Author: Amy Lynn
Welcome back to Wasted Wednesdays! I hope all of you were able to get your spreadsheets in order last week and are on your way to saving those pennies! I’m not being sarcastic either, after college every penny counts, trust me.
This week I’ve decided to get away from the technical details of saving and venture more into the fun part of saving, freebies! Remember when you were little and your mom told you, nothing is ever free? Well she lied and didn’t have the internet. You can get plenty for free, whether it be a bottle of nail polish or Tide pod, free is free. It just takes a few minutes on the internet and viola, freebies at your doorstep. Now don’t expect my tricks to get you a free Coach purse, I’m talking items ten dollars and under mostly, but free is free.
Let’s start with Facebook. I am not a fan of Facebook, to me it’s just as horrid as MySpace was, but it is what it is and there’s freebies to be found there. Check out your favorite brands like Cover Girl, Green Mountain Coffee, and Tide to score freebies. At least once a month I find my favorite brands to be hosting some sort of giveaway or a sign up for free samples. Follow their posts in your news feed by liking the company to stay up to date as most of these freebies go fast. Last month I received a free package of Craisins from Ocean Spray along with a coupon for a free box at the store and a free Tide pod, one free load of laundry makes a big difference when laundry detergent is so expensive.
Twitter is my favorite outlet for freebies. Create an account if you do not have one already and start following your favorite brands. Some companies like NYX Cosmetics and CVS have retweet contests where the first person to retweet or answer their question gets a prize. I received a free bag of Halloween goodies from CVS this past fall just for retweeting their contest and I won a prize pack from NYX Cosmetics (worth at least $30) just for being the first person to tweet an a correct trivia answer.
I’m sure this all sounds time consuming, but 10 minutes here or there on your breaks while at work can really add up. You’ll also start to be able to follow other tweeters who share their freebie wisdom to gain even more freebies.
Another great freebie outlet is Klout. If you don’t have a Klout account yet, I suggest you sign up! Klout tracks your media influence which can make you eligible for freebies from some of your favorite brands. I have recently received free products, full size, from companies like Gud (Burt’s Bees new body care line) and ROC eye cream. I even received coupons for free Home Run Inn pizzas and a pizza cutter! All you have to do in return is occasionally fill out a survey about the product or leave a short review. No spam either! Klout works well if you have a Twitter account so your friends can give you +K on topics to help you gain freebies!
So get your social media game up to par and start earning freebies!
