Things for free.

Everybody loves a freebie, I'm sure! And there are lots of ways these days to blag a little extra, or claim a discount, or just get stuff without paying. Aside from quizzes, competitions and questionaires, I've discovered three things that work for me so thought I'd share them.

1) Quidco. It's very simple; sign up and every time you make an online purchase, click through the Quidco site to get cash. Yes, that easy! It's free to sign up although they take £5 a year from your account (your account with them, not your bank account) if you make more money than that; if you make nothing, you don't pay at all. Some websites pay you a percentage cashback whilst others give you freebies. They also have a comparison tool for things like insurance which is very handy. I've had all sorts of payments from them over the last 3 years, from 30p for buying a clock from Argos, £3 for sending our mothers a Mother's Day bouquet from Bunches, up to £30 for buying car insurance and £100 Love2Shop vouchers for simply switching our utilities. You cannot go wrong, as the price you pay is exactly the same as if you went direct.

2) BzzAgent. This is a relatively new one for me; they describe themselves a a word-of-mouth marketing company, and basically send you free stuff to try and review. The information then gets fed back to the manufacturer/provider who can then evaluate where they are going right - or indeed wrong! Again, you just sign up for free, fill out loads of online surveys so they can establish more about your life and buying habits, and then wait for the freebies to roll in. So far I've had vouchers for milk, butter, stain removal powder and moisturiser, and received a £60 electric toothbrush. All you have to do in return is review the products and spread your findings on social media, blogs and amongst your friends and family.

3) Beauty Bible. Not strictly free, but still worth mentioning! Two ladies who publish a book for beauty-conscious consumers, and need testers to review the products.Again, you sign up, receive your products and have to write a review of each item after you've road-tested them. You do have to pay £30 for delivery of your parcel but most people I know have received goods worth in excess of £200. My parcel is apparently on it's way and I'm looking forward to trying things I normally wouldn't buy!


Any other tips for free stuff? Tesco Clubcard is a good one if you do your weekly shopping there, and I'm keen to find out any others!