June 2010 - FREE Today

Where the Freebies Are

Most companies now offer eLists, email messages that let you know when they're having special promotions or includes an occasional coupon. If you have a favorite restaurant, it is definitely worth your time to sign up for their list. But some companies have programs that stand out from the herd, offering free samples, promos and deals on a regular basis. Here are a few we have found that stand out from the herd.

P&G EVERYDAY SOLUTIONS BY PROCTOR AND GAMBLE: P&G Everyday solutions is Proctor & Gamble's eClub and they do not disappoint. There are new freebies every month, plus great coupons. P&G is the parent company of brands like Oil of Olay, Tide, Febreeze, Downy and Iams.

RED PLUM: This is an outstanding site for a number of reasons: you don't have to register, the coupon selection is great, and the freebies are frequent and fabulous.

COOL SAVINGS: For coupons galore, daily  hot deals and free samples, you can't go wrong with Cool Savings.

PPGAZZETTE.COM: In addition to a wide variety of coupons, you'll find recipes, tips, articles and even an occasional free sample.

COUPONS.COM:  Not only does this site serve up the coupons on brand name items, you'll find free samples and other goodies to keep your wallet happy.

BEAUTY.COM:  We signed up for the Beauty.com newsletter and were very impressed with how many free gift with purchase offers we received that were exclusive to newsletter subscribers. The newsletter comes about once a week, and there is always a fantastic free gift with purchase or impressive discount inside.

OMAHA STEAKS: If you love meat, this one you simply must have. This is another one we signed up for, and the freebies with purchase are fantastic. Our favorite is the free six burgers, cutting board and six-piece knife set that comes along quite frequently. This newsletter comes about three times a month and always has something tasty with huge discounts and free gifts with purchase.

FREEFLYS: This freebie-focused website has a full deck of freebie offers to choose from. You do have to register, and the initial registration is rather time-consuming. Make sure to read each page and offer very carefully -- you may wish to pass on some of the options. However, once the sign up is completed, the freebies are really quite good with a huge selection of daily freebies and coupons for beauty products, food and grocery items, healthy samples, stuff for kids, even hand-selected featured freebies.

HONORABLE MENTION

WALMART: It's not a "club" exactly but they are without a doubt the gold mine of all resources when it comes to freebies. They always deliver a nice sample and you don't have to wait forever to get them. We are always surprised at how quick they show up.

--Renee

Image courtesy of blog.politiken.dk

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ThredUP Social Network: Exchange Kids' "Hand Me Downs"

Here is one of our favorite new ideas: social networking for parents who want to exchange their kids' hand me downs!  In the past, larger extended families had a built-in resource for hand me downs. In today's culture, families are smaller and often separated by long distances, so a support system isn't always there. ThredUP is simple to use and helps bring this time-honored practice into the modern age. ThredUP started only a year ago, but quickly shot off the charts in popularity and has been featured on WXIA-TV and Urban Baby.com.

The program has been streamlined for quick easy use. No standing in line, no dragging boxes of clothes across town to the donation box or to the post office-- instead used clothes go to work for you!  Go onto the network, find a box of clothes your child needs and pay only for the shipping ($13.00). Then prepare a box of clothes your child has outgrown, and send it in for free-- they even pick it up!

There are two levels of membership: free and paid. The paid membership is only $29.99, a fantastic value for the savings you will see. Free and paid members both get to create user profiles, have a circle of friends (five for basic membership, unlimited for paid) and see basic content of boxes. Paid membership allows multiple child profiles for larger families, an unlimited circle of friends, and detailed descriptions of each box content.

If you have friends and family separated by long distance, you can exchange boxes of "hand me downs" quickly and easily, since doorstep pickup is a part of all membership levels. Or if you don't have your own friends and family, tap into the vast resource of parents across the country. When you find a particular member you really like, you can add them to your inner circle to get a heads up when they post a new box.

Quality is a priority concern with ThredUP and every box is reviewed and rated by the receiving member (just like eBay) so you can pick the members that have the best reviews. Any member who sends items below quality standards is reported, and will be terminated from the site. Also, from time to time, the Quality Assurance Team may ask you to send in a random "hand me down" to show the quality of your boxes. This is done to all members to assure consistently beautiful clothes because you still want your child to have the best!

Starting out with a free membership to try out the program is an excellent idea, and then once you start to get spoiled by the convenience and savings, jump in for the full nine yards. Paying full price for kid's clothes is insanity -- now you won't have to!

--Renee

Image courtesy of ThredUP

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Protect Yourself From Spam

It's the dark underbelly of the freebie world: spam! One day you're happily munching on a free yogurt bar and the next, you're getting telemarketing calls and enough yogurt-based email promotions to last a year. But you could have protected yourself if you had known the risk. Anytime you sign up for a freebie, newsletter or special offer (including ones you find on FreeToday), always take a few quick minutes to read the privacy policy.

According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission Fair Information Principles every website should post a privacy policy giving customers notice of what information will be collected and how, give customers a choice to participate or decline, and to take reasonable steps to protect customer information collected from unauthorized use.

Usually you will find a link to the sites privacy policy at the bottom of the front page.  If for any reason you cannot find the privacy policy -- RUN AWAY!

The best way to understand what to look out for is to review some examples of actual privacy policies.

WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE:

We will allow employees, agents, and contractors to access your personal information only when they have a legitimate business reason for doing so. We may share your personal information with outside contractors or agents who help us manage our information activities (e.g., sweepstakes, administration, order fulfillment, statistical analysis), but they may use your personal information only to provide a specific service and not for any other purpose.

or 

Presently, we do not sell, trade or rent your personal information to others. We may provide aggregate statistics about our customers, sales, traffic patterns, and related site information to reputable third-party vendors, but these statistics will include no personally identifying information.

These both show an example of a site that may share some information, but only for legitimate reasons such as helping the site complete a transaction or host a sweepstakes contest, and not to use your info for third party marketing. You should be safe from telemarketers and spam.

WHAT YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE

When you supply us with your postal address or phone number you may receive periodic mailings or phone calls from us and you may receive mailings from other reputable companies.

or

When you register with us, you may receive offers from us or our marketing partners. Our marketing partners may use this information to make offers to you in your areas of interest or other offers.  We may also use outside companies to execute the marketing campaigns on our behalf or on behalf of some of our marketing partners. We will share your e-mail name or other contact information that is necessary for these third parties to provide these services

These companies are telling you in no uncertain terms that telemarketers will be calling, and they are going to sell your information to "reputable companies" and "marketing partners" aka spammers.

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF:

• READ THE WHOLE PRIVACY POLICY: Don't just read the first paragraph where the company tells you they value your privacy. Read the whole thing where they describe in detail what they will be doing with your information, and what your options are.
• USE A "DUMMY" EMAIL ACCOUNT: When you are signing up for an offer, an email newsletter, a freebie or purchasing a product, use an email that you have set up specifically for online activity. You can set up a free email address from Google or Yahoo within a few short minutes.
• NEVER GIVE OUT YOUR PHONE NUMBER: You can get a free alternative phone number that is a message only number here. Use this instead of your personal number online.
• CLEAR YOUR CACHE FREQUENTLY: Your browser collects cookies from almost every website you visit. Not all cookies are bad, however clearing your browsers cookies daily will help protect your privacy and keep your computer working smoother.

Don't let this information put a damper on your freebie frenzy -- knowledge is power! Once you have protected yourself with an alternative email and phone number, and know what you're looking for in the privacy policy, you can continue shopping and freebie surfing with confidence. At FreeToday, we use great disgression in selecting our freebies with that assurance...combined with your own awareness, you should have great expectations.

--Renee

 Image courtesy of bbc.co.uk

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The Inside Scoop on Coupons

Clipping coupons is all the rage among the ranks of the frugal. But to a newbie, it can be tricky. Here are a few pointers to help you get the hang of it. 

Coupons have two basic categories: manufacturer coupons or store coupons. Both can indicate a name brand, but the way you tell the difference is the source. If it comes from an ad page with a specific store's name on it, it's a store coupon. If you found the coupon in a magazine, through an online coupon resource or on the manufacturer's website, it's a manufacturer's coupon. Even though you redeem a manufacturer's coupon at a local store, it's actually the manufacturer that "pays" for the discount. The discounts you find in flyers and ads from specific stores -- whether it's Walmart or your local grocery -- are supplied by the store itself.  

Manufacturer's Coupons:  A manufacturer's coupon you can use at a variety of stores, as long as they honor coupons and carry the product. That extra flexibility can be a lifesaver if you shop several different stores or are traveling. The best use of these coupons is to get the premium quality of a brand name item at the price of a generic label item. For instance, if you are just wild about Maxwell House Coffee, keeping an eye out for manufacturer's coupons can keep you stocked with your favorite brew without having to shell out the extra dough. Gone are the days when the only source of coupons was the Sunday paper -- you can keep yourself swimming in coupons by surfing the Internet. Some resources require you to register but are free to join, such as Cool Savings,  Coupons.com, and  Proctor & Gamble Everyday Solutions. Red Plum is another great coupon site, and no registration is required.

Store Coupons: Both local and national stores offer their own coupons. Sometimes the discounts you can score with these coupons are a little deeper, though not always. Some store chains with great coupon sections on their websites include Kmart, CVS Pharmacy, Kroger, Hy-Vee and Safeway, to name a few. You can also get great Home Depot coupons when you sign up for their free Home Depot Garden Club or Home Depot Home Improvers Club.

In-Store Rebates:  Another way to save when you're shopping is to keep your eyes open for in-store rebate offers. These are attached to the packages of the product that gets the rebate. Common items for this kind of discount are hair care, skincare and household cleaning items. We love in-store rebates because they are so much less hassle than the traditional kind where you had to mail in receipts, forms and UPC codes, then wait for four months to get your $5.00 back. With these, you just point them out to the cashier and they run the rebate coupon through their system.

Double Coupon Jeopardy: This tactic is for the brave of heart. Occasionally, a store coupon and a manufacturer coupon will run concurrently. Say for example your local grocery store has a coupon for $ .50 cents off Pillsbury cookie dough, and you find a Pillsbury coupon for $ .75 off in a magazine. You can present both coupons at the grocery store for a possible total discount of $1.25. It should be noted that not all stores will honor both, but it never hurts to ask! Many times you can get items free by using this double coupon strategy.

Hopefully, this guide will help make sense of the coupon world maze, which can be confusing and contradictory at times. We have new coupons and coupon sites showing up every day, so follow FreeToday to stay posted on the latest in savings!

--Renee

Image courtesy of momlogic.com

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