 

Our final freebie superstar is the free trial membership at LifeTime Fitness. You'll need this one to keep from gaining weight with all the free fast food offers we keep turning up. Trying out a fitness center for free is a low pressure way to get yourself off of the couch and back into life. Once you've had a go at those fitness machines and feeling healthy, that membership fee is going to seem much less intimidating. Think of it as a healthy little trick to play on yourself.

 

These are the current "Grand Poobas" of  free offers. What gems and wonders will tomorrow bring? Stay tuned to find out.

--Renee LaVoie'

There's an old saying, "never look a gift horse in the mouth," but in the world of freebie hunting this is not always a good policy. Sometimes a gift horse should be regarded with suspicion and given a full dental checkup. A few trends have popped up lately making this painfully clear.

 

Text message coupons are a good example. This recent development in the world of marketing tools is a cell phone junkie's dream come true. You send a text message with a word or phrase to a specific number, and in return you receive a text message coupon for a free offer or special deal. The first few times I used these it worked pretty well. Messages were sent, freebies were received, and there was much rejoicing. But what happens when someone posts a text message coupon on the Internet that was meant for only a few select locations? Answer-- a lot of unhappy people wanting their freebie. Lesson learned. Unless you see the advertisement for the text message coupon directly on the businesses website, regard it with skepticism and call ahead to make sure it's valid.

 

Another foible is when well meaning individuals post links to coupons that are barcoded, and meant for single use. This commonly occurs when a member of an email list gets a freebie coupon meant only for them, and they post it on the Internet.  Unfortunately in the find print of some of those coupons there is a clause stating that it can only be used once. So if you joyfully print off the free offer coupon and take it in, you could be turned away. An example of this is a free beverage coupon from Borders that has been floating around the Internet. I chose not to run it because it was clear on the coupon it could only be used once, and the coupon itself was not available directly on the Border's site. Every store's policies will be different, and people might get lucky with this one, but it was a risk I didn't want to take. Nothings worse than being all set for a freebie and then finding out you have to pay.

 

"Secret deals" are tempting, and I always give them a look-- sometimes I get lucky. But the most reliable sources for free offers are the direct restaurant and retail websites themselves. Sometimes the latest thing turns out to be the latest dud, depending on the source.

Summer vacation is upon us. If a tight budget has you contemplating making a tent in the living room with the kids, and watching 14 consecutive hours of Thomas the Tank Engine reruns, consider these freebie options. Did you know that several hotel chains let kids stay free? Even Club Med offers free food and lodging for kids 15 and younger. (We agree--Club Med is spendy enough without paying for the kiddies, too.) Holiday Inn lets kids 19 and younger stay free when they share a room with their parents, and kids 12 and younger even get to eat free if they order off of the kids menu at the restaurant. Another hotel chain that gives kids 18 and younger free lodging when they share the room with their parents is Choice Hotels International.

 

Freebie hunters can also find events and attractions. This year the National Park Service has waived fees on all national parks for three weekends: June 20-21, July 18-19 and August 15-16. I even found a deal in my endless quest for free entertainment to Universal Studios in Orlando, where kids are free when you book a four day vacation. Call ahead and find out about the museums in the area you will be visiting, many of those of free kids' days as well.

 

One of the biggest expenses of a family vacation is eating out. Before you settle for greasy fast food, call around to see if the local restaurants have kids' nights where kids eat free. A few free kids nights that I have found for my own munchkin include Tuesdays at Denny's from 4 P.M. to 10 P.M. and all day Tuesdays at Lone Star Steakhouse. Some other restaurants that sometimes have free kids' nights include IHOP, Golden Corral, Red Robin and Shoney's. With these you definitely have to call ahead because the availability varies between local restaurants of the chain.

 

Pack up all those free shampoo samples you've been saving, get the kids out of the house, and have some fun this summer. With a few freebie offers added to your vacation planning, you can afford it--and it sure beats a tent in the living room.

I love free gifts with purchase, but these little beasts of the freebie world must be approached with caution. Sometimes you hit the jackpot, and other times it's a set up. I am a sucker for free things, so I always ask myself, "would I buy this anyway?"

One good example is the free gifts at the cosmetic counter of department stores. I love these freebies, but I don't ordinarily buy upscale cosmetics. Occasionally a free gift deal comes along that makes it worth the purchase, if the minimum purchase required is small and the gift is impressive. For example this Elizabeth Arden gift set at Dilliard's. The minimum is only $24.50, and the gift its self is worth more than that, so this one I'll take.

 

The best kind of free gift with purchase has no minimum requirement, but those are hard to find. Yves Rocher has them from time to time, and is currently featuring a free watch with no minimum purchase.  Yves Rocher is one of my favorite places to shop, they always have great bath and personal care stuff for cheap, so this one is a no brainer. Another good site for no minimum requirement is Sephora, they have fantastic prices on makeup and personal care items, and give three free samples with every order no matter how small.

 

Sometimes the free gifts you get are so lame, they are hardly a benefit and go straight to the garage sale bin. Like those ugly calendars you always get when you open a checking account. How is that an incentive? Other times free gift offers are just annoying. Like the offer at Best Buy giving you a $20 gift card when you buy a vacuum cleaner.  Why not just put the vacuum cleaner on sale for $20.00 less? As a spoiled American consumer nothing make me crankier than being expected to jump through hoops to get to a payoff.