Free.99!

When I was in college my roommate and best friend told me about a company giving away free samples of deodorant ... Awesome! So I went on the website and got one. No strings attached - love it! Since then I have been hooked! I sign up for free stuff anywhere. (Seriously, what better way to get hooked on free stuff than in college!!??) I got out of the habit for a little while, having a job and a credit card, I could afford to buy things instead of getting them for free. But about two years ago my husband did a financial overhaul on our life. He made a lot of decisions to help get us out of the debt grind. It's working but it is a SLOW PAINFUL process. We are making incredible headway, which is exciting, however, in the meantime I'm stuck with zip dough to do anything fun with. And while I have not been working, I need something to liven up my daily diligence. I started googling free stuff. I found one of the greatest websites of all time!! And I'm going to not only share it with you, but some other awesome ideas to have a life on a budget!

http://www.sweetfreestuff.com ... This website is awesome. I have been requesting and getting AWESOME free samples of dozens of different items. It is literally no strings attached free samples. Some of the companies giving away samples may want you to fill out different information, like their facebook page, or have you fill out a short survey. The beauty about this website is, that you can pick and choose what you want to get for free. Anything from health and beauty products, free diapers, restaurant coupons and so much more! I can't even list everything I've gotten from this website it's been so much and so awesome! I look forward to the mail coming every day because there may be a free surprise in there! If one of your choices asks for too much information that you're not comfortable giving, just ex out of the page. It's brilliant. I love it mostly because I don't have to sign up or on to the website and it gives me all the freebies out there all in one spot! SCORE! Like I said I've been using it for months and have had no additional spam, no viruses nothing. Just a great site with free goodies!! They post new things every day so make sure you check often, I used to skip days and missed out on some hott stuff! They usually post the new deals around 2-3 pm EST.

A friend of mine told me about a service that our local libraries do and I thought hmmm could be cool. It's not cool it's AWESOME. Our local libraries rent toys!! FOR FREE! That's right, you can check out toys for babies, toddlers and kids like you can check out a book. It's amazing. Our library has an incredible catalog of toys at their disposal! Don't worry all you germaphobs out there, they thoroughly clean the toys upon their return and before they are sent out again! They have tons and tons of toys that you can request that are in great shape and will make your kid happier than a monkey on a banana. My sweet cakes LOVES her library toys and you will too. Plus your kid can get the benefit of Christmas come weekly. Check your local library for similar services! Your kid will never suffer from toy boredom again and you'll thank me!

Cleveland zoo offers FREE Monday's! That's right, you can get into the zoo for FREE on Monday's! I understand that it's a bit crowded on these days, for obvious reasons, but if during the spring, summer and fall months you need a zoo fix with out the zoo price, go on Monday.

If you're also plum out of fresh ideas and bored with the same old deal, visit your states website ( i.e. http://ohio.gov/tourism/ ) and see what your state recommends to do! There could be many things in your area you either didn't know about or didn't think of!

You can also find a local outdoor shopping area and just make a day of it. Window shop, go in stores, sit and have a beverage and people watch. These outdoor malls are magnificent during warm weather seasons. There is so much to do AND you can get a little extra exercise just doing all that extra walking. Spend a day with your friends or with your kids and you would probably end up spending very little. Plus you may find a great little store with some super sales!

Finally, here are my favorite things to do with my family when we have the time to get out but not the money. Go to a new park we just discovered, visit the metro parks, have a picnic, or go for a long walk. All these things are cheap, great for you and a lot of fun.

So now that you're in the know!! Go and be FREE!!!