You might think that life simply costs more these days, and in some ways, that is true, compared to 10 or 20 years ago. But there are also some good resources and services that are free of charge right now! You might not have considered accessing these goodies for no charge and might be paying for them already. If you’d like to learn how to stretch your income to match your (inevitable and ongoing) expenses, here are 15 ways to pay absolutely nothing for things you need, like, or want!
Advice
Family and friends are often excellent sources of advice on matters they have some experience in. That usually comes free (or along with a fun meal or drink!) There are also free professional financial and legal advisors available—you can source them online. Psychological advice is available for free online as well. The hundreds of dollars you might pay per hour for a life coach can remain in your pocket if you pinpoint the advice you need and search online for free sources.
TV’s Free Channels
If you’re happy viewing free channels, then TV on its own, with no subscription or monthly streaming fees, is the cheapest home entertainment option. Sure, cable and streaming services give you a much wider range of shows, movies, and programming, but such added choice and convenience comes at a significant cost—hundreds of dollars per month. Once you have bought your TV hardware and the electricity to power it, you can view TV shows for no added cost. The inevitable commercials are often fun and clever!
Water
Single-use bottled water is a global market worth $300 billion, but in most places, publicly available water is safe (potable) and healthy to drink. Save your money and get a reusable bottle to store tap water in the fridge for free cold water! Free water comes with being a citizen—it is as natural as the rain.
Books
You will never be without a good book to read for free when you live near a public library. New books are not cheap, and you may already have quite a collection with no more shelf space! If you enjoy browsing in bookshops, you will enjoy browsing in your library too. Authors get royalties from sales to libraries, and you can publicize your appreciation of their work on social media if you want to support them.
Credit Reports
Due to changes in US federal law, we can now access our credit reports for free; there used to be a fee for this service. If you are keen to manage your finances with more awareness, your credit report shows you—and any stakeholders in your finances—what your credit risk might be. It might not be the most exciting freebie, but it’s a handy one. Look at Credit Karma and Borrowell.
Music
Remember vinyl, cassettes, CDs, and even more recently, MP3s? Music cost money. There was always the radio (well, since 1893 and Nikola Tesla’s invention), and free music emanates from there still! But these days, you can listen to your choice of tracks on YouTube, Spotify, and Pandora for free! If you don’t mind the occasional ads, you can listen to all you want for only the cost of the energy to power your device.
Educational Classes
Want to learn something new without spending a dime? Your local community college probably offers free classes for residents. Plus, websites like Coursera and Udacity let you dive into pretty much any subject you can think of – whether you’re looking to pick up some new job skills or just explore something that interests you. Gone are the days when education had to cost an arm and a leg. Between online courses and campus options, there are tons of ways to learn for free. Need help covering costs? Scholarships and government grants have got you covered. Oh, and if you’ve ever wanted to learn a new language, apps like Duolingo make it super easy (and totally free).
Bank Accounts
You can open checking accounts that have no monthly or transaction fees. You will not be charged maintenance fees for storing and accessing your money there. Look online for a bank in your area that offers this service. You will be surprised how many fee-free accounts there are. Sometimes it’s just a matter of doing some research and maybe some leg work.
Long-Distance Calls
Remember when calling people overseas cost an arm and a leg? These days, with communication available for free on apps like WhatsApp, Zoom, Hushed, and RingCentral, you can Facetime and talk to people anywhere—and not worry about how much the call will cost you!
Tax Preparation Services
FreeTaxUSA offers a service for free state and federal tax preparation and filing. You don’t have to pay someone to do your taxes anymore! (Even though the fee was tax-deductible). Download the app, follow the prompts, and they also have customer support if you have a question. Other tax prep apps also exist, so you can shop around and see what platform suits you to do your taxes for free.
Software
You can find a lot of free software if you are in business and looking to cut costs. You can, for example, find bookkeeping software, invoicing software, website-building software, video-editing software, and timesheet software—all with no subscription fees. If you’re writing documents, you can get an editing software, like Grammarly, on a no-fee basis too. Before you sign up for anything, check online for a free version!
Employee Benefits
Check your employment contract or documents from your union listing your employee benefits. They might include pension plans, life insurance, mental health aid, dental care, gym memberships, childcare, discounts and more. You might be paying some of these fees already and not know you can access those services for free.
Legal Documents
There are all sorts of free legal documents available online, including templates for contracts, agreements, notices, and wills. Your need to hire a lawyer can be reduced if you take a do-it-yourself approach. These forms are legal documents and will stand up in court.
Photography
As you can see from the images in this article, photos can be colorful, fun, symbolic, and meaningful. Some photos come from free to use image repositories that you, too, can access online. Just search for “free photos,” and you will find various platforms allowing a limited commercial use of some of their stock images. If you enjoy taking photos in our digital age, all you need is your phone or a digital camera. There are free photography courses and books you can read to make your photography art the best it can be!
Clothing
Most of us buy clothes in-store or online, but did you know there are all sorts of ways to get free clothing? Most women wear only 30% of the clothing in their wardrobe! Clothes swaps, volunteering (the free T-shirt!), product testing, hand-me-downs, checking Craigslist and Freecycle for giveaways, and using your credit card rewards points are all great options.
