Freebie Hunting Money Grabbing Tight Arse

It's been quite a while since I applied for lots of freebies though I do apply for a few bits and pieces here and there. There was a time (over 2 years ago) where I was addicted to freebie finding and sad old me would happily spend many hours wasting away scouring the net for all manner of freebies, giveaways and junk. Since I started applying for freebies all that time ago I must have accumulated at least two hundred freebie with things ranging from little crappy pieces of rubbish that have gone straight into the bin, to fab little items that i'm over the moon about. Everyone loves a freebie and I am certainly no exception. The poor postman at one point was delivering up to 10 parcels/envelopes a day. Yes I have my internet obsessions and this was my first.

So of all the junk and suprises I have received what are my favourite 10 free items? Below you'll find my countdown (or rather count-up because i'm odd) including links wherever possible so you too can get your mitts on something for nothing.


1. My best freebie ever has to have been an extremely sharp chefs knife. Now don't bother asking me where I managed to swindle this one from because i've got absolutely no idea whatsoever. That's the trouble with me. I used to apply for so many things that when I finally recieved them I didn't even realise i'd sent for them. Well strangely (and rather worryingly) this chefs knife came in just an envelope addressed to me without any word of the company it came from or any information at all. In fact at the time I can remember thinking how dangerous it was to send a sharp knife like this in just an envelope through the post. What if my Son had got hold of it? That would have been a disaster. But anyway he didn't get hold of it so that's OK. The knife itself is actually that sharp that my Hubby cut his finger open while chopping up spuds. Oh well, it's his own stupid fault. He should be more carfeul. This knife is still going strong today and is as sharp as ever over two years since I received it. It's also the most used knife in our house and the most used knife i've ever owned.


2. Original Source are a fantastic site who regularly give away quality freebies from their range of haircare and bath products. I've had many samples of various Original Source products over the past couple of years. My most recent sample was a trial size bottle rather than just a sachet. LOVELY! I love this brand. Right now they're giving away 1 free bottle of either shower gel, bath foam, shampoo or conditioner (various scents available) Just register with the site and order yours. Only 1 bottle per household is allowed so make sure you've plenty of addresses you can have them send a bottle to (such as parents, Grandparents, friends, neighbours etc) Here's the link http://www.originalsource.co.uk/home/


3. Dolmio vouchers were another great find of mine. When bored of the freebie sites what I used to do is go onto various different companies websites and send them an email asking if they've got any free samples as I am keen to try more of their range of products. This works an absolute treat. Dolmio sent me 3 x £1 vouchers which I could redeem at most shops where they sell the Dolmio range. Yippee! I love making Spag Bog so I exchanged the vouchers for 3 large jars of their tomato based cooking sauce. Such little effort on my part acquired me quite a large reward in return.


4. A free jar of Sacla Sauce makes it as my 4th best freebie. Sacla are another producer of cooking sauces whom i'd never heard of until one day a freebie site directed me to their website where they were giving away freebies. I joined up with their website and low and behold a few days later I recieved a voucher for a free jar worth up to the value of £2.50. Wow they sell expensive stuff. Well I made sure I got a jar worth £2.49, after all there's no point getting one worth 99p when they're allowing you up to £2.50 is there..?. I've just checked the Sacla site and although they state there's currently no offers or promotions it can't hurt to register with them and cross your fingers. Go to http://www.sacla.co.uk/ and give it a whirl.


5. 5 packets of Paxo stuffing jumps in at number 5. In reality you were only supposed to apply/register once but sod to that silly rule. I applied so many times I lost count. I think they became wise to me in the end because they stopped sending me them. I never really bought stuffing previously but it's now a regular item in the shopping trolley (Not the Paxo brand mind, nooo I buy the cheaper Tesco branded stuffing which tastes just as good) Go to http://www.britishturkey.co.uk/ and register your details if you want this freebie too. I can't confirm whether the freebie is still available as it was never advertised in the first place but it doesn't hurt to try it out. As with the last one, keep your fingers crossed.


6. Chesswoods cooking apron crawls in at number 6. I heard from freebie forums most people who applied for this never recieved it. Well I did! My Hubby has nicked this off me and now wears it with pride as he does the housework. I'm presuming all I did was register on the site and they sent it to me but don't quote me on that. The website address is http://www.chesswood.com/ but the site states only free recipe books are available at the present time. Y'never know though. Just register and see.


7. Free Yorkshire Tea is always a sure fire freebie bet. This is one of the most common freebies to be found. No matter which freebie site you go onto you'll find a link to this. I assume this freebie offer is on permanently as whenever I go to the website it's always mentioned. The link is http://www.bettysandtaylors.co.uk then you need to click on the 'Yorkshire Tea' link situated at the bottom of the page, on the next page click 'A Cuppa On Us' and away you go. Enter your details and you'll receive a sample box of 10 tea bags as quick as a flash. This freebie is number one when it comes to speed of delivery, sometimes all it takes is a few days. To date i've recieved 5 or 6 packs of the tea at least. While you're on this site search around for any free coffee samples available. They used to give away free packs of filter coffee (of which I received 4/5 packs) but the site looks like it's been redesigned and unfortunately I can't find the link.


8. Free yummy scrummy Jelly Beans. I'm not talking about the cheap and nasty fake ones. I'm talking about the proper Jelly Beans. Yum, yum. This freebie would have made it to number one if it wasn't for the slight difficulty and inconvenience involved in getting your mitts on them. The site in question gives away 100 free mini packs per day, every single day of the year. You can apply for four packs per residential address within a 3 month period but you can get around that silly rule by using your mothers/fathers/brothers/grandmas/neighbours address aswell. I find a way to get around everything. When all 100 packs have been applied for they restart the sample allocation at various times to give everyone a chance to apply for one. It used to be the case where if you applied for a pack at around 7 or 8 in the morning you were practically guaranteed to get one but these days it's harder to guess the time when the samples will restart. A couple of weeks ago I applied successfully at around 1 in the morning and received my yummy pack of Jelly Beans just a few short days later. The address is http://www.jellybelly-uk.com/survey if you want to have a go youself. There is a short Jelly Bean survey to complete but do what I do and just tick anything then it's over in no time and the pack will be yours.


9. Rarely do websites give out free toys but I found one that did and the offer is still available over two years later. All you need to do is register a child aged 4 or above with the site and a toy will be shipped out to the child. The toys are age specific but i'm unsure whether they're sex specific. I've registered my Son on 3 occasions using a different address and age for him. Using age 4 he received a little teddy bear. Using age 8 he received a crappy deck of cards which went straight in the bin. Best of all (and what i'd recommend) is registering your child as a 7/8 year old as when I used this age my Son received a bottle of magic everlasting bubbles which don't burst. He loved those. The link is http://www.time4toys.co.uk/toyclub/ One thing to bear in mind is the speed, or rather the lack of speed, which this company deliver the free toy. My Sons first toy arrived in around 4 months, the second in around 6 weeks, the third in around 2 months. Not the quickest freebie by all means but it's worth applying for all the same.


10. My final choice is a free large tub of Utterley Butterley. I was bored one day so I started clicking onto different websites and sending loads of emails asking for free samples, just like I did with Dolmio. Lucky old me was sent a voucher just a few days later for a free large tub. I'm not sure what site I went on to get this as sometimes I apply by the company name as opposed to the product name.


Freebies can be found everywhere, you just have to look around and have a bit of patience. My motto in life is 'why pay for something if you can get it free'. I'll tell you what, I must have recieved about £20 worth of freebies in one week alone back in my freebie heyday so it's definitely worth it. Hey, it pays for the internet usage if nothing else.

What I will say to those who apply for freebies is above all you have to be patient and don't assume all companies will keep their freebie promise. Some companies can take months to get on top of things and send out what they have promised you. Some companies don't even honour the agreement at all and you will never recieve it. Keep trying and keep applying, it's a great suprise to get out of bed in the morning to find a huge bundle of 'presents' at your door.

Of course there are many other perks to be had from the online world including receiving cold hard cash, vouchers, gifts etc. iPoints, MutualPoints, RPoints, Cashbag, Sweet Collect and tons of other sites reward members for completing surveys, using search engines, joining other sites, making online purchases. Some of these reward sites are more aimed towards the online goods purchaser which is no good if you don't buy online but it's perfect for frequent online buyers. Cashbag in particular stands above the rest if you're talking about money for nothing. I can't vouch for Cashbag completely as i've only been using this site a few weeks but so far the outlook is extremely sunny. Check it out yourself here http://www.cashbag.co.uk/ or click on the link on my Dooyoo profile page which will take you straight there.

Finally I can't finish this review without mentioning Dooyoo.co.uk and the other review site Ciao.co.uk. Dooyoo certainly has perks and those perks keep me supplied with DVDs from Amazon. At 3p per member read of each and every review no matter whether the review is helpful or not it works out very well for most members. Crowns are awarded each week which carry the value of £1.50 with them and thankfully these are pretty easy to receive unlike Ciao.co.uk whos monthly diamonds are more of a mystery than life itself. There are more review sites out there than just Ciao and Dooyoo but these are the main ones in my life and of these two I can say with 100% certainty that Dooyoo rewards members far better than Ciao.

So off you go then. Start to earn back the amount you pay for your internet connection (plus more) and have fun while you're at it.


PS. If you have a complaint with a particular company then make sure you tell them about it. The best free things come from complaints as I've found out. In one week alone I recieved a £5 gift voucher for McDonalds and £3 voucher for Asda after I emailed both companies with a letter of complaint. It pays to be a moaner so don't forget that.