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Monday, September 5, 2011

I love free stuff

Every year, I remind myself I'm going to get better at this. I think it starts with a reminder from a friend to get my free coffee from Starbucks. And then a conversation with my husband about where we're going for dinner, and which restaurant offered me a FREE meal. 

"I love free finding free stuff for my birthday," Brenda Meller
And then suddenly my big day has come and gone, and I'm lucky if I remembered any places that offer me something free for my birthday. 

I will say that the internet has made my work so much easier. And Facebook has, too. In fact, there's a blogger by the name of Free Is My Life who blogs exclusively on stuff you can get free around metro Detroit. 

Thanks to all these resources, so far I have enjoyed (and spent):
  1. A free premium chocolate shake from Del Taco (spent $10 for dinner for my family)
  2. "Thanks, Del Taco!"
  3. A free Rooty Tooty Fresh n Fruity breakfast from IHOP (spent $12 for breakfast for my family)
Yes, I've gotten about $10 worth of free stuff so far, but I've spent more than double that. So it's been a great deal for me and I've helped out our economy, too. 

"Rooty Tooty!" ~Brenda Meller, the birthday girl
Sure, there's a cost to give away free goods and services. But each of these businesses has gained something, too. Not to mention that I have only visited IHOP once in the past 10 years, and this makes it twice. Now that I've been there again, I'm definitely going to tell all my family and friends about my meal (scrambled eggs, sausage links, bacon, and a side of pancakes topped with strawberries and whipped cream. I have a second coupon for joining their "Pancake Revolution" that will bring me back again!).

Many businesses allow you to use these deals anytime in your birthday month. My plan is to log every visit and tally up the totals.

If you're interested in signing up to score your own free deals, here are a few websites I recommend:

Do you have a "must redeem" birthday freebie? If so, share it here

4 comments:

Brenda Meller said...

Addition: free appetizer at Joe's Crab Shack $10
total bill: $63 incl tip

Anonymous said...

Sign up for the Red Robin birthday club and get a free burger dinner. My husband's and my birthdays are 10 days apart. We each get an email for our free birthday burger and have to time our visit just right; the freebie is only good for so many days before or after your birthday, so we cut it close. For the price of a couple of drinks, we get two free burger meals and two small birthday sundaes! Can't beat it!

Anonymous said...

And of course, we leave a tip, too!

Unknown said...

Thanks anonymous! I will definitely sign up. And leave a nice sized tip!