Freebies for Christmas

Despite that fact that it is not even quite Halloween yet, I've been thinking about Christmas. For several years now I have occasionally gone to "freebie" sites and signed up to be sent free samples of various items. This year, I decided to do this again, but with Christmas in mind.

While I do not recommend giving people on your gift list ONLY random free samples, I think they can be a fun way to add some fun extras to a gift, or to help fill a gift bag or stocking.

 Pictured: freebies I have received in the last month or so.

• Lindt chocolate truffes- got a coupon for a free bag by liking their facebook page during promotion. 
• Harley-Davidson sticker (free by mail. I have some Harley lovers in my family). 
• Ponds wipes samples and blue make-up bag of cosmetics samples (free by mail from Target during promo). Aero Shot energy gel sample (free by mail). 
• Eucerin lotion sample (free by mail).  
• Solar grasshopper (not actually free, but less than $1 on Amazon and thinking a kid in my family would love it.) 
• Not pictured: free mini-candle from Bed Bath and Beyond (got coupon online and picked up in-store).

I've signed up for another dozen or so that I'm expecting in the mail soon, plus I am keeping my eyes peeled for more to sign up for.

These are the sites I check regularly that tip me off to these freebies (I use Google Reader for most of my blog reading, so I'm not actually going to each of these everyday, they just come up in my feed. Easiest way to do it in my opinion.)  Not all of these are exclusively freebies, but I have found them all to be useful for this purpose.

Absurdly Cool Freebie Finder
 Freebie Shark
FreeSamples.org
FrugalFritzie (Actually more of a coupon blog, but does post good freebies sometimes)
HeyIt'sFree!
JustFreeStuff
Living Richly on a Budget (Again not exclusively freebies, but does include sometimes.)
MommySavers (Not exclusively freebies, but does include good ones sometimes.)
Who Said Nothing In Life is Free (Not all freebies, but good.)

Are any of you freebie collectors? What are you favorite sites? Please share in the comments!

Birthday Freebies Update

   Since my birthday was this week, I am taking this opportunity to test out the claims of all the birthday freebies that restaurants and other places say they will give you if you sign up. Last year I posted Lawrence KS Birthday Freebies so I am retesting the links found there plus trying out some new ones!

Feel free to leave a comment if you know of other Lawrence KS (or nearby) birthday deals.

UPDATE:
Here is what I got for my birthday this year from signing up on these businesses websites. Click the business name to go to the sign up page. Also a lot of these give you a  freebie when you first sign up in addition to a birthday gift! Enjoy!

TacoJohn’s- Free Cini-Sopapilla Bites
Sephora- Free Gift (mine was lip gloss. Coupon comes in the mail) 
Swagbucks- 50 Swagbucks
Hollywood Movie Theater (Southwind) - Free Medium Popcorn
Dempsey's Burger Pub- Free House Burger 
Liberty Hall- Free movie, free popcorn & drink & candy. (No sign-up, just show up with your ID on your birthday)
World Market- 10% off (I think that is lame.)
EinsteinBros Bagels- Free bagel & schmear with drink purchase 
Arby’s – Free 12oz Shake 
IHOP-  Free Rooty Tooty Fresh N Fruity breakfast 
Panera- Free Pastry or Sweet
Noodles& Co – Buy 1 Get 1 Entrée (came via snail mail) 

Reader Suggestions:
Sports Clips- Free Haircut (thanks Josh!)

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TurboTax is NOT FREE.

Just a quick note of warning- Turbo Tax is NOT FREE despite what they say in all their advertisements. If your family makes more than $31,000 a year you will not qualify for the Intuit Tax Freedom Project.  When you go to the TurboTax website, they will make you think you are getting it for free until you spend hours putting in all your info, and then they will charge you $29.95, even if you don't file your state return with them.

I figured out how they can say it's "Free E-File":  the fine print from their website says "Free Efile Included — Free efile is included with your purchase of TurboTax Online federal and state products."

 It is really NOT FREE if you have to buy their package to get the "free" service. Ugh. Just trying to save you all some time and money. I ended up paying it because I didn't want to spend hours entering all my info elsewhere.

DIY Valentine's Day Cards (frugally, of course!)

I think I am suffering from wedding-craft withdrawal. Friday I decided to start making Valentine's Day cards... a full 2 weeks ahead of time. I knew I didn't want to spend a single cent buying any new supplies, so here is what I made with what I had on hand.  I used leftover blank white cards that I bought super-cheap in bulk for wedding stuff. I have used these blank bulk cards so many times for so many card-giving occasions. They come in lots of colors at craft stores, great to have on hand. (If you don't have blank cards & envelopes on hand, you can easily make your own from whatever paper you have around.)

I made more than a dozen, but these are my two favorites:

This was so easy but I think it looks really cute- imagine getting a white envelope in the mail and pulling this out!  I used Elmer's glue (blue gel type) to write out the word, dumped glitter on it, and voila! 

This one is for my grandma (Grandma if you see this, please pretend to be surprised when you get it!)- I used my single-hole punch to make the holes, then threaded pink and lavender ribbon through them to make the border. (If you don't have pink ribbon on hand, perhaps you have red & white leftover from Christmas. You could also use strips of fabric, shoelaces, twine, yarn, etc. ) Then I tied two more pieces into a bow and glued on with my trusty Elmer's. 

You could do a lot of variations on these cards- your creativity is your only limit there. Use whatever you already have on hand!

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How to Organize and Store Your Holiday Stuff

I hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing holiday!

The time is coming soon to pack away the holiday things. I find staying organized to be an important part of living a frugal lifestyle. The "recycle, reduce, reuse" mindset only works if you know what you already have, where it is, and can get to it easily! So here are some tips on how to organize your holiday stuff before you put it away- you'll thank yourself next year!

• How to Pack Away Garlands, Wreaths, Trees, Ornaments Neatly (without buying anything!) from LifeHacker

• How to Store Gift Wrap Rolls (on the ceiling of your closet!) from LifeHacker

• Repurpose a Laundry Hamper or Trash Can for Wrapping Paper Storage  from Coffee With Me

• Album of Gift Wrap Storage Ideas from Better Homes and Gardens

• Use a Large Hook to Store Lots of Gift Bags from Like Merchant Ships

• Top Holiday Storage Tips from BudgetDecorating.About.com (My favorite tip from this page: Remember to store away your non-decoration items too- like dishes, cookie cutters, towels, DVDs, etc and save your everyday storage for stuff you use all year round!)

Free entertainment in Lawrence, KS

Lawrence is a great place to live for frugal entertainment. You may be aware of some of these no-cost recurring events, but hopefully you will learn something new too. If you know of other fun, free things to do, please leave a comment!


Free Music: 

• Acoustic Music - Tuesday Nights 7:30p @ Lawrence Arts Center - Free (suggested donation) 
• Lonnie Ray's Open Jam Session- Tuesday Nights 6:00p @ Slow Ride Roadhouse - Free
•  KU School of Music Student Recital Series- varies, see calendar of events @ KU Campus - Free
• Junkyard Jazz - Thursday Nights 7:00p @ American Legion - Free
• Jazz Quintet - Thursday Nights 7:00p @ iBar at Ingredient - Free
• Live Music- Most Friday & Saturday Nights 9:00p @ Slow Ride Roadhouse - Free
• December Music Series - Saturdays in December 1:00p @ Watkins Community Museum - Free
• The Mariachi Band- Every Other Sunday 8:00p @ Cielito Lindo - Free

Free Art:

• Art Exhibition - Daily 9:00a to 9:00p @ Lawrence Arts Center - Free, exhibitions change frequently.
• Kids Programming @ Spencer Museum of Art - Most are Free - see calendar
• Lectures, Gallery Talks & Peformances @ Spencer Museum of Art - Most are Free - see calendar
• Final Fridays Artwalk - Last Friday of the Month 5:00p - 8:00p @ Downtown Lawrence - Free

Other Free Activities:

• Free Kid's Programs - Saturdays 10:00a & Sundays 1:30p @ Prairie Park Nature Center- Free
• Holiday Activites List @ Lawrence Convention & Visitors Bureau Website- Many free- see list
• Poetry Social - third Wednesday of the Month 7:00p @ Lawrence Public Library Gallery - Free
• Book Signings, Book Talks, Readings- Free Events @ The Raven Bookstore - Free- see list
• Salsa Dancing - Wednesdays 9:00p @ Taste Lounge - Free

I found many of these events at Lawrence.com Events and Visit Lawrence Events - check them out for more ideas! 

Frugal gift-wrapping ideas.

Wrapping paper and gift bags can add what I think of as "hidden costs" to gift giving. You're thinking about how much you are spending on the gift, but did you factor in the cost of wrapping it? For a medium size gift bag and coordinating tissue paper and maybe a ribbon, it is easy to spend $3.00 - $7.00. There have been times where I realized I spent more on the wrapping than I did the gift! I'm here to tell you how to wrap gifts for free or very cheap.

• Brown paper from grocery bags- Free! Check out these great ideas to dress them up, from ApartmentTherapy. I am very excited about these and plan to try some soon.

• Paper, gift bags, and ribbon bought on super-clearance after Christmas in past years. I like to buy solid colored paper or bags in gold, bright green, or blue and use it year round for all occasions. As a rule I don't pay more than $1.00 for a roll of paper/ribbon or $0.50 for a gift bag (less if they're small!) I've found Walgreens and Target to be good places to pick up cheap wrap after Christmas, but most any place will have some good deals. 

• Fabric scraps leftover from projects. I use fabric and wrap it up just like I would with paper. Then I put ribbon or string around it to keep it closed. Sometimes with larger packages you may need to use a few safety pins. Or, you can try these gorgeous ideas, again from ApartmentTherapy. I like to do this method for crafty friends, because I know they'll enjoy having a piece of fun fabric to use. 

• Reusable fabric gift bags. Sew up a bunch of these on a cold dreary afternoon and use them the rest of the year! Lots of ideas and how-to guides on GreenGiftGuide.

• Paper lunch sacks brown or other colors (white looks very nice.) Dollar Tree sells packs of 40 brown bags for $1.00  You can also sometimes find other colors for a little more. They used to carry a wide variety of colors of paper bags at Michael's for something like $2.00 a dozen, but the Lawrence location doesn't anymore. Has anyone seen these elsewhere? Punch holes through the top and weave ribbon through to finish it (from FamilyFun.)

• Pages from old calendars, books, or magazines work great for wrapping small gifts. Or, use the pages to make origami boxes. 

• Make origami boxes from inexpensive paper. The photo above shows some tiny boxes I made a few years ago when I was giving earrings and pins as gifts. Easy instructions here from Origami-Instructions.com .  I love their tagline "spreading joy one fold at a time".

Please share your frugal gift-wrapping ideas, I know there are lots more!

Birthday freebies in Lawrence, KS

Mr. Townie's birthday was this week, which reminded me to share about all the birthday freebies in Lawrence.  In 2010 the LJWorld did a nice write-up of birthday freebies. By far my favorite Lawrence birthday freebie is going to Liberty Hall to see a movie for free, plus free popcorn and soda, plus a free movie rental.

A couple could easily have a night out for a birthday in Lawrence for $20 (buy one dinner and one full price movie ticket), perhaps as little as $6 (share the free dinner, and buy one student rate movie ticket.)

Here are a few more birthday freebies not on the LJWorld list (most require you join their email list, so click the links!):
Free cookie dough from Papa Johns
Free milkshake at Arbys
Free bagel and schmear with drink purchase at Einstein Bros.
Free burger at Dempsey's Burger Pub
$10.00 off coupon at World Market

UPDATE: I updated this 7/19/12 with some new links, etc. Click here for the new entry: Birthday Freebies Update