Gotta Love The Freebies!

I am sure no one reading this minds knowing about ways to not only save a few bucks but to get things for FREE! Yes, we all are in love with the freebies. Just admit it. After all, don't they say that some of the best things in life are free. Penny pinchers, you may want to brace yourselves.

• Free Video Games. For the kids or even for you. For fun for for learning. There out there. For fun times for the adult kids check out: Kongregate.com, OnlineFlashGames.org, Pogo.com (to name a few). For the kiddies check out: PBSkids.org, Discoverykids.com, NickJr.com, Scholastic.com/kids.

• Free Birthday Stuff. Lots of companies give you free stuff on your birthday. Join the birthday club at Toys R Us and your child (younger than 10) will get a free toy or gift card every year. For the adults, if you sign up at your favorite eatery you could eat for free on your birthday.

• Free Shipping. Many retailers offer free shipping for online shopping. Some include: Zappos.com (shoes), Bluenile.com (jewelry), Piperlime.com (shoes). Others offer shipping options where you can ship to a local store and still avoid personally paying shipping. Some include: Walmart.com, REI.com.

• Free Software. Don't forget about all the free software options online. For antivirus protection head to http://free.avg.com. For free basic photo editing, check out http://picasa.google.com, or for more advanced touch-ups, try Gimp.org. For finance go to Mint.com or Wesabe.com. For word processing and spreadsheets to to OpenOffice.org.

• Airline Freebies. What?! Airlines still have freebies? Yes! Southwest lets you check two bags for free. Most others charge. Jet Blue lets you check one bag for free, plus gives you access to free TV, satellite radio and all-you-can-eat snacks. Continental still serves free meals on several routes. And all kids under 2 years of age fly free on your lap on all airlines.

• Free Books, Movies, & Music. Yes, I've mentioned this before. Don't forget about your library. Its your golden key to lots of free books, CDs, and movies. And some offer free seminars and events.

• Kids Eat Free. Yep, free meals for kids at Denny's, Lone Star Steakhouse and Roadhouse Grill every Tuesday night with a paying adult. You can search for eateries in your area at KidsMealDeals.com.

• Free Digital Storage Space. Free online backup storage to protect your files or photos from computer crashes or natural disasters. Spideroak.com and Myotherdrive.com each give you 2 gigabytes of free and secure digital storage space. You can also use Photobucket.com and Flickr.com for your photos and videos. Or there are photo-print ordering sites where you can also store photos such as Snapfish.com and Shutterfly.com.

• Free Technology Recycling. Not only is this free but you can also get some cash here! BuyMyTronics.com, Gazelle.com, MyBoneyard.com and GreenPhone.com recycle and refurbish your old technology and send you a check in return! They take cameras, cell phones, MP3 players, game consoles and more. Check them out!

• Free Music. Dance to your hearts content at Pandora.com. Great way to discover new music. You will have to listen to some ads on occasion but they are short. At Pandora you will receive 40 hours of free listening per month. Another site to try is Slacker.com where there is no limit on your free listening!

• Free Directory Assistance. Save and dial 1-800-GOOG-411 next time you need directory assistance. Google's free phone service will connect you with the business you're looking for, and there are no ads to listen to. But, note they don't offer residential listings yet.

• Free e-Books and Sheet Music. When copyrights expire on books and music they become "public domain." So you can get free and legal copies. At Gutenberg.org you can download more than 30,000 e-books. At http://books.google.com you can search the text of seven million books (even those that are still under copyright)! And at Mutopiaproject.org, you can print sheet music by more than 250 composers.

Thanks to Kiplingers for some great ideas.

7 Days Of The Week, When To Buy

Knowing a little more about the sales cycles of certain products and services and retailers can add much value to the your hunt for a deal. According to Smart Money, there are certain days of the week when you can find the best prices for things. If you have experienced success with this I'd like to hear from you.



Airline Tickets
Best to buy: Wednesday morning
Why: Airlines usually have deals over the weekend but the war begins after the weekend when other airlines are trying to match the prices set by the first airline that reduced prices over the weekend. Prices reach their lowest point by late Tuesday, early Wednesday.

Cars
Best to buy: Mondays
Why: Car dealers love the weekend because that is when they make the most sales. On Monday, they are already looking toward the weekend and the low foot traffic makes it seem like it will never come which gives the consumer a little more negotiating power.

Clothing
Best to buy: Thursday evening
Why: Kathryn Finney, author of "How to Be a Budget Fashionista" says this is when retailers begin to stock for the weekend and when retailers such as Ann Taylor, Banana Republic and Express start their weekend promotions. It brings people out to shop mid week.

Dinner Out
Best to buy: Tuesday
Why: Most restaurants don't receive food deliveries on the weekend and throw things out on Sunday (they should donate to the food rescue mission instead). By Tuesday they have received new deliveries so food is fresher and you get more bang for your buck.

Gas
Best to buy: Thursday before 10 a.m.
Why: In addition to oil prices, consumer demand also drive up prices. Weekend demand is higher when more people are traveling. Most gas stations change prices Thursday mornings and by getting gas then you will sneak in before the price change and weekend rush.

Department-Store Wares
Best to buy: Saturday
Why: Many department stores have a lot to mark down for their Sunday circulars, so they frequently start the process on Saturday evenings before store closing to prepare for the Sunday rush. Even if the markdowns haven't been made, many employees will honor the sale price if you ask. Print out the circular preview from the store's web site, and bring it with you when you head to the mall.