I’m looking for anybody who lives in the D.C.-Virginia-Maryland area who has been in the freebie/coupon scene for a while and would like to possibly be interviewed by the Washington Post. Maybe you’ve gotten some great freebies recently or have a few good stories regarding freebies / money saving tips & tricks / on-line coupons / etc. Contact me if you’re interested and want more info. Thanks!

Yes, my freebee loving friends, I’m going to pander a cause. The American Red Cross.

I received a text message this afternoon about an easy way to donate $5 to help out with the Hurricane Relief funds this go round. You see, if you text the word “GIVE” to 24357, you can give that donation by just adding it on to your cell phone bill. Simple as that!

Yes, yes, standard text messaging rates apply and again, this isn’t a freebee because you’re paying the $5 in the end. But, it saves you finding a stamp and your checkbook or logging onto a website to do all of this. Yup, all you do is text and its applied to your cell phone bill like one of those Jamster ringtones.

And hey, with all of these freebees we’re getting? $5 extra on our cell phones doesn’t sound too bad…

Back later with more from the wonderful world of America’s Midwest.

[via the forums]

I’ve never tried these free popcorn cakes before, but I do like popcorn so they’ve got to be good. In fact, is there any better snack than popcorn? Maybe apples, with pretzels in a close third. Pretzels make you get super thirsty though. Can you make pretzel cakes? That’s it, I demand that somebody make me a pretzel cake!

I’d make an awesome dictator, in that I give out orders all the time. I’m pretty lousy at the whole “ruling with an iron fist” thing though. If somebody doesn’t follow my command, my retort is usually a firm “awwww, come on…”

Speaking of snacks, friend of the site Brian from Candy Addict recently started a new snack site called Snackerrific. Check it out!

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In one of our projects, Kristina Shampanier, Nina Mazar, and I examined whether our reaction to Free! is just a rational reaction to a low price (a very low price) or if it is an irrational overreaction to Free! We carried out a set of experiments in which we measured not only what people chose but also what they gave up in the process. By doing so we were able to show that Free! can tempt us so much that we are willing to forgo a really good deal for a mediocre one simply because it is Free! For now let’s skip the experiments and consider the following thought-experiment:

Consider how long you would be willing to stand in line for a free Ben & Jerry’s ice cream cone. Let’s assume that your answer is 20 minutes and that the cost of a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream cone is $1.45. Now answer this: would you be willing to stand in line for 20 minutes for $1.45 in cash? No way.

This is exactly what the experiments showed; when something is Free! we get excited and as a consequence we are willing to give up better deals – not to mention our time, money, etc.

I love your site and wanted to let you know a little something that happened due to my new sample addiction. A bottle of energy drink I had ordered leaked during the shipping (potential bomb threat). The post office contacted the Secret Service and now I and the company that shipped it are being investigated.

Hahahaha. Oh, I love it. Not only do freebies provide a source of money saving and entertainment, but they also can get you in trouble for no good reason! Here’s to hoping the Secret Service soon realizes that all Melissa wanted was a free pick me up drink to help her get through the day.