Become a freebie hunter
Freebies are becoming more and more popular in an ever-expensive world and companies are using it more and more as a marketing tool.
In this post I'll show you the best places to find freebies, including some really helpful sites for this:
- Websites:
There are many existing websites that regularly post available freebies however I think the main one is LatesFreeStuff. These can vary from beauty freebies, to kids products, to entertainment or best of all food!
I'll be posting freebies that I've obtained in my gallery: http://t.co/Y4cTaAdXAD
Thanks to the internet you have no shortage of help to save money. You have other similar blogs to mine with the same aim; along with Facebook pages such as Total Couponery and youtubers like Coupon Queen (Emma Mumford) and Holly's Vlogs.
- Stores:
Samples of drinks or food products can be occasionally found in stores, especially in Asda and Sainsbury's and if you're lucky, at the little stall they'll give vouchers too. It's a great way to encourage people to try new items and you might find that you'll use the voucher later on when the item's in sale.
For example at the moment, Asda are doing this as part of their support for the Love Food, Hate Waste charity: http://your.asda.com/news-and-blogs/love-food-hate-waste-community
Recently I've also found that stores have been giving rewards when you spend a certain amount. They're not amazing but they make good stocking fillers or gifts to put in Christmas Shoeboxes for the less fortunate.
I just got these from Lidl, little figurins that stick to surfaces I think. You get one for every £10 you spend.
In Morrisons at the moment, when you spend £40 or more, you get a free pack of cards with options of Marvel, Frozen or Disney. With each pack you also have the chance to win Disney on Ice tickets!
On your.asda.com they occassionally run competitions to try new products to try. I recently won and you can see what I get to try if you head to my gallery! Look here: http://t.co/Y4cTaAdXAD
Tesco Orchard is a scheme run by Tesco where you can answer surveys for Clubcard points or get invites where you get sent coupons off their food. Having registered only a few months ago, I've received more than £3 towards fruit and vegetables (but nobody says you have to buy more than £3 worth) and more than £4.99 towards Bioglan Superfoods (making them free). I'm now awaiting savings on fresh fish!
- Magazines:
It's self explanatory that there are different types of magazines, but there are also different types of magazines which give freebies.
If you're 100% frugal and don't even want to pay for your magazines then I'd suggest store ones are your best bet.
Tesco and Sainsbury magazines provide the most vouchers and if you wait till sales or you have earnt vouchers with your Clubcard or Nectar Card then you can get those items free.
Asda, Waitrose and Morrisons don't tend to put as many vouchers but myWaitrose card holders can get good deals occasionally.
For those willing to spend a few pounds you can get makeup freebies or samples in magazines such as Vogue or Marie Claire. Although the magazines are rather expensive, the makeup products are normally worth more so if you're a fan of expensive makeup maybe this is a good idea?
For example, at the moment in Reds's issue, they are giving a free sample of Ren Lipbalm worth around £9.70 however the magazine only costs £4. See where I'm going with this....
-Voucher sites:
So although sites like supersavvyme and MyMail have coupons, it's not unknown to receive a "coupon" that says for a free.... This are rare but not non existant. It also happens that if you're patient, products will go on sale and sometimes they might be reduced to the same amount as the coupon's worth. I managed this a while ago with some Convent Soup and Cif direct floor cleaner to name a few .
Here is a current voucher from my collection which is for a 100% free product which also came with two £1 off vouchers:
Another example that comes once a year is World Book Day. Now (and I saw this at my school) many teenagers on receiving their voucher just assume it's for the children books that are just a preview of ones to come out. I know some teachers don't even hand them out to the class because nobody takes them.
However what people don't realise is that the voucher is also for £1 OFF ordinary books. What I did this March is I went to my local bookstore and tried to find any books on sale for £1. With four siblings I had four vouchers and so got four books for free, including Tom Daley's autobiography, worth £16.99. Now tell me that's not a bargain.
So there's a little trick between you and me for all you bookworms out there :D
- Brand sites:
Brands use freebies as a source of marketing. Red Bull did this for their new tropical wings flavour where you had to play a game of "Find the Red Bull" to get one. I also got a free pack of Ainsley Harriott Moroccan Medley Cous Cous which fits this category. Most of the time it'll be smaller samples for example perfume but face cream products normally come in generous helpings.
Again, keeping up to date with the websites mentioned above ^^ will help you find out which brands are doing this.
- Surveys:
Similar to the aims of brand sites, freebies can be obtained when answering surveys. I got two bottles of Volvic Flavoured Water (on separate occassions) and all I had to do afterwards was answer a few questions on the flavours as well. There is no way for definite you'll get one of these surveys but if so lucky you!
- "Exchanges"
Some makeup brands and clothing brands exchange your old makeup for brand new free ones or in terms of clothes give you a money off coupon for their shop.
Current offers I'm aware of are that in Crabtree & Evelyn stores, when you swap an old nail polish of ANY brand you can get a brand new free Crabtree & Evelyn one!
Plus, in H&M they currently give you a £5 voucher for every bag full of clothes you bring in to them. Again it can be from any brand, any size and any quality. Good idea if you're moving and need rid of stuff.
-Apps:
We're now in the day and age that when a teacher says "google something," everyone gets out their smartphones and starts tapping away at google or switching on their wifi. So why on earth don't people make the most out of these phones and save money without having to move further than reaching into your pocket?
Not only do we have company apps such as Greggs or Burger King etc. who give special offers or (speaking about Greggs) the opportunity to grab a free coffee or sausage roll now and again we also have cashback apps.
There are two main ones: CheckoutSmart and Shopitize. Both of these are free to download and are super easy to use.
CheckoutSmart gives you cashback when you buy certain types of products in store. Sometimes the amount you get back is the price it costs in store= freebie (!) so it's good to check the app reguarly. If you don't buy any of the products offered then you can just snap your receipt nonetheless and you'll receive a small price too! Payment is easy it's just via PayPal.
Coupon Queen (Emma Mumford) who I mentioned before has actually made a few videos on cashback apps which I'd strongly recommend if you want to learn more:
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3A38UYvEgk
and here
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpODgTKc_JQ
Shopitize follows a similar principle but the best thing is that the deals are not always on the same products which means you can get a variety of products and get maximum opportunity to get money off.
Hope you finally join us in getting loads of freebies! You'll now find the post a lot more exciting I can tell you that now ;)
Good luck.
The Frugal Teen