How to Get Things for FREE

As the economic situation worsens, more and more people are looking for more ways to save money. But apart from grabbing the usual discounts and bargain hunts you see from shops, how about creating money-saving opportunities for yourself at the exact times that you want them?

What if it is possible to actually create bargain deals specifically tailored for yourself?

What if it’s possible to get what you want by giving other people what they want?

Below are a few examples of how you can do this.  Have fun!

1. Barter your Skills

If you  are talented and highly skilled, why not offer to trade your services in exchange for something you want? For example, say you know massage/plumbing/interior design. You can approach a local business you want to buy from who also need your services, then trade your expertise in return for their goods.

So in essence you are all benefitting by getting things you all highly value at very little cost! Try this with your friends and local businesses, and see what deals you are able to bag. I did this with a friend of mine who agreed to give me a few hours of life coaching in return for a few hours of my time to give her a tailored seminar about how to make more sales and how to market herself better. It’s WIN-WIN!

2. Be a Middleman

If you’re a member of an organization or group that meets regularly in a public venue, why not try strike a deal with the venue you plan to meet at? Restaurants, cafes, bistros etc. are always looking for new customers. So if you happen to be a member of social or interest groups, DO NOT book a table at a restaurant and get charged the normal rate.

You can take advantage of this by approaching a suitable catering establishment and saying something like, “If I bring you 10 people every Monday evening, what are you prepared to give me in return?” (Of course, you have to come up with a suitable question. Get creative. The important thing is that you are asking what they are prepared to give you in return for bringing them so much customers).

Their answer could surprise you. They might offer for you to dine in for free. They might say they will be willing to deduct 15% off the group’s entire bill. They might say they are willing to give you 2 for 1 on main dishes.

If what they offer you isn’t attractive enough, be prepared to ask at least 3 other restaurants before you settle a deal.

You can apply the same principle when you are organizing a bachelor’s party, a hen night out, a birthday party, a work party or a night out with your colleagues and friends. Can you see the endless possibilities?

But you will never find out until you ask, will you?

3.   Earn “Free Money”

Nowadays, you can earn money just by buying things you are going to buy anyway. They’re called cashback deals. You can get cashback credit cards, and there are various cashback websites like ei42 , Rpoints, Topcashback, Quidco, Cashbackkings, etc.

Due to the nature of their offers, most of these cashback sites depend on their customers for spreading the word. So it’s common practice for them to reward you when you tell a friend about them. So you save money all year round, you refer a friend, cashback sites then reward you, and now your friend has saved money, too. It’s win-win for everybody.

Also, if you are going to buy something online, it’s always worth it to check if the merchant has an affiliate program (an affiliate program is an arrangement where an e-vendor pay a commission for any item sold by an affiliate. Anybody can usually become an affiliate for free simply by registering and obtaining a unique affiliate ID for tracking purposes). If the merchant has one, sign up as an affiliate and buy the item you want using your affiliate link, and ka-ching! you collect commission. This is a great way to save money, especially if you buy a lot of educational materials online like we do.

4.  Do a Joint Venture

Do you have a business or are you a decision maker in one? You can save your company a lot of money just by knowing how to ask the right questions to the right people.  To illustrate, let’s say you are the manager of a restaurant, and you want to increase sales. Say you want to do a massive advertising campaign but your budget is er, tiny.

What you can do is try to find a radio station who agrees to be paid restaurant vouchers in exchange for the corresponding amount of advertising. If the radio station agrees, then you have essentially leveraged the restaurant’s resources because the cost to the restaurant to produce a meal sold at $10 is usually $4! So essentially, your restaurant just got 60% discount off radio advertising!

The radio station can then use the vouchers as give-aways and prizes for their year-round promotions, or as incentive rewards for their staff.  This means that at some point these vouchers will be redeemed. When this happens, the restaurant makes even more money on top of the massive discount they have already received plus the advertising exposure, because now these voucher-bearing people will be bringing other people with them, and they will all be ordering food and drinks!

5.  Help People by Recommending Businesses

Have you ever been asked by a friend if you could recommend a specific person/business, because your friend is looking to solve a specific problem? I’m sure you have. Say they are looking to buy a car, or book a holiday but aren’t sure who to turn to.

If you happen to know someone who is trustworthy enough to recommend to your friend, why not call the prospective vendor and arrange a deal with them? All you have to do is ask the vendor what they are willing to give you in return for sending their way one eager buyer. The vendor might say they are going to pay you a commission if your friend buys. They might say they will give you their service for free, the next time you need their service. Whatever they say, you just got yourself a bargain just by helping others get what they want.

Related posts:

1. How Much Free Value Can You Afford to Give?