Everyone loves a freebie, what’s not to love right? If it’s easy to access and won’t cost you money to claim, then why not. There are however some rules to stick to when freebie collecting, the obvious being don’t go out of your way to get something for free or you might just end up spending money you wouldn’t have otherwise. Another useful tip is to only claim freebies when they relate to your lifestyle and can be used, what’s the point of collecting a sample diaper pack if you don’t have a kid right? Of course there are exceptions to these rules, when freebies could be saving or even making you money in other areas of your life.
Selling On
Some freebies will be so sought after that people are willing to actually pay for them. On sites like Ebay or Amazon you’ll often find freebie-sized makeup samples being sold for a bit of cash, it’s worth trying to flog what you get because every penny in this case, every penny is a profit!
Gift Giving
So you might be thinking this sounds a little stingy, but just imagine you received a bag full to the brim of samples of your favorite perfumes/makeup/dinner vouchers/snacks? I don’t think you’d be complaining too much about the cost of said present would you? This tip can even work on a larger scale, just look at the quality of freebies you can get when you take out your phone contract these days; laptops, cameras, games stations and sometimes even cash could see you winning best present giver of the year, and it cost you nothing!
Refurbishing
Free-cycle networks are becoming ever popular at the moment; someone uploads a picture and a description of an item they want to give away and consumers ‘bid’ by saying how much they want the item and when they can collect it, a genius solution to the expensive task of refurbishing your home.
Holidaying
Technically couch surfing isn’t a free holiday, as you still have to pay for the flights, but with so many couch surfing networks around you no longer have to worry about accommodation costs. Couch surfing sites are usually registered and as such are generally safe to use, they feature testimonials from other surfers and way to contact potential hosts. You may even find that couch surfing enhances your holiday, as many of these couch-lenders are often keen to show you around their hometown, giving you a more traditional experience of where you’re holidaying. It’s also worth noting that more often than not couch is a loose term here and often hosts are more than happy to provide a room for you.
What Now?
Being frugal doesn’t mean you have to be stingy. By using freebies in sensible ways you can save money for the bigger things in life and the things that will ultimately make you happy. Whether you use your freebies to re-gift, sell on or just save yourself forking out for something you need freebies are a great way to maximize your saving potential, just make sure you use them wisely.
Author Credits | Amie is passionate about personal finance – in her spare time she enjoys looking for the best savings account rates(fairinvestment.co.uk/savings-accounts) and high interest savings accounts such as fixed rate bonds  (fairinvestment.co.uk/fixed-rate-bonds).  Follow her @amielaroux on Twitter for more of her money saving tweets.