الأحد، 30 سبتمبر 2018
31 of the Absolute Best Freebies We’ve Ever Found Online
Always take the bite-sized morsel of bourbon chicken. Always. Every single time. You don’t even have to be hungry. Right?
The point is, we all love free stuff. But not all free stuff is worth loving.
We’re always finding freebies — from email newsletter perks to free stuff on your birthday — but we decided it was time to round up the best of the best.
After extensive research, our crack staff of freebie-ologists have put together this sweet list of quality freebies for you. Only the finest freebies are allowed in this list. From coffee to coconut oil to diapers, here’s the ultimate list of our favorite free stuff online.
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1. Free Ice Cream
We’ll never, ever pass up an opportunity for free ice cream. If we ever do, you should go ahead and start making our funeral arrangements. This is free ice cream we’re talking about!
When you download the Slab Happy Rewards app from Marble Slab Creamery, you’ll get free ice cream just for signing up. After that, you’ll earn points for each dollar you spend, and you can cash them in for $5 off future purchases.
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2. Free Price-Drop Monitoring (and Refunds!)
It turns out deleting your emails could be costing you money. Intrigued?
One of our secret weapons is called Paribus — a tool that gets you money back for your online purchases. It's free to sign up, and once you do, it will scan your email for any receipts. If it discovers you’ve purchased something from one of its monitored retailers, it will track the item’s price and help you get a refund when there’s a price drop.
Plus, if your guaranteed shipment shows up late, Paribus will help you get compensated.
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3. Free Credit Score
No, really. Hear us out.
If you’ve ever tried to get your credit score, you know most services make you sign up for a trial or charge you an outrageous amount of money. But it’s your credit score! Where do they get the nerve?
Credit Sesame will give it to you for free. And it takes about 90 seconds.
You’ll also see a credit report card, so you can check for errors. Finding and correcting just one could give your credit score a significant boost!
How do you know if your credit score is where it should be? Compare it to others' in your situation!
Status Money is an app that allows you to anonymously compare your financial situation with your peers without asking those awkward, prying questions. Tap into this database and you’ll be able to compare your income, debt, interest rates, credit score, spending… you name it.
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4. Free Godiva Chocolate
Free Godiva chocolate — what could be better?
We’re pretty sure free Godiva chocolate is handed out every day in heaven. Probably those chocolate salted-caramel truffles.
Even better: This offer isn’t a one-time deal. Once you sign up, you get free chocolate every month at participating locations, plus birthday chocolate!
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5. Free Scratch-off Tickets
There’s something so satisfying about those gas station scratch-off tickets — scritch scritch scritch scritch — but it’s better to avoid them because, well, that’s not Penny Hoarding.
Instead, try scratching free tickets through an app called Lucktastic. Every day, it releases a new assortment of digital scratch-off tickets. Lucktastic says instant wins range from $1 to $10,000. You can also earn tokens, enter contests and play games.
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6. Free $10
We all shop online to save time and save money.
Go through Swagbucks next time you shop online, and you’ll save even more on purchases at some of your favorite sites like Amazon, Target, and Old Navy. Plus, you’ll get a $10 bonus with your first purchase of $25 or more at a participating website.
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7. Free $10 for Sharing Your Receipts
We know it sounds strange, but Ibotta will pay you cash for taking pictures of your grocery store receipts.
Here’s how it works:
Before heading to the store, search for items on your shopping list within the Ibotta app. When you get home, snap a photo of your receipt and scan the items’ barcodes.
Bam. Cash back.
Ibotta is free to download. Plus, you’ll get a $10 sign-up bonus after uploading your first receipt.
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8. Free $5 Worth of Stocks
If you’re like most of us and wish your money would just take care of itself, consider starting an investment account through Acorns.
You can start small and stack up change over time with its “round-up” feature. That means if you spend $10.23 at the grocery store, 77 cents gets dropped into your Acorns account.
Then, the app does the whole investing thing for you — and you’ll get a $5 bonus when you sign up.
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9. Free Baby Diapers
Is your family growing? Create a Target baby registry to get over $100 in free baby stuff!
Even better, when your due date is eight weeks away, you’ll get a 15% discount on any items remaining on your registry.
One of the highest-rated diaper-loyalty programs is Huggies Rewards. When you buy Huggies diapers or wipes, pull up the app on your phone and snap a photo of your receipt. Get points that you can redeem for diapers, toys, gift cards and more — starting with 500 points just for signing up!
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10. Free Financial Assistant
Not everyone can afford pricy help managing our finances. Instead, we call in the bots. Here are two of our favorite free helpers:
Download TrueBill, an app that’ll negotiate your bills, cancel unwanted subscriptions and refund your bank fees. On average, Truebill customers get $12 in credits off their cable bills each month.
Trim is an all-in-one money-saving tool that lives in your computer or smartphone. When you sign up with your email or Facebook account, you’ll gain access to a number of powerful features, including its debt payoff calculator. Once you land on a monthly payment you can handle, mark your debt-free date on your calendar and plan to celebrate!
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11. Free Coffee
Want to try a bag of some of the best coffee in the country — completely free?
You can get a 2-ounce trial of Blue Bottle’s famous beans for nothing at all.
It’s part of their monthly subscription service, so you’ll need to enter your credit card info, but you’ll get an email before Blue Bottle charges you and sends you more coffee. Just cancel your subscription if you don’t want to keep getting coffee.
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12. Free $36 in Amazon Gift Cards
Yeah, that’s not a typo. If you’re a regular Amazon shopper, you can earn money each month by contributing to research to help companies understand what people are buying online.
Download and connect Shoptracker to your Amazon account. The company will instantly send you a free $3 Visa e-gift card, plus another $3 for every month you submit your info to the app. Use it for a year to earn $36!
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13. Free Baby Gifts
Expecting? Join Enfamil Family Beginnings to get up to $400 in free gifts and a chance to win a $25,000 scholarship for your baby*. Your gifts will include things like coupons for baby necessities, free samples of Enfamil formula and other goodies.
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14. Free (or Discounted) Prescriptions
Are you running to the pharmacy every month or so to refill prescriptions? We found a new service that could simplify your life — and save you a little money.
Phil is a prescription refill service that delivers your prescription right to your door. It talks to your insurance company to handle payment issues and renew refills so you don’t have to.
Plus, as a new customer, you’ll get up to $30 off your first prescription.
Phil partners with local pharmacies to have your prescriptions delivered. You’ll keep your insurance and the same copay you’re paying now. Partner pharmacies pay to use the company’s software, so there are no extra fees for you.
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15. Free Baby Shoes
Is there anything cuter than baby shoes?
That’s a firm no.
Little Wanderers, an independent retailer, stocks some adorable footgear — and you can snag a pair for free by using our code PENNY1.
Choose from some fringe boots or a pair of high-top sneaks. There are even some miniature snow boots with fur. So cute!
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16. Free Branding Checklist
If you’re ready to get a freelance or small business off the ground, branding and consulting company Braid wants to help.
Sign up for its email list to get a free copy of its branding checklist to help position yourself as a creative expert.
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17. Free “Support the Troops” Sticker
Show your support for the U.S. military with this free “Support the Troops” sticker from “Military Times.” You can choose from a sticker or four window clings.
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18. Free Onesies
With Custom Snappies, you can create your own design for a onesie that will express as much fun and attitude as your little one does. Get two free Custom Snappies with the promo code PENNY1 at checkout. You’ll just pay shipping and handling.
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19. Free Pancakes
Who doesn’t like pancakes? IHOP has pancakes. If you join the chain’s e-club, called Pancake Revolution, you get a free stack of Rooty Tooty Fresh ‘N Fruity Pancakes. You get the same thing on your birthday, and on each anniversary of signing up.
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20. Free Kind Granola Bar
This is #kindawesome.
This free Kind granola bar isn’t necessarily a freebie for you, but a gift you give to someone else for being kind. Get it? You’re doing something kind for someone who did something kind — paying it forward without paying a thing.
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21. Free Pizza
You can get a free personal one-topping pizza on your next visit when you sign up for Chuck E. Cheese’s More Cheese Rewards program.
In addition to free pizza, you’ll get a $10 reward for every three visits when you spend over $20 and unspecified treats on your birthday and half-birthday.
Everyone forgets the half-birthday.
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22. Free Shampoo
If you sign up for Pantene’s email list, the company will mail you free samples of shampoo and other products.
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23. Free Beauty Consultation
Try out a free beauty consultation at Aveda, which advertises “free services for hair, skin & spirit.”
This will likely be a 15-minute facial, or makeup or hair session at your local Aveda, where you can get a stylist’s opinion on which products are best for you.
If you buy something there, ask for some free, trial-sized samples as a bonus.
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24. Free Dog and Cat Food
No longer content with only feeding humans, Rachael Ray is venturing into dog and cat food these days. Her “Nutrish” brand is gourmet, natural, nutritious pet chow.
You can request a sample of her dog or cat food here.
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25. Free Baby Leggings
Head over to BabyLeggings.com and throw a pair in your cart. At checkout, just use the code “PENNY1,” and you’ll only have to pay for shipping.
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26. Free Roast Beef Sandwich
Hungry? Arby’s has an email list. If you sign up for it, you’ll get a free Roast Beef Classic with the purchase of a drink. (Arby’s will also send you coupons.)
This is one of the only offers on this list that requires you to buy something to get something else for free. But hey, you’re going to need something to wash down your free roast beef sandwich.
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27. Free Samples
Like to try new things?
Sign up to be a “Pincher” with PINCHme, and you’ll get a free box of samples of your choosing every week. In exchange, you’ll share your opinions about the new products you try.
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28. Free Dunkin
Do you run on Dunkin?
Join the DD Perks program to get a free beverage when you sign up and on your birthday. Plus, you’ll earn points for every purchase and get a free beverage for every 200 points.
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29. Free Access to National Parks
Every year, the National Park Service offers free days when all national parks, monuments and historical sites offer free admission.
In 2018, for example, the free days were scheduled for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the first day of National Park Week, National Public Lands Day, and Veterans Day.
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30. Free Baby Diapers and Wipes Bundle
All babies do is sleep, eat and… yeah.
If you’re a parent, you could definitely use some free diapers from The Honest Company. The company will send you a free trial box of diapers and wipes as part of its subscription program.
You’ll just pay $5.95 for shipping, and you can unsubscribe before your first shipment if you don’t want to continue to get the bundle every month.
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31. Sephora Beauty Products
Oooh, Sephora.
Become a “Beauty Insider,” and you’ll have your choice of a free beauty kit from Fresh or Marc Jacobs on your birthday.
* Enfamil fine print:
NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A purchase will not increase your chances of winning. Open to legal U.S. residents 18 and older. Void where prohibited. Promotion ends on August 31, 2018. Odds of winning depend on the total number of eligible entries received. For full Official Rules click here. Sponsor: Mead Johnson & Co., LLC, 2400 West Lloyd Expressway, Evansville, IN 47721.
We received compensation from the maker of Enfamil in consideration of this post.
The Penny Hoarder Promise: We provide accurate, reliable information. Here’s why you can trust us and how we make money.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
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How Informational Interviews Can Help You Find (And Land) Your Dream Job
Have you ever wanted to change careers? If you’re like 75% of 30-somethings out there, the answer is a resounding, “Yes!” And that’s okay. The average worker has 10 to 15 job changes throughout their career. Career changes can be out of necessity, i.e., you were laid off or hit a glass ceiling. Sometimes they […]
The post How Informational Interviews Can Help You Find (And Land) Your Dream Job appeared first on The Work at Home Woman.
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Don’t Get Blindsided by These Retirement Risks
Retirement planning doesn’t let you just run out the clock; any number of threats can turn a winning plan into a loss.
Unforeseen circumstances are the downfall of any great retirement plan, and they don’t all have to be tragedies. Unexpected deaths can wreak havoc on retirement and estate planning, but so can an unexpectedly long life. Meanwhile, a changing economic climate leaves retirement funds vulnerable to an increased cost of living. So how do you combat these changes?
We talked to Thomas Walsh, a certified financial planner with Palisades Hudson Financial Group in Atlanta, who brought four key retirement threats to our attention. He also laid out strategies for dealing with all four while not deviating too significantly from a retirement plan.
1. Premature death of a spouse
It isn’t something that most people want to think about, but premature death doesn’t only affect estate planning, inheritance, and succession planning (if you own a business), but financial planning in general. Funeral costs and outstanding debt need to be dealt with, but the loss of a partner’s Social Security checks or private pension can make that a lot more difficult. “Many people don’t consider this,” Walsh says.
Solution: Changing the plan, with the help of life insurance
The Social Security Administration provides online tools to assess how your benefits may change due to the death of a spouse. Survivor benefits help, but only if you’re age 60 or older or caring for children under age 16. Meanwhile, you may actually have to give back some of the deceased’s benefits.
If there’s still other income (like a salary or a pension) that can’t be replaced, you may have to do some math and determine just how much you’ll need to cover the shortfall. “Life insurance can be used to make up for the loss of a spouse’s pension income,” Walsh says, but no one plan works for everyone. For younger couples, Walsh recommends inexpensive term life insurance. For people past 65, however, cash-value policies such as whole life end up being more affordable over the long term.
Just make sure you’re communicating the whole way through. If one of you is more financially savvy than the other, that person is going to want to make sure their spouse is taken care of. Provide routine updates and maintain a list of all checking, savings, investments, and credit cards, as well as an estimate of each account balance, Walsh says.
If you pay bills online, keep a list or file with the logins and passwords for each account to avoid late payment penalties and missed payments. Keep a file for your important documents like insurance policies, wills, and powers-of-attorney. Make sure your spouse knows your financial adviser, tax preparer, attorney, and insurance agent. Unfortunately, they’ll be some of the first people your spouse has to contact after you die, so it will be helpful if you’ve already made the introduction, Walsh says.
2. Health care costs
Just about every retirement survey conducted by financial firms finds that people underestimate what they’ll need to save for health care and don’t seem to realize how much health care costs are going to rise. Medicare plans, including Medigap and Medicare Advantage, don’t cover most long-term care, dentistry, vision care, hearing aids, eyeglasses, or private nursing. Prescription drug coverage also has a caveat for the most expensive drugs, which means you could pay up to $5,000 annually. Meanwhile, medical cost inflation regularly outpaces standard inflation.
“If you face a major medical issue or need long-term care, you may have to spend your savings at a much faster pace than you expected,” Walsh says. “I’ve seen many clients unintentionally low-ball their estimated medical costs in retirement because they’re in perfect health at age 55. But health can change quickly, especially in old age.”
Solution: A health savings account or other tax-advantaged account
The biggest upside to a health savings account (HSA) isn’t simply saving for future medical expenses: It’s the combination of the immediate tax deduction for your contributions and future income tax exemption on withdrawals for qualified medical expenses.
However, to qualify for an HSA, you must have a high-deductible health plan, and you can’t be on Medicare. The minimum annual deductible is $1,300 for self-coverage and $2,600 for family coverage.
While employers typically offer an HSA as part of a health care package, any qualifying individual can open an HSA with banks and insurers that offer them. If you don’t qualify, retirement plans like IRAs, Roth IRAs and 401(k)s basically perform the same function. To keep up with health care costs, though, Walsh suggests keeping a diverse portfolio with at least a portion in further diversified stocks.
3. Inflation
Inflation has averaged roughly 4 percent a year over the past 50 years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (though it’s held under 3 percent so far this century). Using the longer-term model, $1 today would buy only 46 cents worth of goods in 20 years.
Solution: A diversified investment portfolio
Walsh suggests a mix of stock mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). How much you’ll invest in each varies by your risk tolerance.
Also, resist the temptation to abandon stocks completely during retirement. “Being too conservative with your investments during retirement is a mistake,” Walsh says. “If you have all of your savings in low-yielding investments like bonds or CDs, it will be difficult to keep up with inflation.”
Stocks will offer the best long-term returns but are more volatile year to year. You can manage that risk by putting together a mix of U.S. large-capitalization, U.S. small-cap, international, natural resources, and real estate investments. By building your portfolio with mutual funds and ETFs, you tamp down on risk by owning thousands of individual securities across multiple asset classes.
4: Outliving your savings
Your chances of living longer increase as you age. For example, according to the Internal Revenue Service’s life expectancy tables, a 30-year-old is expected to live to age 83. Yet, if you’re 65 years old today, you can expect to live until age 86.
Solution: Periodic planning
Take stock of your health and investments, but also take a glimpse at those IRS tables every so often. They won’t gauge exactly how long you’ll live, but they’ll give you some idea of what to expect and how to plan. As Walsh says, the effectiveness of your retirement plan is only as good as the assumptions going into it. If you underestimate how long you’ll live, you’ll end up shortchanging yourself.
“Hopefully, you’ll live happily to a very old age. Give yourself some cushion and save and invest with that in mind,” Walsh says.
More by Jason Notte:
- What You Don’t Know About Insurance Is Costing You
- When Whole Life Insurance Doesn’t Last Your Whole Life
- To Catch a Scammer: Here’s How Credit Hackers Try to Steal Your Money and Identity
The post Don’t Get Blindsided by These Retirement Risks appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
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