Friday Freebies: Free Reusable Bag, Fragrance, and Ice Cream

Filed under: Bargain Babe, Fantastic Freebies

This week’s Friday Freebies are about meeting basic needs, from carting home groceries in a stylish reusable bag from Target to doing your laundry with a free detergent sample and enjoying a free treat — ice cream at Ben & Jerry’s. There are seven freebies total. Enjoy your days off!

Get a free reusable bag from Target in celebration of Earth Day. The free reusable bag giveaway is on April 17, 2011. Last year supplies ran out very quickly, so make sure to get there early to be one of the million people who receive a free reusable bag from Target. This year’s bags are very stylish – an orange, one-strap number that you can carry over your shoulder. The bag reads “fill, refill, and repeat,” which frankly, isn’t very eco. How about “reuse, recycle, repeat”? Use the bag 10 times, and you’re keeping 25 plastic bags out of a landfill. Caveats: One bag per person. While supplies last. Check your local store opening times to determine when you need to arrive. Not all stores will have the same number of free reusable bags to give away.

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It’s National Coffee Day: Get Your Free Cup of Joe

Filed under: Fantastic Freebies

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Five Fun Family Freebies for Priceless Summer Memories

Filed under: Apple, Target Corp, Family Money, Fantastic Freebies, Personal Finance, Saving Money

Summer changes family dynamics and expectations: There’s a lot of time to fill and the cost of filling it can add up, especially if you’re looking for memorable activities. So, what can you do as a family to make some priceless memories with the time you have, and for the best price tag of all — free? We looked into it, and and found some of what may be the summer’s best-kept secrets:

Apple Camp: An ordinary visit to the Apple (AAPL) Store can make for a fun family field trip, but who knew you could camp there too? “Geniuses” are giving group lessons as part of free Apple Camps at select Apple Stores. Your kids can learn to make a movie, put together a slide show, write and record a song, and build show-stopper presentations that will be big hits at the Apple Camp Film Festival — and knock the socks off their teachers when school resumes. Each free workshop lasts about 3 hours. They supply the equipment, or you can bring some of your own if you’d prefer. Recommended for ages 8 to 12, these mini-camps are filling up fast. Most of the locations are currently accepting names for waiting lists. (My kids are on one.)

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3 Ways to Get More Back From Your Plastic

Filed under: JP Morgan Chase, Southwest Airlines, American Express, Consumer Ally, Family Money, Fantastic Freebies, Credit Cards

Credit cards are a double-edged sword. If you’re not careful, then they can destroy your financial life. But if you know how to manage them, they’ll treat you right with all sorts of rewards.

Why the generosity? The rewards — cash, miles, points — are an incentive to get you to use your cards more. When you plunk down the plastic, lenders get paid in two ways: First, they get a cut of each transaction from the merchant taking your card as payment. Second, they hope you’ll take your sweet time paying them back so they can charge you ridiculously high interest rates on your balances.

Don’t be blinded by the bonuses: The smart thing to do is to pick a card that fits with how you spend your money (and what you like as a reward), reap the rewards, and — most importantly — pay off your balance in full every month.

Given that you need a credit card anyway, having one that will pay you back only makes sense. With a small amount of effort, you can turn purchases you have to make anyway into a nice reward for yourself.

Reward 1: Show Me the Money

Nothing says “thanks for your business” better than cold hard cash. You’ll find many cashback cards that give you 1% back on all the purchases you make.

That may not sound like much, but you can turn a pittance into some serious change by navigating the special bonus categories that certain cards offer. For instance, the BlueCash Everyday card from American Express (AXP) pays 1% on all eligible purchases, but it pays 3% on grocery-store bills and 2% on purchases at gas stations and department stores. The credit union PenFed has a card that pays back 5% on gas, and you can find similar deals on branded gas cards.

A few cards make picking the money tree even more challenging, even though the ultimate rewards are worth the extra effort. Both JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Discover Financial (DFS) have cards with rotating categories that qualify for special 5% cash rewards. The categories generally change every three months, and they have limits on the amount you can spend to qualify for them. Even with those restrictions, you can save a lot as long as you can keep track of what’s on sale for any given month.

Finally, look for special offers. Discover recently ran a special offering to pay $250 in bonus cash back for selected cardmembers if they spent $1,500 each month for a five-month period. The catch is that if you fall short for just one month, you miss out on the $250. But if you can go the distance, that $250 amounts to almost 3% more in rewards.

Reward 2: Get Out of Town

The other reward that cardholders love is frequent flyer credit. The right card will give you plenty of points, miles, or whatever you need to get yourself a free trip.

The most common reward is one mile or point per dollar spent. But as with cashback cards, you can find airline miles cards that give you bonuses for certain types of purchases. In addition, some airline cards give you additional savings, such as waived baggage fees.

One thing to watch out for with airline miles cards is that more of them charge an annual fee. So before you sign up, make sure the rewards you get will make up for what you pay to carry the card.

Reward 3: Sign Me Up!

The key to making the most of both cashback and airline miles cards is to get as much as you can upfront. Often, you can get incredible deals just by signing up.

For instance, last year, I was fortunate enough to get credits for two free roundtrips on Southwest Airlines (LUV) just for signing up for its credit card. After I made my first purchase, the card deposited the credits into my frequent flyer account. And although the card charges an annual fee, it was waived for the first year — with no obligation to renew it after that.

Similarly, some cards pay you big bucks with no strings attached. At creditbonuses.com, you’ll find reports from ordinary people like you about sign-up bonus offers that pay as much as $500.

One tip to maximize your cash back is to be patient — and ask for a better offer. With the Southwest card, I’d gotten numerous offers for a single roundtrip ticket. Only after turning those down did I hit the mother lode with the double-ticket payoff.

Motley Fool contributor Dan Caplinger has made thousands of dollars from credit card rewards over the years. You can follow him on Twitter here. He doesn’t own shares of the companies mentioned in this article. The Motley Fool owns shares of JPMorgan Chase. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Discover Financial and Southwest Airlines.

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Don’t Forget! Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry’s April 12, 2011

Filed under: Fantastic Freebies, Bargain Babe

Don’t forget that free cone day at Ben & Jerry’s is Tuesday, April 12, 2011. No coupon is needed to get a free ice cream cone and you do not need to make reservations. Best yet, the freebie is for a full size cone of any flavor of your choice.

It’s is rare that such a valuable and tasty freebie comes up so don’t miss it. I plan to walk down the street to my local Ben & Jerry’s for a free scoop of mint ice cream after lunch tomorrow. What about you?

Check back later today and through the week for more free stuff at WalletPop.

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Friday Freebies: Free Reusable Bag, Fragrance, and Ice Cream

Filed under: Fantastic Freebies, Bargain Babe

This week’s Friday Freebies are about meeting basic needs, from carting home groceries in a stylish reusable bag from Target to doing your laundry with a free detergent sample and enjoying a free treat — ice cream at Ben & Jerry’s. There are seven freebies total. Enjoy your days off!

Get a free reusable bag from Target in celebration of Earth Day. The free reusable bag giveaway is on April 17, 2011. Last year supplies ran out very quickly, so make sure to get there early to be one of the million people who receive a free reusable bag from Target. This year’s bags are very stylish – an orange, one-strap number that you can carry over your shoulder. The bag reads “fill, refill, and repeat,” which frankly, isn’t very eco. How about “reuse, recycle, repeat”? Use the bag 10 times, and you’re keeping 25 plastic bags out of a landfill. Caveats: One bag per person. While supplies last. Check your local store opening times to determine when you need to arrive. Not all stores will have the same number of free reusable bags to give away.

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Friday Freebies: Free Charity, Aveeno Shampoo, and Ice Cream

Filed under: Fantastic Freebies, Bargain Babe

Happy Friday! This week’s Friday Freebies features several items that will help get you in the mood for Springtime, including free Aveeno shampoo, free Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, and a way to give to charity — for free! Let’s get started:

Get a free $15 gift code for DonorsChoose.org, a site that lets you give money to a specific classroom project. The code is available for a limited time. To get the free gift code, text “possible” to 77177. You’ll get a reply asking for your zip code. Send it and within seconds you’ll get a text message with a unique $15 gift code for DonorsChoose.org. Use your free $15 gift code to fund any classroom project in a school across America, like buying science equipment or basic supplies. You are the donor so you get to choose. The gift code I received is valid until June 30, 2011, plenty of time to use it. Redeem your free $15 gift code for DonorsChoose.org here.

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Free Fragrance from Lacoste

Filed under: Fantastic Freebies, Bargain Babe

Get a sample of free fragrance from Lacoste when you sign up to receive emails from Lacoste. Share your name, address, email, and date of birth. Then choose from one of four fragrances for men (all the women’s perfume seems to have run out). The choices include LACOSTE Challenge, LACOSTE Essential Sport, LACOSTE Essential, and EAU DE LACOSTE.

You may sign up for additional LACOSTE email lists and clubs, but it is not necessary to receive the free fragrance sample.

Caveats: You must be 18 or older to receive this free fragrance from Lacoste. Available to residents of the U.S. only. Once you submit the form, your free sample will arrive in a few weeks.

Check back later today and through the week for more great freebies at WalletPop.

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Earth Day Freebies For Reducers and Reusers

Filed under: Fantastic Freebies, Green

Every day may be Earth Day for me, but that doesn’t mean I can’t stand a little hoopla and celebration for doing the things I do year-round. Bring my own tote bag to the grocery store? Check. Bring my reusable coffee mug instead of one-time use (and non-compostable) paper cups to the coffee bar? Check. Reuse old plastic bags? Check. And doing this will get me all kinds of free bonuses on Friday, April 22. Here are a few:

Free coffee at Starbucks and Peet’s. At Starbucks, all you have to do is walk in the store with your own mug for a free cup of brewed coffee or tea, hot or iced. At Peet’s, you’ll have to buy one of their mugs (travel or ceramic, regular priced only) in order to get a free drink, but it can be any sort of drink, size medium.

Free tree at Lowe’s (Saturday, April 23rd). The first 1 million customers who ask will get a free tree at a Lowe’s near them. The website doesn’t say which sort of trees, although the promotional photo for the giveaway shows a little boy holding a baby fir tree.

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Free Sample of Eucerin Lotion

Filed under: Fantastic Freebies, Bargain Babe

Get a free sample of Eucerin lotion when you take a pledge on Facebook to take care of your skin. You’ll also have to share your name, address, and email to get the free Eucerin sample. You may opt into Eucerin’s email list if you wish. You can always unsubscribe later.

Unclear how long the free samples will last. The free sample is for Eucerin Daily Skin Balance lotion. Expect it to arrive in 4-6 weeks. Unclear if there are any residency requirements.

Check back later today for more great deals at WalletPop.

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