Net A Buck

I think we all put up a red flag when we hear the word free. I will be the first to tell you there are a lot of gimmicks out there. So read and be care full before you go giving personal info out. But there are a lot of great companies out there willing to give you things TOTALLY FREE. Everything I post I have checked out, signed up for to try to ensure that it is worth your time. I just pass along the deals I see, please use your own judgment.

Here are a few tips when signing up for freebies, Samples, Entering contests or Downloads.

1. Set up a special e-mail account only for freebie requests. Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, and more all offer free e-mail accounts. You will find that as you sign up for free products or contests, that you will start to receive A LOT more spam. But you will also get more offers for coupons, and other usefull info. I would HIGHLY recommend that you take a few minutes and set up a 2nd email account and us it as your email as you enter into giveaways, surveys and contest. This way you can have your personal email account free of all the extra mail.

2. Don’t give out to much personal info. You will need to give them your name, address, phone and email. Many companies want a lot more info like birth dates, how many kids you have, and much more. They want this info to find out more about the people that are using their product. So if they ask how many kids I have I tell them, BUT if they ask their names, will use a different name. I don’t think anyone needs to know what my kids names are, just for a free bar of soap.

• Credit Card Information – This is not usually required for your basic freebie but may be for free trials. Never give this information if you do not feel it is necessary for the offer or if you do not trust the website. Always do your research first.

• Phone Number Don’t give out your home/cell number. Instead get a free online voice mail box at Simple Voice Box or JConnect. And remember to register your home and cell phone number to the National Do Not Call Registry. Free Stuff sites Do Not need your phone number. If they say it is mandatory use something other than your own. If they ask for your phone number, unless you actually want telemarketers calling, don’t give the correct number.
• Date of Birth I don’t feel that giving out this information is necessary, so unless I’m making a purchase I will just use a fake one. Free Stuff sites Do Not need your birth date. I never use mine when registering for free items. Unless it’s, ‘free for your birthday items.’ When they ask for my birthday I always give them the correct month and year but I change the “real” day. This helps protect my personal info.
• Home Address Of course you will have to give out your address when something will be sent to your home. Even though I frequently sign up for freebies I don’t have a much of a problem with junk mail. Having items sent to a Post Office Box number can help protect your privacy as well.

Read the fine print on all free stuff offers, Do Not register if they ask for a required survey, gold card offer, promotion requirements, or your credit card information. (scroll down on the page – if there’s a bunch of disclaimer info – avoid this site)

3. If you don’t need it, don’t order it. Sounds obvious but living life with a frugal edge doesn’t mean you get as much stuff as you can to collect a big pile of stuff. Rather, it means that you get only what you need and use it all up. SO if you don’t have a baby, you don’t need diaper samples and if you don’t have a cat you don’t need cat food. The only exception that I make to this rule is if I know I can donate the item somewhere there is a need. For instance, I occasionally get formula samples and donate them to Carenet Crisis Pregnancy Center or a local food pantry. Have a plan in place for how you’ll deliver such samples before you even order them, though. Otherwise, they will sit on your kitchen counter, cluttering up both the counter and your life.

4. Patience It takes 4-6 weeks for the average sample to arrive (some are even longer). Don’t expect to fill out a form on Sunday and have something in your mailbox on Monday.

5. If it smells fishy it probably is!. I am very careful about what offers I post on here. If you are on another site be cautious, making sure the site is legit. Does the URL reflect the company’s name? Are you being asked questions that are unnecessary?

6. Free Trials Many offers will get you hooked by giving you a free month supply, or free product. Then what they may or may not say is that you are also signing up for a subscription to their product on a continuing basis. If you are not watching carefully, in a short while you get a whole new box of that product and you may not even notice the charge on your credit card bill. Now we don’t want to talk you out of the free products, but you need to make sure you ask questions, or be prepared to cancel the subscriptions. Watch the credit cards that you use. It’s suggested to use one card that you monitor closely, that way you know what you are, and are not getting into.

Once you get the hang of things and a bit of time passes, you can expect to receive something everyday in the mail. It becomes much more fun to receive mail! Happy Freebie-ing.