Hey, It's Free! » Money

Double Cash Back on Ebates

Goob — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:34:38 +0000

Today Ebates is running a Cyber Monday 2 campaign (…really? That was the best name they could come up with? I would have gone with Super Awesome Bonus Money day.) where they’re at least doubling the rebates at over 500 stores. Some examples include:

Toys R Us – 10% cash back instead of 2%
Barnes and Noble – 10% cash back instead of 4%
Disney Store – 10% cash back instead of 5%
Walmart – 6% cash back instead of 1%
Nordstrom – 6% cash back instead of 3%
Old Navy – 5% cash back instead of 2%
Kohl’s – 4% cash back instead of 2%
Apple – 2% cash back instead of 1%

Those just scratch the surface – there honestly are a boatload more. Not only that, but new members to Ebates can get a free $10 gift card after making their first purchase. So if you’ve still got some Christmas shopping to do, today might be the day to stop procrastinating.

Now I just need to figure out what to actually buy for a few people. I’m open to suggestions. *crickets*

Free $25 American Express Gift Card Starting on November 1st

Adam — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 15:07:05 +0000

So mark your calendars and set your alarms for 1 PM EST on this Tuesday, November 1st. Why? Because Fed Ex is giving away 30,000 $25 American Express Gift Cards on their Facebook page starting then.

Are all of your watches synchronized? Good! Let’s grab a pizza and meet back here in about 8 hours. I left my wallet at home, though, so who’s buying this time?

Free $2 Amazon MP3 Credit

Goob — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:38:43 +0000

What’s with the free $2 credits today? First CVS and now a free $2 Amazon mp3 credit. All you need to do click the yellow button and enter code FALLMP3S. After half a dozen failed attempts, I had to end up copy & pasting the code. I can recall the starting lineup for every Seattle Mariners team over the past 20 years, but I guess my little peabrain can’t correctly remember a string of eight characters.

Free $2 in CVS ExtraBucks

Goob — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 17:41:44 +0000

The first 500,000 people who pledge not to be a MoneyTrasher (don’t ask) can have $2 free CVS ExtraBucks added to their account. Only 33,000 people had taken the pledge when I did, so either not many people know about this or lots of folks can’t bring themselves to promising not to throw money away.

Free $5 Amazon Video on Demand Credit

Goob — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 12:32:49 +0000

As the follower count to HIF’s Twitter feed shows, most of you have a Twitter page. If you don’t mind making one tweet about Amazon, you can get $5 in Amazon Video on Demand credit for free. Just go to their page and click on the yellow button. That will take you to Twitter, follow the instructions, and the $5 will be credited to your account. You’ve got until tomorrow, June 19, to snag this offer.

Free Amazon $2 MP3 Credit

Goob — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 23:07:20 +0000

If you’d like a free Amazon $2 MP3 credit, go to that link and enter code CLOUDMP3.

This was an insanely popular offer when I previously posted it. Amazon shows me what people have bought (not who bought it though, so your purchases are totally anonymous) and I have to say there was a ton of Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga picked up last time. Considering HIF was recently named in Seventeen magazine, I guess that makes sense. Turns out teenage girls don’t listen to Foo Fighters or The National. But how about Bon Iver? Florence and the Machine? They were both on The Colbert Report last week, that means they have to be hip and cool!

Free $10 Buca di Beppo Gift Certificate

Goob — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 13:35:39 +0000

Sign up by noon EST on Monday, June 27th, and get a free $10 Buca di Beppo gift certificate. This would be been a sweet segue into their birthday freebie, but I already posted it in May. Dang my momentary lapse in procrastination!

Free $10 Craftsmen C3 Tool Gift Card

Goob — Thu, 26 May 2011 15:10:06 +0000

EDIT: They’ve run out of freebies.

Vocalpoint is giving away a free $10 Craftsmen C3 Tool gift card. This is sure to go fast since Father’s Day is on the horizon. I plan on using mine to buy a hammer that will only be used to open walnuts and kill bugs.

Only Vocalpoint members are eligible, but they periodically give away great freebies, so I’d suggest signing up. When doing so, if you happen to have a Y chromosome, lie and say you’re of the XX variety. I don’t know what they have against us guys, but if you admit to being able to grow a shaggy beard, they’ll kick you out of the club.

Free 2011 Federal Tax Return

Goob — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 19:06:13 +0000

EDIT: Obviously, you can’t get this offer any more since Tax Day has come and go!

Is it seriously tax time again? You’ve got to be kidding me. Oh well, at least both H&R Block and Turbo Tax are offering free federal tax returns. I’ve always used Turbo so I guess I’ll keep the streak alive for one more year.

I try not to be so apathetic when it comes to my finances, but one look at a W-2 and I’m instantly asleep. I don’t know how accountants do it. They’re honestly the closest we have to superheroes.

Free $1 From Miller High Life

Goob — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 19:17:52 +0000

EDIT: Just go ahead and smack me now. Link added.

You can either get a free $1 check from Miller High Life or donate said dollar to Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. This is cool, I’ve never been sponsored by a company before. But now I can say HIF is sponsored by Miller High Life!

The fine print says residents of AK, AZ, CA, CO, DE, DC, FL, IA, KS, MT, MS, NE, NV, NH, NM, OK, SC, WI, and WY can also get a $1 off Miller High Life coupon. I don’t know if that means these residents aren’t eligible for the $1 check or if they simply get an extra option on how to get $1. If you live in one of these states, leave a comment and let us know what your choices were!

Deal: $20 Amazon GC for $10

Goob — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 17:29:10 +0000

EDIT: This was a one day offer, so it’s now dead.

I have no idea how they can afford to do this, but for the next 19 hours you can get a $20 Amazon gift card for $10. I buy stuff on Amazon all the time, so I snatched one of these up and sent a link to all of my friends letting them know about it. I might have also mentioned that my birthday is next month and casually remarked that some Ghostbusters sheets would look pretty rad on my bed. Fingers crossed at least one of them gets the hint!

Budget Busters #3: Mint.com

Goob — Tue, 18 May 2010 16:47:37 +0000

The amount of time I spend online can only be classified as unhealthy. While the oncoming bout of scurvy is sure to put a cramp in my style, one of the upsides is coming across random sites and services that I think might be useful to fellow Hiffers. I’ve been using one such site for almost two years now and frankly, it rocks. Long story short, if you’re not using Mint.com, you’re missing out.

If you’re anything like me, you have tons of financial institution sites that you can log into. Banks, online savings accounts, credit cards, retirement services, student loans, investments. The only thing harder than logging into each of them every day is trying to figure out how to match my clothes in the morning. Navy blue and neon pink go together, right?

Enter Mint.com. It’s a site that allows you to access all of your financial information in one place. When I log in, it also logs into all of my accounts and updates my balances as well as recent activity. Worried about security? They use 128-bit SSL encryption, which in Nerd Language means the same stuff that banks use when you pay bills online or buy something from Amazon.

Seeing how much money you have in all your accounts only scratches the surface of what the site does. One feature is setting up budgets. Take me: I have a serious addiction to iTunes. Be it music, TV shows, iPhone apps – it doesn’t matter. Having them only clicks away is dangerous enough, but when everything is only $1 here and $2 there, it’s easy to lose track of how much I’m really spending each month. So what I do is tell Mint.com that I only want to spend $20 a month on iTunes and then it’ll not only start monitoring it for me, but send me an alert when I’m getting close to my limit.

I could delve into a million other little features they have (iPhone app, credit card & investment suggestions based on your spending habits, etc.) but by now I’d simply suggest checking out the site. Even if you’re still skittish, just have a look around. It’s a phenomenal service and most important, it’s free!

IS: Free $25 Visa Gift Card from Kia

Goob — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:24:02 +0000

You have to go test drive a Kia Sorento in order to get this free $25 Visa gift card, so let’s get that out in the open. If you’re still interested:

Print out this form.
Take it to any Kia dealer before March 15 and test drive a Sorento.
Have the dealers validate the form.
Free money!

If you’re snowed in and can’t get to a dealer, like me, then the next best thing is to watch Kia’s Super Bowl commercial a few times. Sure, there’s no free gift card involved, but there’s a robot in a robot dance off, a sock monkey getting a stitched tattoo, and a rockin’ song. Honestly, if all commercials were like this, I’d have no need for TiVo.

[via I Could Use A Deal]

Free Nielsen Home Scanner

Goob — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 19:32:25 +0000

EDIT: It doesn’t look like they’re accepting any new members now.

We all hear about Nielsen ratings when crappy TV shows get canceled, but it turns out that there’s a free Nielsen Home Scanner program that lets consumers track far more than just their TV habits. If accepted, they’ll send you a free scanner and you’ll then use it to scan the barcodes of your grocery purchases each week. For doing so, you’ll earn points which can be redeemed for prizes.

I’ll be honest here and say I’m quite new to this. I’m still waiting to see if I’m accepted or not, but I figured it’d be worth trying since I already buy groceries every week. It’s like how I approach Swagbucks – if I can get prizes for doing something I already do, then what’s stopping me?!

Does anybody have any experience with this? What’s it like?

Free Babies-R-Us $5 e-GiftCard

Goob — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:04:43 +0000

For today only, become a fan of Babies-R-Us on Facebook and get a free $5 e-Giftcard. The card can be used in-store or online and it expires on 2/20. The one downside is that this place only sells stuff for babies. It’s been a while since I’ve played with a pink rattle, but whatever, it’s free.

Coincidentally enough, there’s a Facebook page for Hey, It’s Free! where new fans get 40,000 Awesome Points. Possible rewards from your points include high-fives from me or even letting me crash on your couch as I pass through town!

[via Niko and Susan]

Free $10 Gift Certificate from Coinstar

Goob — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:17:42 +0000

If you have at least $40 in coins lying around, you should consider taking them to your nearest Coinstar and cashing them in. For doing so, you’ll get a free $10 gift certificate to Amazon.com, Lowes, iTunes, or whichever other store you choose. The offer ends 12/06/09, so you’ve got almost a month to round up an spare change if you’re short of the $40 requirement. So far I’ve only been able to find three pennies, a Canadian Loonie, and a Cheez-It. I’ve got a ways to go, but at least I’ve now got a snack!

Their FAQ states that an 8.9% processing fee is charged for cashing out ($40 * 8.9% = $3.56 fee), but it also says that if you convert your change into a gift card, it’s free. So, for example, you could get a $10 and $40 Amazon gc or a $10 Amazon gc and $36.44 in cash.

Annye pointed out in the comments that the official rules states you have to exchange your $40 for a gift card, not cash. So on the plus side, you won’t have to pay any fees, but you also won’t be able to get pure cash. It’s still a good deal if you shop at any of the stores which they offer gift cards for. Sorry I initially missed that!

Free Kohls $5 Giftcard

Goob — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:08:11 +0000

It turns out that if you opt into their e-mail program, you can get a free $5 Kohl’s giftcard for your next in-store purchase plus a code for 10% off your next Kohls.com purchase. During the holiday season, I create a new e-mail account and sign up for newsletters at any of the stores my family shops at. Then I pass along the discount codes they send me and help the Goob Household save a little bit of money.

They used to make fun of me for running a freebie blog, but ever since I started giving them codes, they seem to have shut their yappers

ExpoTV & Tryology = Free Prizes & Samples

Goob — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:02:23 +0000

I initially wrote about ExpoTV a little over two years ago when I first discovered it. I was using the site to make some extra cash just for making videos reviewing household objects. I eventually ran out of things to review, but that was a while ago and I decided to have another look at the site. Turns out they recently shifted to a new points format, but the premise is still the same: you set up a camcorder, webcam, or even the video mode of a digital camera and then review any product in your house. In exchange, you earn points that can be redeemed for prizes, giftcards and cash. Kind of like Swagbucks but for video reviews instead of searching. As an example, a $15 Amazon gift certificate costs only 1800 points but you receive 2000 points for uploading your first video!

In addition, they’ve got a new section called Tryology. Basically what this amounts to are free full-sized samples of new products in exchange for promising to make a short video review. Current and recent Tryology product offers include Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs, Honey Bunches of Oats, Herbal Essences, Pantene, Mister Salty Chocolate Pretzels, and more. To find out if you qualify, simply register, fill out your profile, and they will then e-mail you if you qualify.

You won’t make millions with ExpoTV, but it is a fun way to make a little extra cash as well as try out new products for free!

Free $1.29 From Amazon Plus Free & Cheap Music

Goob — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:40:12 +0000

To celebrate getting a million followers on Twitter (wow, HIF doesn’t even have nearly that many ), Amazon is giving away a $1.29 credit that can be used to download a free mp3 song. The credit will be applied to your account and most songs are only $0.99, so you can actually get a song and a third for free!

Amazon is also running an offer this month of 50 different albums for only $5. They have albums from bands like the Rolling Stones, Steely Dan, John Coltrane, The Roots, Willie Nelson, Gloriana, Marie Digby, Crystal Method, Fabolous and Shinedown. So…pretty much something for everybody. It might be worth checking out if you’re a music buff. Check out the banner below for more info.

And finally, as we’ve written about before, Amazon offers a hoard of free music available to anybody who wants it. The current count of freebies stands at 1,200, so never again shall you complain that you have nothing to listen to!

New Swagbucks & Features For All

Goob — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:02:20 +0000

EDIT: The code below is no longer valid.

Please raise your hand if you’ve never heard of Swagbucks. Holy moly, why are so many of you holding your hands up?

For anybody who is new to HIF, SB is basically Google + prizes. You search with them just as you would with Google, but the key difference occurs when you win swag bucks, which can be redeemed for gift cards, books, sports memorabilia, video games, school supplies – you name it, they’ve got it. Unless you just named pet turtles. I don’t think they have those.

Well the bigwigs at Swagbucks are releasing some new features and as a result, have offered new users from HIF a free swag code that gives them 2 free points. Couple that with the automatic 3 free points you’ll get for signing up and that’s…uh…hold on, let me find my calculator.

The code is freeswagcode (in all lower caps) and expires on 9/10/09.

Like I said, SB has some new features, for new and old users alike. One is a toolbar that is compatible with Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari. The cool thing about the bar is that, for the entire month of September, SB will release an exclusive free swagcode each day on it! That’s 30 free swag bucks by the end of the month! An Amazon giftcard costs only 45 points, so toss in whatever points you’ve already earned and you’ll most likely have enough to get it!

They’ve also got a version of Bingo coming out called SWAGO where you can play and win points. It hasn’t been released yet, but you can check out their blog this week and get all the details there. And as always, their Twitter and Facebook accounts are pretty good sources for unique codes as well.

So there ya go! Put all those hands down now and enjoy winning prizes on Swagbucks.