Photo courtesy of sxc.hu
Who doesn’t like freebies? Especially ones that really have some value to them.
Over the weekend my son called and had been to the doctor. As I’ve talked about before he’s a college student so any unexpected expense can be a challenge. He had a couple of prescriptions and I happened to remember that Publix provides some free antibiotics. Turns out that one of his antibiotics was covered. While it wasn’t much, it was a freebie he could take advantage of when he needed it most.
My wife found this list of freebies from Kiplinger Magazine. They’re shown on this site as a slideshow. Take a look and see if there are some freebies you can use. Some of my favorites for college students form this list, and my own experience, are the following.
I love all of the techie freebies. Free Wi-Fi, free software, free texting, and free support – college kids can’t pass these up. There is a lot of demand for technology by this age group so check these out. As a bonus, there are a lot of free cloud storage providers. Dropbox, Box, iCloud, Google Drive, and Microsoft SkyDrive all provide a free option for storage. Use these and no more worrying about where your files and documents are located.
The prescription drug options mentioned before are great. The article shows some different pharmacies where you can get these. Also ask your doctor for samples.
The free book programs are excellent, especially with the explosion of the e-reader. Also use the library; don’t overlook this long-time freebie. Now if only textbook manufacturers would get in the game on this one…
Any freebie that includes food is an AWESOME benefit, in my opinion. Search for free birthday meals and see what comes up in your area. Also, many organizations on campus have free pizza for their parties and so forth. Don’t miss out on an opportunity to score a free meal. Pick up coupons and complete those fast food receipt surveys. These can lead to free food as well.
At your school, you’ll have access to a wealth of freebies. These tutors, study guides, labs, and other resources are there to help you succeed. Most schools also have world-class fitness facilities free for their students. You actually pay for these as part of your student services fees, which you can’t avoid, so why not use them?
Trade a car in for a bike if you live on campus. This translates to a freebie in terms of parking passes, maintenance, gas, and so forth that you don’t have to spend money on. Plus you get some physical fitness benefits to boot.
I’m not crazy about the rewards and cash back programs for college students. I think that these encourage some unhealthy spending habits for the sake of 1-5% rebates. I don’t use them but I can understand the argument to use them for purchases you’re going to make anyway. In my opinion, college students in general aren’t ready to apply that sort of discipline to their spending.
In short, there are tons of valuable freebies out there that students can take advantage of. There is no shame in taking advantage of free offers. Use these regularly and watch the savings add up!
Discussion Question – What other freebies do you know about that you can share with readers?
