The Freeloader’s Toolbelt: 50 Tools to Help You Get Anything Free Online

The Freeloader’s Toolbelt: 50 Tools to Help You Get Anything Free Online

Whether you’re strapped for cash or just a tightwad, everyone appreciates a little free stuff now and then. Lucky for you, the internet is chock-full of freebies just sitting there waiting for a cash conscious person such as yourself to come along and claim them. While some freebies come with strings attached, many are entirely free and allow you to try out new products, take courses and enjoy free things you might not otherwise have access to. Here is a list of 50 places you can check out the next time you’re looking for a sweet deal. Blogs These blogs can give you the scoop on freebies.

1. Free Samples Blog: Sometimes you just don’t want to commit to buying a full size item until you know you’ll like it. You can get free samples of just about anything from baby formula to razors with the suggestions on this blog.
2. GoTo Free Stuff: Want to know where to pick up a few free samples of a makeup you saw an ad for on TV, or ways to keep your kids busy in the car? This blog has listings for these things and more so you can try before you buy.
3. Everybody Loves Free Stuff: Truer words were never spoken, and this blog can help you keep track of promotional offers from companies around the world, plus keep you up to date on the latest in marketing news.
4. Free Grabber: This is another blog that lists deals on free stuff all over the Web. You’ll find quality freebies like samples of Kiehl’s facial cleanser and certificates for free Cold Stone ice cream on your birthday.
5. Free Blog Things: What’s better than a blog about how to get free things for blogs? Here you’ll find links to loads of resources you can use to trick out your blog.
6. Contest Blogger: If you want to make getting free things a little more interesting, why not try challenging lady luck with these contest offers? The forum in this blog is full of links to contests from all over the Web that can give you a chance to win everything from a Bose iPod Dock to sweet vacation. The site has links to other freebies as well.
7. Freebie Fanatics: If you just can’t seem to get enough free stuff, this site is right up your alley. Offers are posted daily on free products and services from a wide variety of companies.
8. Fitness and Freebies Blog: For health fanatics out there, this blog is just the place to take some of the financial burden off of staying in shape. You’ll find links to free samples of healthcare products as well as information on how you improve your diet and exercise.

Websites Why should you hunt through the Internet when someone else can do the work for you? Reap the rewards at these sites.

9. The Free Site: This site comes with loads of lists of freebies in categories that range from free tech support to free blogging tools. With so much to offer, you’re bound to find something that strikes your fancy.
10. That Freebie Site: Browse through categories like baby, gift cards and gourmet to see what this large site has to offer. You’ll also find links to giveaways and contests.
11. Best Freebies and Bargains on the Net: The name pretty much sums it up. This website brings together freebies from all over the net into one easy-to-browse page.
12. Totally Free Crap: Who doesn’t want free crap? This site posts almost daily links to offers of freebies on the Web. Do your laundry, make a snack or hang up a poster with free stuff from the site’s listings.
13. Money Sponsor: On this site you’ll find listings in categories like home products, health and food and drink to help you find a wide variety of super cheap and free items.
14. Absurdly Cool Freebie Finder: Visit this site daily or have updates sent to your inbox to get access to loads of free stuff. Users can rate the "coolness" of various freebies so you can see which are the best and which not to waste your time with.
15. Shop 4 Freebies: While you won’t actually be spending anything, you can shop around online with this freebie finder. Fill out some simple questionnaires and many kinds of samples for men, women and children can be at your doorstep in just a few weeks.
16. FreebieDot.com: This site specializes in scouring freebies from dot com ventures and places from all over the web. Visitors will find everything from simple giveaways to survey freebies.

Books and Education Learn a new language or get a good free read for the beach with these resources.

17. BookMooch: Want to clear out those old books and get some new reading material? You can do both with Book Mooch. Simply list the books you want to ship out, and when someone requests them you mail them out. You’ll get credits which you can use towards getting titles you want from other users. You do have to pay postage, but at media mail rates it isn’t more than a few dollars, which is significantly cheaper than paying full price for a new paperback.
18. Project Gutenburg: If your tastes run more towards the classics, you might be able to find some new reading material with this site. It has electronic copies of over 100,000 books, which is a heck of a lot of free reading material. Choose from popular titles like Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities or for something a little more sexy download the Kama Sutra.
19. All Free Magazines: For those who want a little light reading, there is a myriad of free magazine subscriptions out there for the taking if you know where to look. This site provides a comprehensive list of nearly all the free magazines out there, so you can sign up to have free reading material sent right to your mailbox. Some offers are just for a free trial and some are for magazines that are entirely free.
20. Free-Ed.net: Billed as the "world’s largest, fastest growing, most highly regarded source of totally free education," Free-Ed can serve as a valuable study tool for students or as a great way for adults to refresh their memories and learn new skills and information. While you won’t get the one-on-one attention of a teacher, you also won’t have to shell out big bucks for the courses.
21. Free College Education Online: This article from Lifehacker takes you through the myriad of resources that are available from both public and private colleges free of charge to those in the general population. You won’t get a degree or college credit for the courses, but you will get to learn about topics like Italian, Bioterrorism, Greek Mythology, and even how to do CPR.

Software and Gadgets Why pay for what you can get for free, especially when it comes to products that will be obsolete in a few months anyway? Check out these sites for free techie stuff.

22. Sample Microchips: Building something complicated that requires a few microchips? You may be able to get them for free with this site. You’ll have to sign up and wait for approval, but the payoff can be worth it.
23. SourceForge: Open source software is all the rage these days with even non-tech savvy people embracing Linux operating systems like Ubuntu. Download open source programs, the majority of which are free or reasonably priced, to your heart’s content with the Web’s "largest open source software development website."
24. Download.com: There is enough freeware and shareware on Download.com to fit just about every need a computer user could have. Get tools to work on design, study better, run your business and protect your computer from viruses.
25. Free Software Directory: A joint project of the Free Software Foundation and the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization, this site is home to a large catalog of free software that runs on free operating systems. You can’t really get much cheaper than that.
26. All Things Web 2.0: It’s hard to do much these days without embracing Web 2.0 technology. You can get some free web-based programs for yourself through this site which gives a complete directory as well as a list of the most popular programs.
27. Free Blogs: Blogging can be a great way to get your name out, vent your frustrations, share your successes or even make a few bucks. This list from PC World gives you some insights on the best free blogging platforms and what you can expect from them.
28. 1001 Free Fonts: Even if you’re not a design king or queen, you can spice up your communications, memos and party invites with the free fonts offered by this site.

Business and Office Running a business can get pricey, so get a few freebies to help out using these sites.

29. BPlans: Not sure how to start writing a business plan for your startup or home business? Don’t spend money on expensive books, just check out these free online plans that cover everything from starting your own bakery to doing computer consulting.
30. Free VoIP: For many small businesses that work with international or even just long distance clients, phone charges can add up quickly. This article from VoIP Now compares the top ten providers of free VoIP service, giving you the low down on the best free solutions out there.
31. Business Templates: When you’re first starting out it can be hard to know how to write all those business proposals, requests for funding, and just about anything else you can think of. This archive focuses mostly on Request for Proposal templates, but you’ll find several others there as well.
32. Boxes and Packaging: If you’re selling something on the Web, chances are good that you’re gonna need to mail it. Don’t pay for expensive packaging materials when you can get them for free. Send a request to the USPS and they’ll hook up your business with the goods you need so you have to worry about one less thing.
33. Business Advice: Even the best business men and women need some help and sometimes they’re not sure who to turn to for advice that won’t be charged by the hour. Businesses can get free help and advice through the Service Corps of Retired Executives. You can arrange to meet in person or simple chat over email.
34. Best Business Freebies: This site has collected a number of great freebies for business owners. And better yet, it tells you want to look out for when cashing in on freebies and how you can tell when a deal really is too good to be true.
35. Free Business Education: Who says you need to get a fancy MBA to know what’s what in business? These sites will help you improve your know-how without taking away from your profits.

Style and Beauty Who doesn’t want to look their best for less? Now you can try out a wide variety of beauty products and accessories at little or no cost to you with the links from these sites.

36. iVillage Beauty: Get links to the best makeup samples out there from this website. When you’re done browsing freebies you can read up on celebrities, style and fashion as well.
37. Sassy Sue: This sassy lady provides readers with links to all sorts of products but her listings of free beauty products are not to be missed. Find discounts, coupons and freebies that will help you look your best.
38. Freebies 4 Ya: Among the many other freebies offered on this site is a listing of places where you can go to get clothing freebies. From pantyhose to t-shirts, you’ll find lots of loot to satisfy your freebie appetite.
39. Beauty Freebies at About.com: About.com has put together a list of several places you can go to get free cosmetics, moisturizers, deodorants and more.

Music and Ringtones Keep yourself hip and up to the minute without spending a dime with these sites that can give you free music and free ringtones for your phone as well as a host of other freebies.

40. Berklee Shares: If you’ve always wanted to learn to play the guitar or keyboard, or a variety of other instruments, this site could be your chance to do so for free. Just download the lessons and you can start learning on your own and with no out of pocket expense.
41. SampleSwap: Those into mixing their own music or DJing will find this site to be a great resource. Visitors can download over 12,000 different sounds that they can use for free.
42. Archive.org: If you’re a lover of old music you’ll appreciate this site. It has loads of free songs that are free, and legal as they are out of copyright. Visitors will even find a few newer songs that have been licensed under Creative Commons.
43. Epitonic: There are more than a few indie rock lovers out there who will enjoy the free songs on this site. Epitonic allows users to download free and completely legal tracks from artists like Pavement, Peaches and Zero 7.
44. Myxer: Myxer allows you to download a variety of free ringtones and wallpapers or make your own with songs and photos from your computer. The site is free, but you will have to pay whatever fees are associated with using the features on your phone to get the ringtones and wallpapers.
45. Ear Training Software: For the less musically inclined, understanding pitch and being able to play things by ear is a daunting challenge. These free and open source programs can help build your skills without you having to pay for expensive software or numerous lessons.

Guides Want more information on how to get things for free? These guides can help give you the 411 on being a savvy freebie hound.

46. How to Get Free Stuff at Trade Shows: Trade shows and conferences can be great places to pick up all kinds of free swag, if you know how to play your cards right. This guide from John Chow will give you the ins and outs of getting the most out of your next trade show.
47. Making Free iPods Pay Off: If you’ve been using the Internet in the past 5 years or so, you would doubtless have noticed the many ads that pop up promising free iPods. This article from Wired lets you know if these offers are legitimate and if they’ll actually pay off and get you a free iPod.
48. The Geek’s Guide to Getting Free Stuff: All you geeks out there can indulge in getting some free stuff with the suggestions given in this guide.
49. How to Get Comped in Vegas: Cut your losses on your next Vegas trip by not spending much of anything on your trip. It’ll give you more to gamble with, if that’s your thing, or just provide you with a cheaper, more enjoyable vacation.
50. The Ultimate Guide to Free Travel: If you’re feeling a little wanderlust but don’t have the funds to take a pricey all-inclusive trip check out this guide on how you can get most of your trip paid for.