In all honesty, who doesn’t love a freebie? Much like their frugal cousin “the bargain”, they manage to bring so much joy to our tight-wad little hearts.
And rightly so! We live in an expensive world.
Increasingly our disposable income is depleting, yet our thirst for a treat is increasing. Therefore let’s take a look at the best ways to access a freebie today.
I guarantee that by the time you finish this article, if you choose to follow the rules, you will be tucking into something free and fabulous.
Birthday offers
Your birthday is the one day a year that you could probably eat all day for free. It’s fab. Burger King offer a free Whopper, and you can get birthday freebies at Krispy Kreme, Greggs, Gail’s, COSTA and many more. Frankie and Benny’s even offer you a main meal. All just for being born. Lovely Jubbly.
App offers
Signing up to apps can ensure you get a whole host of amazing freebies also. Places such as Greggs, Nero, Krispy Kreme, McDonald’s and Burger King (to name a few) all offer a free sign-up prize for downloading their free app.
Surplus food for free
There are some fantastic apps such as Olio that put you in touch with neighbours and cafes that have surplus food they’re giving away for free. As it says on the website, the app helps us all share food that would otherwise be totally wasted. Another brilliant idea!
There is also the option to forage. Falling Fruit maps wild growing plants around cities – so you can find plums, apples, herbs, strawberries and all sorts available for anyone to pick.
Free Wills
Every March and October every single person has the option to get a free will in the UK. Free Wills Month brings together a group of well-respected charities to offer members of the public aged 55 and over the opportunity to have their simple wills written or updated free of charge by using participating solicitors in locations across England, Northern Ireland and Wales.
Free gym workouts
So many gyms offer you a free trial before you join. So if you are scared it is simply a January fad and will waste your precious money then try before you buy.
You can receive a free three-day guest membership for your local Fitness First club with no obligation to join. Simply fill in the short form on their website, wait to receive the pass via email, and spend a day trying out their facilities and burning those calories rather than a hole in your wallet.
Be aware, though, that they will try to pressure you into joining full time either while you’re there or afterwards.
Free books
Readers First is a new, online book reviewing community. Each week, they run prize draws where you can win a free copy of a book. All you need to do is register on their site and start reviewing!
Of course, your local library is THE BEST way to get free books. Not only can you borrow plenty at a time (usually at least four books each time) but you can even order new ones for less than a pound.
Did you know, too, that every time you borrow from a library, the author gets paid? It’s only around £0.09 each time – but this adds up and is a valuable stream of income for writers. It doesn’t cost you a penny – and encourages them to keep writing new books!
It’s not just books available from your library, either. Libraries let you borrow audio books (even digital downloads on many library websites), use their computers for free, and can help you research projects. They often run lots of activities for the community, such as free events for young children, and will also help signpost you to local facilities who can help you for all sorts of things.
A lot of the resources have moved online. Check out your local library’s website to see what they’re offering.
Free Tickets for Shows
Did you know that most shows that we watch on the TV are free to attend? I went to see Countdown as a kid this way and one of my family were lucky enough to get free tickets to Strictly last year proving this is so worth doing.
All you have to do is go to the BBC website to apply for free tickets to your favourite TV show, tour, and live events for new music. You can also try Lost In TV where you can apply for tickets to other TV programmes like The Cube and The Apprentice: You’re Fired. Add yourself to their mailing list to receive updates on any new dates of upcoming shows, and check out the websites for regular updates.
ApplauseStore– Get tickets to see big shows like Britain’s Got Talent and Gladiators.
SRO audiences has tickets for Graham Norton and Would I lie To You, to name just a few.
Free Competitions
Don’t turn your nose up at competitions! They’re a great way to get free stuff.
You might not think you’ll win, but your chances of success are usually a lot better than you think – people rarely bother to enter competitions because they think they won’t win. This opens the doors for you to swoop in and claim all the big prizes.
Free Smoke Alarm
This is an important one as well as free – the UK fire-service give out free smoke alarms. They also carry out free home fire safety visits, offer advice on how to make your home safe, and advise on where to fit your alarm. You’ll need to contact your local fire service to see if you’re eligible.
Free Holiday
We have all seen the film The Holiday and wondered how on earth that came about. Well you can get a free holiday by swapping your home with somebody else for a few weeks. It’s great because no money is exchanged at all for the accommodation, you’ll only need to cover the costs of travel.
Go to a house-swapping site and read other people’s descriptions of their house and facilities and exchange destination. Check out our detailed article about house swapping for more info.
House swapping is a fantastic way of getting free accommodation, but it’s CRUCIAL that you do it through a reputable agency. HomeExchange is one of the best around.
