We’ve all heard it; “Free stuff doesn’t exist” and “You can’t get those things for free”. I hear “you don’t do anything except coupon” and “that’s a waste of time” almost every week from someone.
Let me tell you; it does, you can, I don’t and it’s not.
Free stuff does exist in every hidden corner of the mall and every place you can imagine, all you have to do is have the guts and willpower to find it or make it happen. Let me give you a little insight to my free world.
I get panties for free and bras at mega discounts from Victoria’s Secret and let me just say if you’ve been to Victoria’s Secret you know what those pretty little things cost you. To get them for free, sign up at Victoria’s Secret for their mailing list, chill out and wait for them to send you coupons. Most often I get coupons for a FREE pair of cotton panties, no purchase necessary (score!) AND there’s usually a second coupon for $10 off a purchase of $10 or more! So just find another pair of panties priced at $10 and (double score!) TWO pairs of FREE panties! Or if you are more in the market for fragrances or makeup, they have a nice selection of those that usually work out for super cheap or free!
The bras are a little harder to pull off, but let’s face it, if you can get your hands on a brand new bra from Victoria’s Secret with the added bonus of a pair of panties for $9.50 you can do anything! This one requires you to wait until Victoria’s Secret releases a coupon code for “$10 off a bra + FREE cotton panty” AND to have a $10 Secret Reward (for those of you who don’t know what that is I’ll cover it below). Here’s the scenario:
Purchase one bra $29.50
And pick up a cotton panty (usually priced around $9)
Use the coupon code and it will take off $19 ($10 for the bra, $9 for the free panty)
AND use your $10 Secret Reward
Final Price: $9.50 for a bra and panty!
Now, for those of you who don’t know what a Secret Reward is:
Victoria’s Secret regularly runs a promotion “Buy a $10 item, get a Secret Reward”. The Secret Reward is a little card that looks almost like a gift card and it has $10, $50, $100 or $500 on it. So in all honesty, if you spend $10 and get a $100 Secret Reward, you basically just made a FREE $90 to use at Victoria’s Secret. However you won’t know the value of your card until you checkout on your next visit to the store. (Of course I like to cheat a bit to know the value of my card, so if you head over to Victoria’s Secret and add a $15 (ish) item to your basket, go to checkout and apply the card number to the order, it will show how much it took off (if it took $10, it’s a $10 card, if it took more, you know you have a higher value card). Now if you don’t want the item in your basket just take the Secret Reward off the order and you can use it for something you really want.
Now, how do I get clothes for super cheap to cover up those free panties? This is a little harder, but well worth the effort when you start calculating.
Sometimes stores (Target is notorious for this) will release coupons specifically for clothes, such as “$3 off a sleepwear item” or “$5 off a pair of [insert brand name] jeans”. Before Christmas last year Target did release the first of those and I went straight for the clearance racks. If you wait long enough and keep your eye on that specific rack item prices will dwindle down to a couple dollars (usually up to 85% savings right there!), then use that $3 coupon to score a free sleep shirt!
As much as you may think differently, Goodwill and other various thrift shops have such cheap clothing and sometimes you can find never-worn clothing with department store tags still intact. There’s really nothing much to this tip, but if you’re hell-bent against thrifting give me a break and try just once to find something you can live with at a thrift store and who knows, you may love it and come back!
If you still can’t come to terms with thrift, try your hardest to shop in the clearance section of “real” stores. I know it’s inconvenient because they may not have certain colors, sizes or a slew of other things, but it really is worth it to shop here. Just last month I scooped up a Vera Wang shirt for $4.80 at Kohl’s, brand-new! Now if I had my hands on a $5 off $5 purchase coupon that you can regularly find on Ebay (the average bid for 10 $5 off $5 Kohl’s coupon is around $3), the shirt would have been FREE!
While on the subject of the $5 Kohl’s coupon, Kohl’s carries small items under $5 that you can get for FREE with that coupon including: candles, dish cloths, hand towels, small décor, pillows, bath kits, clearance jewelry, etc.
Drugstores are a different playing field with some of the same concepts, the items you get just differ. Here is a list of items that, with your extensive knowledge of drugstores and coupons, you can easily score for free: pantiliners, makeup, shampoo, deodorant, single serve candy bars, multitudes of cough drops, aspirin and vitamins, small snacks.
Grocery stores are even more different if you’re dealing with a store that doesn’t double. Here is my list of things that I regularly get for free at stores like Walmart: razors, floss, sodas, cat treats, pens, whiteout, and random cooking and baking items such as bread crumbs and sauce mix packets. Here is a Kroger-like (stores that double coupons) list: single serve bottled tea, juice and water, body wash, cereal, toothbrushes, toothpaste, candy and meal bar singles, yogurt, canned food and snack foods.
One of my favorites, though I’m not sure why is Staples. Especially during the back to school season, Staples has sooooooooooo many items that are free after rebate or Staples Rewards. I have scored packs of batteries, pens, paper, toilet paper, Sharpies, earbuds, jump drives for absolutely nothing here! You can sign-up for Staples Rewards in store.
There are more stores that I haven’t covered, but I think this is a lot to take in all at once and I have the rest of my life to get it all down, so we’ll take a break for now.
In conclusion, free stuff does exist everywhere, I have other hobbies such as watching anime, writing, hiking and spending time with my fiancé, couponing is not a waste of my time (I’ll let you be the judge of yours). Let’s put it in perspective: Since January 1st of this year, I have saved over $350. Is it a waste of time to save that kind of money on things you HAVE to buy?
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