8 Ways That I Get Stuff For Free

Something about growing up poor teaches you to appreciate how money is made and spent. Early in life, I learned the value of a dollar, how to split everything four ways with my three younger siblings (or six if you include my parents), how to save, and especially, how to find free stuff. 

The thrill of getting something for free has never been lost on me. Even now that I independently support myself, I still seek out these freebies. From rewards programs to contests, I hunt for ways to get free stuff with no strings attached. Below are some methods that I regularly use to get everything from books to subscriptions to movie tickets and gift cards with no hidden fees or commitments.

Please note: This is not a sponsored blog post or advertisement. These are just my personal favorite methods of earning free stuff.

Prizes for soft drink addicts – My Coke Rewards

For years, Coca Cola has hosted their own rewards program. Here, users enter codes found under their caps and exchange them for free stuff.  You just sign up for a free account at My Coke Rewards and then start saving and entering your drink caps.

Most of their offered rewards come in the form of drawing entries to win everything from gift cards, to cash prizes, trips (theme parks, ranches, etc.) or large merchandise (TV’s, vending machines, etc.). However, there are always a few offers for small prizes or rewards that are more of a sure thing. These include magazine subscriptions, movie tickets, and small gift cards to different stores and gas stations.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, most of their promotions allow entrants to use their caps to make a donation to several notable charities such as The Red Cross, St. Jude, and National Parks. So, if you’d like to be more charitable but don’t have the money to donate, using your rewards towards these donations is a great way to give back.

Pepsi occasionally does rewards programs too. However, they limit the daily amount of codes that you can enter, set high point values, and their prizes run out fast.

The charitable freebie – Kellogg’s Family Rewards

I buy a lot of cereal and snack bars. Usually, those products are made by Kellogg’s. Kellogg’s has an ongoing rewards website similar to Coke’s called Kellogg’s Family Rewards. After signing up for a free account, you input your grocery store card numbers or upload your receipts to the site to earn points on all of the Kellogg’s products that you buy. Occasionally, Kellogg’s will email bonus point codes to you to enter into your account as well. The emails also come with coupons and recipe ideas made with Kellogg’s products.

Most of their physical prizes come in the form of cereal bowls, t-shirts, and trip entries. The points levels for these prizes are high, and the points don’t expire. However, they do include charity organizations that accept points.

I like to save mine up for Treecycler, a nonprofit that provides trees that are used in reforestation projects around the globe. Each donation is only a few hundred points. Once I have enough, I redeem it for a code which I enter on the Treecycler website. Then, I choose the location where I want my tree to be planted on their interactive map. I’ve purchased over a dozen trees from this site which have been planted in various locations at no cost to me other than the Kellogg’s products that I was going to buy anyway.

The movie rental freebie – Redbox

Every grocery store in the United States seems to have a Redbox, the last remaining version of a traditional video store. This service is great for renting movies that you don’t want to see in theaters and don’t want to pay extravagant prices for VOD. 

Redbox loves to promote their services by offering free and discounted rentals from time to time. After I signed up for a free account, those offers ended up in my inbox more regularly. Now, I never pay more than 50 cents for a one night rental. I just have to make sure to return it the next day. Sometimes you’re limited to the day that you can rent them. Usually Tuesdays and Thursdays are big days for coupon codes, but they do have weekend offers as well.

The free book giveaways – Goodreads

Every reader and writer should, and probably does, have a Goodreads account. It’s a great site to keep track of the books that you’ve read, review titles, network with other readers and writers on their forums, see what’s new in the publishing world, and best of all, enter to win free books.

Their giveaways section includes books from small indie authors to the biggest names in the publishing world. They give away free print and Kindle copies of comic books, picture books, fiction, memoirs, poetry, and even classic novels.

Some listings give away multiple copies while others are just one. The more popular the book, the more people who enter the giveaway, but it’s free to throw your name in the hat. You don’t even pay the shipping. I’ve both won and given away books using the Goodreads giveaway program, and I can confirm that it’s a win-win for everyone.

The earn-as-you-spend rewards – credit card companies

Credit cards can be dangerous in the wrong hands, but if used correctly, they can actually pay you to use them. By charging only what I have to spend spend and taking advantage of certain offers, I have earned money by using my credit card. Of course, that money goes to paying the credit card bill, but it’s still a nice discount.

Even though I hadn’t used it in years, I once earned enough points towards Capital One’s gift card program that by the time I cancelled the card, I had enough to select a $15 gift card from a list of various companies.

Now, I use my Discover card to accumulate cash earnings to put towards my bill. Everything you charge with Discover Card earns you 1% cash back, but each quarter, they select a special type of purchase to earn you 5% cash back. Sometimes it’s gas, sometimes it’s restaurants, sometimes grocery stores, but all you have to do is click the sign up button whenever they send the email, and you’re in. Then, when it’s time to pay your bill, it shows you your rewards earnings to apply towards your bill.

The weekly rewards program – T-Mobile

Of course, you have to be a T-Mobile customer in order to earn these rewards, but having them as a cell phone provider has earned my family a number of freebies. Every Tuesday is T-Mobile Tuesday. Customers receive they send an email featuring a particular reward.

Sometimes it’s free or discounted movie tickets. Other weeks it’s a Dunkin Donuts gift card. Sometimes it’s a discount to use at a particular gas station. They try to mix it up so that there is an offer for everyone to take advantage of. 

And if you don’t have T-Mobile, check to see if your cell phone company has a rewards program to get more than just service from your phone bill.

Free books and gift cards in exchange for reviews – LitPick

As if I need to feed my book buying addiction, as an adult reviewer for LitPick Student Book Reviews, I’m sent free Kindle and print books to read and review. After writing a few well-written reviews, LitPick will invite reviewers to read particular books in exchange for gift cards. This is not only a great opportunity for reviewers to get their name out there, but it’s paid work as well in which you can set your own hours and decide on the content that you are reading and reviewing.

Promotional freebies – bloggers

There are so many bloggers who promote their site with free contests that finding them on social media isn’t hard, and entering their contests are even easier. Sometimes all you have to do is like and share their post. Other times, they use programs like Rafflecopter or Gleam to collect entries by having entrants follow them on social media, comment on blog posts, sign up for newsletters, etc. They earn points for each requested action that they take, and then the program picks a winner at random.

I typically host book giveaways as part of my author interview series. Also, check out my Giveaways, Contests, and Promos section for a list of other blogs that host giveaways.  

What companies, organizations, or accounts do you get free stuff from regularly? What’s the best freebie you’ve ever received? Leave your answers in the comments below!

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