Fabulous Freebies
Put your wallet away. Here are 26 valuable goods and services that don't cost a thing.
By Erin Burt, Contributing Editor, Kiplinger.com
August 2, 2007
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Cheapskate, skinflint, tightwad -- whatever you want to call us, we hate spending money and love finding a good deal. If we can save a few bucks, we're happy. And if we can get something for nothing, we're in heaven.
Even in these days of $400 haircuts and million-dollar starter homes, you can find plenty of things for free. We've pulled together a list of 26 of our favorite things you can get in life that are free. And it ain't junk, either. These are valuable goods and services that you actually want, from free music and movies to legal advice and financial services. We've laid out our list in text format below, or you can check them out in our slide show.
Plus, we want to know your favorites, too. Share your best something-for-nothing bargain with us and other readers in the Kiplinger.com forum.
Our favorite freebies
FREE (AND LEGAL) MUSIC
You can find a smattering of free and legal music tracks online at Amazon.com, CNet's Download.com and Walmart.com. But listening to Internet radio is the best way to get your free groove on. At Slacker.com, for example, you can listen to 75 genre stations and 10,000 artist-specific stations for free. Or be your own DJ and build a customized station. (It's in beta-testing mode, and the free service will be ad supported.)
FREE SHIPPING
Many merchants offer free shipping if you spend a certain amount. (Some of our favorites: Amazon.com for orders over $25, eBags.com on orders over $50 and Sephora.com on orders over $75.)
But a few sites offer this freebie no matter how much you spend. These include Alyssagiftbaskets.com (special-occasion gifts), Bellacor.com (lighting and home furnishings), Bluenile.com (jewelry), Shopbop.com (clothes) and Zappos.com (shoes).
FREE PC PROTECTION
Guard against spyware, viruses and other invaders with three free software defenders:
1. For a firewall: Zonealarm.com
2. To annihilate spyware: Microsoft Windows Defender
3. To kill viruses: AOL's Safety and Security Center
See Protect Your PC to learn more.
FREE BOOKS, MUSIC & MOVIES
If you haven't been to the public library since you graduated from high school, dust off your card. It's your ticket to mounds of free books, magazines, CDs and movies. Many libraries also offer free lectures, book readings and community clubs to residents.
FREE CREDIT REPORT
You're entitled to one by law once a year from each of the three main credit bureaus. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com to see what lenders can see about your credit history.
Learn more about why your credit report matters.
FREE E-MAIL
No more fretting over someone sending you a huge e-mail file. Free accounts from Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo now give you at least 2 GB of storage.
Sure, you get an e-mail address from your Internet service provider. But it's nice to have the freedom to change ISPs if you want without worrying about alerting all your contacts about an e-mail address change.
FREE ATMs
A buck or two here and there may not seem like a big deal, but if you're frequenting ATMs outside your bank's network, the surcharges can add up quickly. Get money from an ATM that belongs to a surcharge-free network. Allpoint has about 200 participating institutions and 32,000 ATMs. Money Pass has 600 members and 8,000 ATMs.