If you buy a Chipotle burrito today (April 14) or tomorrow (April 15) you get a free one on Monday (April 16th) to “EZ Your Tax Day Pain”.
And Tuesday (April 17th) is Free Cone Day at Ben and Jerry’s (as I mentioned in a previous post in how to get free ice cream.)
Mmm, free burritos and ice cream. Life doesn’t get much better than this!
During Free Stuff Week last month I posted about how to get free books. In reading through some of my daily feeds today I came across Johnathon’s post over at MyMoneyBlog about Wowio’s ebook service. They have a number of ebooks that you can download for free. You have to sign up which requires:
I signed up because I love free books! I was also intrigued by the free ipod offer. Johnathon’s post today was about how he got a free ipod shuffle in the mail for referring 10 friends to the free ebook service at WOWIO. (It looks like it only took about a week for him to get the free shuffle).
If you want to sign up you can use my email for a referral: moneyfortherestofus [@t] gmail [.] com. You enter the referrer’s email at the end of the process. Please don’t sign up just for a free ipod though, that’s dumb. Sign up because you enjoy books and want to READ.
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Nowadays cell phones are very common and you can get cheap cell phone with top quality because all most all top brands like nokia and sony ericsson are providing you affordable mobile, on the other hand some other companies such as motorola and lg are also attracting the customer by providing some exclusive features in the cel phone. Almost all top companies like Nokia are providing you complete accessories such as cell phone chargers and if you have fear of damage then you can buy cell phone cases for protection more on for enjoyment you can install cell phone games in your mobile.
If you own a Honda Accord Car from ‘95, ‘96 or ‘97, you may be able to get a free inspection, free repairs, and a free oil change.
I recently got a letter from Honda informing me that my car had not yet received a free service. At first I was a little hesitant thinking it might be some sort of scam, but I called the local dealership and it was true. (And I can vouch for it because I waited to post until I went in and took advantage of the service, which I did on Monday– details below).
Here’s the scoop:
“We are sending you this notice to remind you that your vehicle is covered by an emissions warranty extension and to encourage you to take advantage of the free one-time 75,000-150,000 mile inspection and parts replacement offer detailed below…”
The letter then goes on the explain that there was an agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency because some of the diagnostic systems do not comply with the Clean Air Act.
The breakdown is as follows. If your car has:
Between 50,000-75,000 miles– You get a free emissions control system inspection. All repairs and replacements on the emissions control system will be free of charge (both parts and labor).
Between 75,000-150,000 miles– You get a free emissions control inspection, free repairs and replacements on this system; and a free oil and oil filter change.
Over 150,000 miles- unfortunately you are no longer eligible under the extended warranty. (Though if you previously had work done on the emissions system you may still be able to get that reimbursed.)
If you fail a smog-test (in the future)- Take your car in and they will fix the emissions problem for free;
If you have already failed a smog-test and/or have had emissions related parts/repairs– You may be eligible for reimbursement. (Send copies of repairs orders and documentation to: American Honda Motor Co, Inc. Automobile Customer Service PO Box 2964 Torrance, CA 90509-2964.)
To take advantage of the offer you can call any local dealership (find one at Hondacars.com) and tell them that you want to come in and get the emissions warranty inspection (and free oil change) on your 95, 96, or 97 Honda Accord. If you bought your car used you may want to ask them to check your car’s VIN number to see if your car has already has had this done as the car is only eligible once. (You may also be able to register online with your VIN and look it up yourself–I believe I got this letter because I registered online to get updates.)
The Catch:
Of course, even if there’s not a catch, there’s always a catch. When I took my car in to fix one thing they found 5 other things that needed work. (I did some research on the service center before I went and so I trusted that they were telling me the truth.) In the end, this “free” oil change and inspection ended up costing me $250.
There’s no doubt that I could have walked out of there without paying a cent, but just be prepared that they will recommend other services to your car when you bring it in.
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Are you looking for the information of cars? Nowadays there are many websites which are offering free information on cars. Some of these are dedicated to the information of spare parts of famous cars like BMW, ferrari, lexus and Renault. Some websites are totally focused on the information of new models of most favored cars like ford, jaguar, acura and audi. Some one need information about their suzuki and renault cars can also get information from these websites.
This post is a continuation of Money for the Rest of Us’ “Free Stuff Week” posts. The previous posts have been about: how to find free samples, how to find free online classes, how to get free movie screening passes, and how to get free books.
Summer is just around the corner and since ice cream is one of my favorite foods I appreciate any excuse to eat more of it. Free is an even better excuse to eat ice cream than the heat of summer. Here are the ways I have found to get free ice cream:
Ben and Jerry’s Free Cone Day: On free cone day Ben and Jerry’s gives a free ice cream cone to everyone who comes through the door. Usually there’s a long line, but it moves quickly. Mark your calendars– Free Cone Day is April 17th this year!
Sign up for Email Lists: Maggie Moos, Baskin Robbins, and Cold Stone Creamery all email you a coupon for free ice cream on (or around) your birthday if you sign up for their email list. Maggie Moos also sends you a coupon for buy-one-get-one-free when you first sign up for the list.
Make it Yourself: While it’s not completely free since you have to pay for ingredients and an ice cream maker, homemade ice cream tastes far better (and once you have the maker it’s cheaper) than any store bought kind. (Here’s my favorite recipe: easy homemade chocolate ice cream.)
This post is a continuation of Money for the Rest of Us’ “Free Stuff Week” posts. The previous posts have been about: how to find free samples, how to find free online classes, and how to find free movie screening passes.
I love reading. During the school year I have less time to spend reading for pleasure, but I still try to read a few books a month. Unfortunately, if you buy new books, they aren’t cheap. This post includes some ways to get books for free (or nearly free).
One of the newest and best ways to get books is through Paperbackswap.com. Trent over at The Simple Dollar recently wrote a great post about it so I will refer you to that post for greater detail. But, the basics are as follows (from paperbackswap’s “How Does it Work“):
- List at least 9 or more books in the system to become an active member and receive 3 free credits to get you started trading. List as many books as possible to be more successful in trading.
- Browse our online list of books posted by club members, and use your credits to order books.
- Selected books are delivered right to your mailbox, for free!
- When other members order books that you’ve listed, you mail them from your mailbox and you pay the postage (usually $1.59).
- You get one credit (good for one book) for every book you mail when it is received by the club member who requested it.
- List as many books as you like. The more books you mail to other members, the more credits you’ll receive.
Another good place to get books on the cheap is from your local used book store. Washington D.C. has one of the best used bookstores I’ve ever been to. Books for America is actually a non-profit bookstore. Donated books are sold for $3 or $4 and because the store is so small they only carry popular books. Anyhow, find a good local used bookstore for cheaper books.
Another great way to get books for cheap/free is to start a book exchange. This can be done both in your office and with your friends. In my office we have a bookshelf where people bring in the books they have already read. We also have one in the laundry room of our apartment building. Several of my out-of-town friends and I send books back and forth utilizing the cheap rates of US Media Mail (for books, cds, dvds, and more.) Borrowing books from friends is a great way to go, just be sure to return them.
Finally, get books from your library. Maybe it’s just me but I feel that people are going to their libraries less and less these days. Libraries are amazing places. There is no need to spend any money on books (even shipping) when you can get books from your library for free!
This post is a continuation of my “Free Stuff Week” posts. The previous two posts have been about how to: find free samples and find free online classes.
If you live in a large urban city, chances are there are a lot of free movie screenings in your area that you can get free passes to. I have gone to at least 10 free movie screenings in the last year and a half in Washington, D.C. Movie screenings are fun to attend because the movies have yet to be released and there are often free prizes, movie directors, or other surprises at the screenings. So, not only to you get to see a $10 movie for free, you may also get some other goodies out of it.
That being said, there are some downsides to screenings. First, the screenings are usually during the week, so if you work late you may not be able to attend. Second, usually more screening passes are given out than there are seats available. Depending on the popularity of the movie you may need to get there up to an hour early to get a seat.
To find movie screening check out the sites below; find screenings in your city, follow the instructions to RSVP, print out the passes, and show up at the movie theater. That’s all there is to it. Sneak some soda and snacks into the screenings and you’ve got a great free date!
Fat Wallet’s movie screening thread is probably the best place to find screenings. You have to go to the last pages every time to check for updates and it’s a little cumbersome to dig through, but a lot of movie screenings are listed here.
I’ve found that Fox Searchlight frequently posts screenings on their page and these screenings take place in a lot of cities (more than just the usual screening cities- DC, Dallas, Chicago, New York, and L.A.)
Finally, Wild About Movies lists a good selection of screenings.
Free samples are always exciting. And there are a number of places to find them–online and in person.
If you do a search for “free samples” online far too many search results come up to make sense of. The best online “freebie” site I’ve come across is the Absurdly Cool Freebie Finder. There’s definitely some stuff that you might neither want nor need, but a lot of really fun and useful stuff always shows up. Use their RSS feed to learn about the samples before the company runs out.
Oil of Olay has samples available online if you click their “Samples and Offers” link.
Walmart also has samples available online. These change quite frequently and arrive much more quickly than other free sample offers that I’ve found. I appreciate that an email address is not required to get their samples.
Besides getting samples online you can also get free samples in stores. The following stores have great samples available.
Almost any makeup counter in a department store will have free samples available. (And not just samples of makeup– lotion or shaving gel are things that everyone needs.)
Kiehl’s gives out samples of almost every product they sell. If you go to a Kiehl’s store they will have plenty to choose from. You can also call their operator at 1-800-543-4572 to request a limited selection of samples. (Up to 3 at a time, I believe).
Sephora doesn’t have a phone number to call, but if you show up at their store salespeople will help you get samples of products you are interested in.
Who doesn’t love free stuff? I love anything free– free pens at career fairs, free food samples at the grocery store or Costco on Saturdays, free pennies on the street…
So, this week I am going to have a “Free Stuff Week.” Each day I’ll post on a topic about how to get things for free.
Today’s topic is free online courses/education.
I went to a number of sites and chose my favorites. If you want a longer list there are a few links at the bottom which list a huge number of free online courses:
My favorites:
University of California Berkeley: They have a lot of lectures on podcasts that you can download and listen to from as far as your ipod can travel.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT offers a much larger free online selection than most other universities. It doesn’t take very long to download all of the material for one course.
There are two sites that offer great free online language courses:
The BBC offers a variety of languages from Mandarin to Urdu to Greek.
French Pod Class sticks just to French, but they’re podcasts are extremely useful.
While it’s not a class, Barnes and Noble BookClub is also very cool.
U.S. Small Business Administration shows you how to write a business plan, register your company, and do marketing and taxes for your small business.
About and Lifehacker both have longer lists of classes if you can’t find what you’re looking for here.
