Ok, it's not really my sort of thing, being a guy, but starting tomorrow many department stores will be giving away free cosmetics to settle a $175 million class-action lawsuit.  The lawsuit alleged that department stores and cosmetics companies conspired to sell products at the manufacturers' suggested price only - never at a discount. It also alleged that special promotions were coordinated in a way that ensured there would be no competition among stores.   Some of the retailers include Bloomingdale's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy's and Nordstrom.  Anyone who purchased specific brands of makeup, moisturizers, and fragrance products at these stores between May 29, 1994 and July 16, 2003 is eligible to receive one of a list of products, up to $25.  For a complete list of stores and products, click here.  You do not need proof of purchase to get your freebie, but you will need to sign a sheet saying you received your free product.   

As people are spending less and less during this "recession", competition amongst QSR's (quick service restaurants) and convenience stores is just beginning to heat up.  Many of the chains have resorted to giving away free food and drink to customers in order to keep them coming in.  At Philadelphia-area convenience store chain Wawa, they are giving away a free coffee (any size) with a breakfast sandwich purchase.  McDonald's, taking direct aim at c-stores like Wawa and 7-Eleven, is offering Free Coffee Mondays in select markets.  Although not free, 7-Eleven has countered with a promotion featuring 2 Supreme Omelet Taquitos and a Coffee for $1.99.  The taquitos are regularly priced at $1.39 each, so this is a pretty good deal as well.  In other areas, already-struggling Starbucks is their target, as they are giving away lattes as part of their "Free Latte Fridays" promotion.   

Near me, there are two Chick-Fil-A locations that offer free breakfast on Tuesdays during January (Edited to add: This promotion is now extended through February 24th and is taking place in ALL participating Chick-Fil-A locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware).  They generally offer these deals different times/days throughout the year.  The one Chick-Fil-A also has had a promotion all during football season that if you come in wearing a football jersey on Saturdays, you get a free entree.  In addition, Chick-Fil-A is always giving out coupons for free food (some require an additional purchase, some do not).   Although they give out some free stuff, the two Chick-Fil-A locations near me are constantly packed and have more than their share of paying customers.  

  

One of my best friends pays a couple hundred bucks to H&R Block every year for a simple return she could do herself but I can't seem to talk her into it as she believes the "professionals" can get her more money back.  I have even offered to do her taxes for her, to no avail.

Turbo Tax is now offering free Federal tax preparation and filing online at their website for simple returns.   If you have no itemized deductions such as a renter or someone still living at home, this is a great way to save on tax preparation fees.  Even with more complicated returns, you can still prepare your return online to see where you stand and pay when you file.  Free e-file is included on all tax preparation packages.   They even give you audit support for free.  Once you are done your federal return, the info can be transferred to your state return and filed as well (for an additional fee).  

Now if I could only get my friend to be a little more computer literate, she might go for it...

If you've never heard of Freecycle, you need to check it out!  I have been a member for about 6 months now and it has done wonders in cutting my household budget.   Freecycle is a international network of "gifting groups" (administered through Yahoo groups) whose mission is to divert useable items from landfills by having members give them away to other members.  According to Freecycle, there are over 5 million members worldwide.  Here's how my local group describes what Freecycle is: 

Freecycle is...
- About keeping things out of the landfill.
- About sharing an item that retains usefulness.
- About clearing out our unused clutter.
- About COMMUNITY.

Freecycle is not...
- A lending closet.
- A free-for-all.
- A means to get as much free stuff as you can.
- A way to get more stuff to sell, EBAY, or auction.
- A way to keep from taking your broken items to the dump if that's where they really belong.

Since joining Freecycle, my wife and I have received clothing not only for ourselves, but our son as well.  We have also received toys for him, a TV set and other items.  We have also given away the clothes he has outgrown and cleared most of the stuff from our attic that we no longer use, which is much less aggravation (and much quicker) than trying to sell them on ebay or doing a yard sale.  There is often computers (albeit older ones), furniture, various household items posted in our local group, which is over 2000 members county-wide, many of which are close to us as there is a county sub-group in a nearby city that also has a lot of members.  

Basically how it works is that members post an offer to the Yahoo group for an item and then receive responses from interested takers.  It's up to the giver who they give the item to.  The parties then make arrangements for pickup. Once an item is taken, the member posts it as taken in the group message board.

Members may also post items that they are looking for (up to 5 per month) in our local group.  Members that only post wanteds and never post offers are generally not well received.  We rarely post wanteds but we recently got Dora The Explorer videos on a wanted post.  

It is recommended that you set your email settings to "individual emails" under the edit membership settings in your Freecycle group.  The only downside to this is that you get A LOT of emails.   It is not uncommon to get upwards of 100 emails a day from the Freecycle group.  However, by switching to "daily digest", it is unlikely that you will get items.

Overall, Freecycle has been a good experience for me as it has allowed me to allocate money elsewhere that would have been spent on things that I received from Freecycle.  I can't even recall the last time I have spent money at the mall (not that I spent a lot to begin with).  In addition, getting emails from grateful people receiving items makes me feel good as well.  I'd love to hear from fellow Freecyclers out there! 

One of my goals this year (I'm not going to use that "resolution" word), is that I will be posting a lot more to the blog and hope to attract more readers. To start the year off right, I will be giving away a copy of Invest In Your Debt by Bill Keenan and Dave Ireland. This book is a great read that has lots of great tips that will help you:

• Eliminate Credit Card Debt, Car Loans, Home Equity Loans and Even Student Loans - in Just 1-3 Years!


• Then Pay Off Your 30-year mortgage in another 4-5 Years!!


• Live 100% on a Cash Basis, even when financial surprises occur, and Never Need credit again.


• Cut Your Effective Interest Rates In Half.


• Reduce Your Financial Stress


• Lay the Foundation for Your Strong Retirement Plan

All you have to do to enter the contest is comment on any post during the month of January and you will be entered automatically. The only restrictions are that spam posts will be deleted and comments must be relevant to the topic you are commenting on. Contest ends January 31st and the book will be mailed out in early February. Best of luck!

Don't want to wait? Buy the book by clicking on the photo at the top of the posting. And if you do, you will get FREE Debt E-racer Software with your purchase!

Didn't get the Christmas gift you want?  Maybe there's still hope!  Just go to ChristianPF.com, where there is a great post-Christmas giveaway going on until December 29th.  Among the goodies are an 8 GB Ipod, a 1 GB Ipod Shuffle, 2009 Tax Cut software and other great items.   Aside from the giveaways, this is one of my favorite blogs as it covers the whole gamut of the PF world. Regardless of your faith, you'll find a lot of useful information...go check it out and enter the giveaway.