For bargain-hunters, there’s only one thing that’s more thrilling than getting a good deal: getting something for free! With that in mind, we searched for free items that are actually worth pursuing. Our list barely scratches the surface. Note that many require Internet access, so if you don’t have a computer at home, go to your public library and use theirs—that, too, is free! One note: Free offers and website names change fast. While these offers were all available at press time, some may have expired or changed. Our key message: With a little searching, you’ll be surprised at all the free stuff you can find!
✓ Bibles
We know, Gideon Bibles have been available in hotel rooms almost since the book was written (and yes, they don’t mind if you take them, though you might wish to mention it to the hotel). But there are other ways to get a Bible that’s new or only slightly used. The easiest way, of course, is to ask a local church; they often have a surplus of copies. Another source is the website biblesforamerica.org. Fill out a request, and they will send you a modern “recovery” version of the Bible. Also, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormons) will send you one for the asking. If you live in the United States or Canada, you can get the King James Version by filling out a form at their website (mormon.org/free-bible) or by calling 877-537-0005 (U.S. only). You’ll be asked if Mormon representatives may visit you, and you’re free to accept or decline. Finally, some websites, like bibledatabase.com, offer free digital Bibles and workbooks.
✓ Greeting Cards
With prices climbing to $3, $4, and beyond, the costs of greeting cards are getting out of hand. You can save big money by printing free cards and similar products (like business cards, calendars, gift tags, and more) at printfree.com. All it will cost you is the price of paper and the ink in your printer’s cartridge. However, if your well wishes need to arrive at their destination today, send an electronic or e-card from hallmarkecards.com. Cards are sent to the recipient’s e-mail address—you can schedule delivery for today, tomorrow, or a few months from now.
✓ Books
If you and your family are all bookworms, your reading habits may be costing you dearly. Your first recourse, obviously, is the public library. But what if they don’t have the book you want, or you’re stuck waiting weeks for it? Here’s how to recycle books and save a few trees in the process: At paperbackswap.com, you list nine books you no longer want and get three credits to order any three books from a member database of nearly six million titles. If someone wants one of the books on your list, you mail it out to them at media rate (usually under $2 per paperback).
✓ Snapshots
These days, almost everyone has a digital camera or a smartphone with a great camera built right into it. Sharing photos with friends and family has never been easier, thanks to photo-sharing and printing websites like shutterfly.com, flickr.com, and snapfish.com. Though these sites’ promotions vary from week to week, signing up for a free account with any of them might score you anywhere from 20 to 50 photo prints—sometimes even a poster-size print. You may have to pay a few dollars for shipping, but it’s still a great deal.
✓ Nutrition Information
Whether you’re dieting to lose weight or due to a specific health concern—or if you just want to eat more healthfully—nutritiondata.self.com should be your first stop on the Internet. You can find a complete nutritional analysis for just about every food item (even brand-name products) by entering it into the site’s search field. The site’s information comes in quite handy, for example, if you’re diabetic and want to know how many carbs are hiding in your favorite brand of yogurt.
✓ Health and Beauty Product Samples
Walmart's website (walmart.com) posts lots of free samples and special offers of shampoo, aftershave, skin-care items, and similar products. To locate them, search from the site for “Free Samples.” When you see a sample that strikes your fancy, click the highlighted link. In some cases, Walmart will send the item to you; in others, you print out a coupon that you use in the store.
✓ Hearing Aids
If you’re hard of hearing or have a child who is, you should know about these charities, which provide hearing aids free of charge:
• Hear Now (sotheworldmayhear.org/hearnow, or 800-328-8602), a national nonprofit program for adults, collects and recycles used hearing aids from donors and redistributes them to those in need.
• The Miracle Ear Children’s Foundation (miracle-ear.com/childrenrequest.aspx or 800-234-5422) provides free hearing aids and services to children 18 years and under from low-income families.
• The Hearing Impaired Kids Endowment Fund (thehikefund.org), a philanthropic project of Job’s Daughters International, provides about 100 young people under 20 years old with hearing aids every year.
✓ Online Classes
Prepare to be amazed—and, more important, smarter: free-ed.net offers online courses and tutorials in 120-plus vocational and academic disciplines, all free of charge. Students who never finished high school can prepare for an equivalency diploma, which is earned by taking the General Educational Development (GED) exam. Those interested in, say, the building trades can choose courses in masonry, electrical construction, professional carpentry, and more. If all the free info isn’t enough, free-ed.net also has links to a collection of free online textbooks for each course.
✓ SAT Test Preparation
Scoring well on the SAT (formerly called the Scholastic Aptitude Test) college entrance exams can give young people an extra edge when applying to universities. But tutors and test-prep courses are expensive—as much as $900 for six weeks of practice sessions. You can prepare for the SAT free of charge by visiting the College Board’s official website (collegeboard.com), where you can take a free, full-length practice test, and receive a free skills report and detailed explanation for all test questions.
Finally! Anything and everything under the sun . . . free!
Money-conscious consumers should make a beeline for the Freecycle Network (freecycle.org), a nonprofit pipeline to freebies large and small. After clicking on the site, locate your community by clicking filling in your location on the home page, and sign up at no charge. As a member, you can check out listings of free stuff that runs the gamut from sofas and treadmills to blenders and cameras. It’s up to the giver to decide who receives the items they want to recycle.