QUICK TIP: FREEBIES 101

Everyone loves to get free things. Whether it’s from a giveaway or a sample that a company is offering, we all love not paying for items every once in awhile. Signing up for freebies is very simple. You enter in your contact information and you are on you way to a mail box full of goodies.

But wait. Before you start filling out forms, there are a few things you need to know in order to make your freebie shopping spree as pleasant as possible.

• TIP 01. Sign up for a separate email address. This will be your freebie email account. Sometimes companies “voluntarily” sign you up for their newsletters. In order to keep your personal email account as spam free as possible always use a separate email address.

• TIP 02. Fill out only the minimum amount of information required. These fields are usually marked with an asterick. * Never volunteer extra information. Some companies will use these extra tidbits as research information for their company only. Other companies use this information to gather and sell it to other companies.
• TIP 03. If a phone number is required, always use an old one. Phone numbers are sometimes sold to third party companies.The biggest mistake I made when first signing up for freebies was inputting my real telephone number. Now I can’t count the number of times a week I hear “may I have a few moments of your time?” This was pointed out by one of my readers that this might cause stress for someone who was recycled your old phone number. Please double check to make sure that your old phone number isn’t in use by another family/business. I use an old house number from a year ago that is still disconnected.
• TIP 04. NEVER give out your middle name/initial, social security number or bank account information. This information isn’t needed in order to receive a freebie.