Give Freely
December 13th, 2007 | by rachel |
One of the worst things that can happen to a holiday budget is “last minute” shopping. As the number of shopping days dwindle, credit card balances grow! Despite the commercial emphasis that has become Christmas, you don’t have to go to the extreme (like not giving gifts AT ALL) to give gifts within your budget. The gifts below are things you can give freely. Some of them are actually FREE and others are very close to it! If you find something here that works for someone on your list, hurry so it can get where it needs to be before the big day!
“Freecycling”
This program, started in 2003, as a way to find places for perfectly good, useful items to be recycled and used by others. It is a registered non-profit organization with affliliate groups throughout the world. Participation in a local FREECYCLE group is free and it provides members with an environmentally responsible way to give (and get) items that might otherwise end up in landfills. For more information about becoming a part of this program, visit the Freecycle Network Website . Certainly, you can adopt your own version of this with or without registering for the Freecycle Network. In a way, it’s the same as “regifting”!
Free Overstock Merchandise
When retailers are unable to sell merchandise, they have to do something with it to keep from incurring large costs for storing and maintaining it. One option retailers have is to pay someone to take the overstock merchandise off their hands. Costs Zero is a company that does just that. The retailers pays Costs Zero to take the merchandise and Costs Zero gives the stuff away - literally! They do require account registration before a customer can place an order. Customers are also responsible for payment of shipping costs but, the items themselves are free. There are some specific limits and restrictions so read the FAQ section on the web site before ordering. Otherwise, this is a great place to get something free.
Free Information
The Internet is FULL of all sorts of information, useful and otherwise, that can be given freely. Believe it or not, there is actually something of a “freebie” world out there and lots of information about how others can join it. For the person that “has everything”, a little free information might be just what they have been waiting for! A great place to start is with Lee Seats’ article “Freebies 101″.
Free Discounts
If you enter “free discounts” in the Google search engine, you’ll get over 3 million links in less than 1 second. Many of the coupons and discounts are available by printing them on your own paper. Get creative with the discounts and print a variety of coupons surrounding a specific theme to give to someone on your list. All it will cost is a little time, some ink and a few sheets of paper!
Free Time
There are very few people in the world that wouldn’t welcome a little free time. Obviously, there is no way to add hours to the day but there are LOTS of ways you can free up some of the hours that are already there…babysit, cook a meal, help someone organize their schedule (or their closets), put photos in albums, run errands…whatever you can give someone that will give them time for themselves. This is a great way to exercise your creativity AND share yourself!
Tight budgets are especially difficult to deal with during the holidays when there is so much spending going on all around us! Don’t get discouraged. There ARE ways to give gifts that celebrate the season and express your love toward the people around you without costing you anything. Get busy to see what you can find that’s free. Then, turn right around and give it to someone else!
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