Being Thrifty

Maybe it’s because of all the free candy that will be available tonight to trick-or-treaters, but the new freebie offerings are kind of slim this week.  Hopefully you can find something in this short list that doesn’t scare you.

I hope that all my readers have a safe and happy Halloween!

The City of Tampa (Florida) is offering free “Recycle Today…Save Tomorrow” wristbands for taking the recycling pledge.  You don’t have to be a resident of Tampa, or even of Florida, to participate.  You do have to be a resident of the United States or Canada however. 

Does your puppy have a really bad case of doggie breath?  Help reduce that with this Breath-A-Licious dog bone.

Having trouble reaching those back teeth for flossing?  Then you need this free sample of the Reach Access Flosser.  Click on the link in the right-hand column to access the free sample form.

Sign up for the Betty Crocker e-newsletter and get a free Turtle Chex Mix bar.

Have a baby?  Try a sample of Member’s Mark Infant Formula in Milk or Gentle formulas, from Sam’s Club.

Get a free sample of Vaseline Intensive Rescue Moisture Locking Lotion from Costco.

All offers were available at the time of this posting. Limit one per offer per household.  Offers available only in the United States unless otherwise noted.  I cannot guarantee the quality or receipt of any of the above-mentioned freebies.

You’ve heard of Paying It Forward, now learn about Ghosting It Forward .  Ghosting It Forward is the same as paying it forward, or random acts of kindness with a Halloween flavor.

Ghosting It Forward is easy.  Pick three of your neighbors, friends or co-workers.  Prepare three Ghost It Forward kits, which include a treat bag with goodies or knick-knacks, a picture of a ghost, and the Ghost It Forward letter.  You can download the letter and ghost picture here .

Once you’ve put the kits together, go to your neighbor’s house, leave the kit, ring the bell or knock on their door, and RUN!  Don’t let them see you leave the kit.  The letter also includes instructions so that your neighbors or friends can “Ghost” others and keep the ghosting spirit alive.

Once someone has been ghosted, they are to put the ghost picture on their door so everyone knows they’ve been hit.  No one is supposed to be ghosted more than once.  The purpose is to get everyone in your neighborhood, your circle or friends or your office in the giving spirit.

You can even “Ghost” your Internet friends.  Instead of a goodie bag, send them an e-card, a picture, even a free Internet game, along with the letter and the You’ve Been Ghosted picture.  See how far you can spread the spirit of Ghosting It Forward!

Sorry this is so late today.  There’s not a lot of offers today.  Hopefully you’ll be able to find something here that interests you.

Health & Beauty Freebies

If you’re in need of a product like this, try a sample of one of 4 Tena products : Underwear, Ultra Briefs, Ultra Stretch Briefs, or Light Pads.

I blogged about this freebie offer a couple of weeks ago.  It’s still active, so I thought I’d include it again.  Get a free sample of both Stayfree Pads and Carefree Pantiliners from Wal-Mart.

If you prefer Always, you can try the Always Infinity pads , also from Wal-Mart.

Food & Drink Freebies

Get a 1.1 ounce sample pack of Dunkin’ Donuts At Home Dark Roast coffee.

If Dunkin’ Donuts coffee doesn’t do it for you, try a Folger’s Coffee sample from Wal-Mart.

Subscribe to Teeccino Healthy Tips newsletter and get free sample of Teeccino caffeine free herbal coffee .  Sign up in right hand column about halfway down page.

What’s better than chocolate?  Why, free chocolate of course!  Sample a box of 8 assorted Truffles from Haydee Chocolatiers .  Must confirm email.

Try a free bottle of Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce .  It’s the perfect complement to any meal.  At least, that’s what Country Bob’s website says.  You will also get Country Bob’s newsletter if you request this sample.

Miscellaneous Freebies

Mailfinity, which offers free web mail, is also offering a free magnetic clip with their logo.

How about some free lingerie from I-lingerie ?  This is an Australian company but it doesn’t say that you have to live in Australia to receive the free lingerie.  You do have to subscribe to their newsletter though.

Have you ever been in a really nasty public restroom and wanted to tell someone about it?  Here’s your chance.  This free Uberloo post-it pad has a checklist so you can leave your comments on those unsanitary public restrooms anonymously.  Dirty restrooms are a worldwide epidemic, so this is an international offer.

Samples available only in the United States unless otherwise noted.  Limit one per sample per household.  Samples and freebies listed above were available at the time of this posting.  Author cannot guarantee the quality or receipt of any of the above freebies.

Rather than buying expensive makeup for Halloween that you’ll probably only use once, try making your own.  It’s much cheaper and you probably have a lot of the ingredients already on hand.

Face makeup

1 tsp cornstarch

½ tsp cold cream

½ tsp water

Food coloring

Mix cold cream and cornstarch until well blended.  Add water and mix thoroughly.  Add drops of food coloring as needed to create the skin color you want.

This makeup can be removed with soap and water.

Fake blood

1 ¾ cup corn syrup

¼ cup water

2 tsp red food color

8-10 drops blue food color

¼ cup corn starch, sifted

In a plastic container with a tight-fighting lid, mix the corn syrup and water.  Add both colors of food coloring.  Place lid tightly on container and shake well. Add cornstarch.  Replace lid and shake well.  Skim fork across top of mixture to remove any lumps.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

Fake bruises

Deep blue eye powdered eye shadow

Charcoal or smoke gray powdered eye shadow

Shimmery green powdered eye shadow

Apply a blot of deep blue eye shadow with a wet makeup brush.  Use fingers to add a blot of gray, and more of the blue eye shadow.  Touch the edges with the green eye shadow.  Smudge the spot to give it the appearance of a bruise.

Ready-made Halloween costumes can be very expensive, especially if you need to purchase more than one.  I was looking at them at the store the other day and most of the ones I saw were marked $19.99 and up.  With buying candy, decorations and other accessories as well, it can get pretty pricey.

Why not check out the local thrift store for your costume?  Sure, you’re probably not going to find the coolest, hippest new Incredible Hulk or Dark Knight costumes, but with a little imagination and creativity, you can come up with some pretty awesome costumes from the thrift store.

You might be able to find some ready-made costumes at thrift stores as well, depending on the store and your area, especially for younger children.  These costumes are generally in pretty good shape too, since most kids outgrow the costumes after wearing them only once.  Some stores may have a selection of new costumes as well.

Here are some ideas for costumes you can create with thrift store items.

Gypsy – get a long flowing skirt and a fancy blouse.  Wear the blouse untucked, and put a belt around your waist.  A chain belt is best, but any belt will do.  Tie a scarf around your head; wear lots of big necklaces and rings, and a pair of hoop or long, dangly earrings.  Wear lots of blue eye shadow.

Nerd – Find an old leisure suit, or get a pair of polyester pants, preferably plaid.  Pull the waist up high or roll the pant legs if needed so that the pants are too short.  Get a shirt with buttons and a collar in a color and/or pattern that does not match the pants.  Wear white socks and black shoes.  Slick hair back.  If possible, get a pair of black plastic framed glasses.  If the shirt has a pocket, fill it with pens and pencils.  Carry a briefcase instead of a bag for candy.

Tourist – Best suited for warmer climates.  Wear plaid Bermuda shorts and a loud, flowered shirt, white tube socks and sandals.  Get a couple of cameras to hang around your neck.  Put some zinc oxide on your nose, and a dopey looking hat on your head.  If you wear glasses, get some clip-on sunglasses, but keep them flipped up.  If there’s a pocket in your shirt, stick a map in it.  If not, stick the map in the back pocket of your shorts.

Hobo – Find pants that are too big and hold them up with a belt or a rope.  Get a shirt you can put holes in, or sew patches on.  Complete the look with a worn sports jacket and a hat.  Use makeup to create beard stubble.

Corpse Bride – Get an old wedding or prom dress.  Smear fake blood on your face and arms.  Mess up your hair and spray it in place with lots of hairspray.  Add some twigs or dried leaves to your hair to give the effect that you’ve just dug yourself out of your grave.  Use pale makeup and eyeliner around the eyes to give yourself a hollow look.

You should be able to come up with everything you need for these costumes, except for the makeup, at most thrift stores.  You’ll spend a lot less money than you would for a ready-made costume, and you’ll look just as good!

Happy Friday!  I hope you enjoy today’s list of freebies.  We’ve got some Christian freebies, a free sample of pipe tobacco and some freebies from a lawyer on today’s list.  I hope you find something you can use.

Freebies for Women

Become a member of TotalBeauty.com and get a free Breast self-examination kit.

Try a free sample of Garnier Nutritioniste Ultra-Lift deep wrinkle treatment from Wal-Mart.

Freebies for Men

If you are a man who smokes a pipe, or you know of one who does, here’s a freebie just for them.  Try a sample of Altadis pipe tobacco.  Must be 21 in order to get this sample.

Get a free sample of Dunhill Fragrances for Men. Click the ‘free sample’ link on the left.

2009 Calendars

Here’s a couple more calendars for 2009 that you can get for free:

Free wall calendar from Church Mutual Insurance

2009 Unity Calendar

Miscellaneous freebies

Even if you don’t ski, this poster of Snowmass, Colorado is an awesome picture for your wall.
Take advantage of this free keychain or drink koozie from an Atlanta trial lawyer.  It’s not often you’ll get something free from a lawyer. Limited supply.  Click on ‘gear’ tab and then the purple box that says ‘get your jphii gear’.  The keychain and koozie are listed on the order form.  You can get one or the other, but not both.

Free issue of Florida Wildlife magazine

Seattle’s Best had this promotion last year and it was so successful, they brought it back.  Get a free sample of Seattle’s Best Coffee.  If you requested a sample last year, you may need to use a different email address to get this year’s freebie.

Free PUR Filters shopping list pad from Wal-Mart

Freebies for Kids

This is more for parents than for kids.  Keep your child’s health care notes in one convenient location with a free health notebook.

Is your child anxious for Christmas?  Get a free Countdown to Christmas activity book for children from Unity.

Health Freebies

Try a free sample of Neru Patch for foot and leg discomfort.

Join the Helpudiet newsletter and get a free tape measure.

Here’s a free .34 ounce sample of Psorent, psoriasis topical treatment

Samples available only in the United States unless otherwise noted.  Limit one per sample per househould.  Samples and freebies listed above were available at the time of this posting.  Author cannot guarantee the quality or receipt of any of the above freebies.

Here’s an offer from Stock 23 for a free bra .  Stock 23 is a dealer of liquidation and overstock merchandise in California.  Their website doesn’t indicate the type of bra you get, but they show a picture of a cute little black and pink bra with the request form.  They ship to the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.

I ordered one, we’ll see how this one turns out.  I’m a little leary because when I ordered the bra and it asked for size, the only options in the drop down menu are S, M, L, & XL.  I’ve never purchased a bra sized that way, so I’m not sure what to expect.

Just as a reminder, you can still enter the Wedgie-Free Wednesday sweepstakes from Hanes and get free panties.  They are giving away 500 pairs every week until December 30.  You can enter and win more than once too.  So far I’ve gotten two free pairs of panties and I keep entering, so hopefully I’ll get more.  Then maybe I can get rid of all the pairs with holes and worn-out elastic that are cluttering up my lingerie drawer!

It’s been a while since I posted a garage sale tip.  I’ve experienced this more than once lately, so I thought I’d post this bit of advice.

Tip #8 – If you’re having a garage sale, don’t act like you’ve got something better to do.

I have been to more garage/yard sales in the past few weeks, where people holding the sales are distant and unfriendly, and act like you’re keeping them from something important. 

I was at one sale a couple of weeks ago where the guy running the sale kept running in and out of the house while people were trying to ask him questions.  The only reason I even stayed at this sale was because he was selling off office equipment from his failed business.  I scored a sweet Dell Dimension 3000 desktop computer with flat screen monitor; and a badly needed office chair, all for $200.  But it was like pulling teeth to get the guy to stay put for 2 seconds.  Normally, I just leave when someone seems like they don’t care whether they sell anything or not, and if it weren’t for the fact that I needed the computer, I would have.

I’ve been to more sales like that recently.  If you’re going to hold a sale, at least act like you want to sell your stuff.

Halloween is just around the corner and it’s time to start thinking about carving your pumpkins.  If you’re tired of the same old triangle eyes and scary grins, take a look at these free, downloadable pumpkin stencils.  All you need is a computer and a printer to download these patterns.  Some are .pdf format, so you may need Adobe Acrobat reader in order to view.  If you don’t already have Adobe Acrobat , you can download it for free.

You can find 24 different stencils from Hershey’s .  There are eight easy patterns, eight intermediate patterns, and eight advanced patterns available.

Scroll through 36 stencils from Better Homes & Gardens .  There are witches, ghosts and cats, and a variety of faces.  They don’t rate the difficulty, but some look pretty hard!  You have to register with bhg.com in order to download.

Celebrating Halloween has 29 stencils available, from traditional Halloween symbols to words.

Disney Princess stencils are available from the Huggies Happy Baby site.  You can choose from either the Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella collection.  In the Sleeping Beauty collection, you can choose from  Aurora, Prince, Maleficent, Fairies and Dragon; or  Cinderella, Castle, Cat and Mouse from the Cinderella collection.

DLTK has pumpkin carving instructions as well as stencil patterns available .  There are 27 stencils available to print.  Scroll down past the instructions to access the patterns.

Have fun and be careful!

Happy Halloween!

I’ve got a variety of freebies for you this week, including the best freebie I’ve ever come across.  Read on for more!  Since the freebies are so varied this week, I’m just providing a list instead of categorizing them.  I’m sure you’ll be able to find something you can use.

Help save the environment. Get a free, reusable tote bag in red or green.

Do you have a boat?  Get a free Anchors Away Marina, Marblehead Ohio floater keychain. 

Just in time for Christmas.  Wisconsin Dairy is offering 8 Free Holiday Cookie Recipe Cards for cookies made with real butter.

This has got to be the best freebie ever.  Get a Snuggle Fabric Softener Bundle from Hi, I’m Sarah.  The free bundle includes one 60-load concentrated bottle of Snuggle Liquid Fabric Softener plus one 40-count box of Snuggle Dryer Sheets in your choice of fragrances.  After you register you will receive an email with a link which you have to click to confirm your request.

Are you a hot mom, or do you have a hot mom?  Get a Hot Mom Driving magnet from TV Show Hottest Mom In America.

For your child, here is an offer for BFF wristbands from Kidzooka.

Try a sample of Golden Award NT Liquid Butter Alternative.

Get a sample of Golden Harvest freeze-dried food.

You can request a 13-moon pocket calendar for 2009 and you can also indicate whether you’d like to receive the calendar each year.

Enter to win 16 ounce Spa Specific Velvet Milk Aloe Mask and receive free sample of a Velvet Milk product

This sample from Wal-Mart contains both Stayfree and Carefree pads for women.

Also from Wal-Mart, get a sample of Benefiber Fiber Drink Mix in a pre-measured packet.

Costco Warehouse is offering a sample of  Ponds Clean Sweep Facial Towelettes

Here’s a sample of Ultra Xcid Antacid.

Last this week is Life’s Abundance Pet Food for dogs and cats. Sample includes 1/4 cup of the Life’s Abundance Pet Food of your choice  (1/4 cup of each if you choose the dog/cat combo), one healthy treat, and one pet supplement

All offers listed were available at the time of this posting.  Limit one request per offer per household.  Offers available in the United States only unless otherwise noted.  Offers available while supplies last.