Dec
2009
9
12 days of free stuff
Did your father ever tell you that money doesn't grow on trees? Handy as it would be, we have to agree with dad. There are still plenty ways to keep your hard-earned pennies in your pocket with an abundance of free stuff waiting to be grabbed.
In the traditional season of goodwill, LEWIS has scoured high and wide to bring the best free stuff to your table, starting with some great recommendations to take advantage of over the holiday period.
Film fanatics
Just when you thought you had to endure yet another repeat of Annie, E.T and the Morecambe and Wise Show, See Film First comes to the rescue. A great site where if you register (for free), you not only get to see movies days before their official release but you don't have to spend a penny on the ticket either. Another great movie resource is the Internet Movie Database which lists full details of every film you could ever imagine. So the next time you're desperately trying to remember a certain Hollywood actor's name, you know where you need to go to find out!
Stuff your face (and your wallet!)
With all the gorging excess that happens throughout the festive season, make sure your shopping basket bulges without shrinking your wallet. MySupermarket while it's not strictly something for nothing, it is a brilliant resource and easy-to-use site that will make sure you get the cheapest price on your weekly shopping.
It pays to give
Most of us choose to save our feet from pounding the high street in favour of online shopping. If you've still got gifts to buy, don't even consider making another purchase until you've checked out Quidco, a website that pays cash directly to your bank if you buy items they recommend. They're affiliated with every retailer you could possibly imagine and this year alone, Quidco will be putting over £35m back into member's bank accounts for the purchases they made. It's time to start grabbing your portion of that share!
Play it again
Your Christmas party would be pretty dull without some great tunes. Nowadays, there's a tonne of music on the internet for free and you don't even have to pinch it illegally! If you haven't already, check out Last FM it's a really handy resource. Spotify features an amazing selection of music that guarantees a great sing-a-long and jolly good fun but if you weren't one of the early birds, you didn't catch the musical worm. Now you'll have to pay £9.99 a month unless you know how to get an invite for their free subscription which contains adverts about every 20 minutes or so.
Out and about
December is a time of fun with family and friends but after the New Year, socialising can seem a bit thin on the ground so why not register with Itison. It's a social site that gets you onto all the best guestlists in your area. Just pick your areas of interest; comedy, arts, festivals and bar or restaurant openings then watch the invites come flooding through your inbox.
Get your motor runnin'
If you fancy doing something a little bit wild in the New Year, why not try out a free session on a motorbike with Get On. They'll even lend you a helmet and leathers! It lasts about an hour and will give you a real feel of what biking is all about - then you can decide if it's for you.
Beat the system
Isn't it really annoying when you get charged silly money when you call 0870 or 0845 numbers? Next time you're asked to dial a number that starts with either 0870 or 0845, search for its free counterpart at SayNoTo0870. The site is run by its users so it's not the prettiest or most user-friendly but it does have plenty information so it's worth a go before you pay over the odds on your next phone call.
Dream desktop
For those who like everything in one place, why not sign up to Netvibes. It's a free web service that brings together your favourite media resources and online services. Whether it's Twitter, BBC News or You Tube - everything that matters to you including blogs, news, weather, videos, photos, social networks, email and more is automatically updated every time you visit your page.
Foxy!
If you haven't converted from Internet Explorer to Firefox, you have to give it a go. It is a fast, smart and safe way to surf the net. Also, the vast range of add-ons available for download offer lots of handy tools to make your browsing a breeze. Check out our article on Firefox Add-ons. Say goodbye to I.E and download Firefox for free today!
Exterminate, exterminate
Printing web pages can sometimes end up using unnecessary amounts of paper especially when all you wanted to print was one little image. This is when the Printliminator comes in really handy. It's a great free tool you can use which only prints the particular areas of a web page you want. It's simple to get started, just drag and drop onto your browser's toolbar then hover over the areas you want to eliminate, click and they disappear!
Be the first
Are you the type of person who likes to keep up with all things new? Software packages are notoriously expensive but you can test drive the new Microsoft Office 2010 for free if you download the Beta version. Only problem is, with lots of new features and tools, perhaps you won't want to live without it!
Choices aplenty
Another great tool to that puts you in touch with the latest software is Alternative To. The website offers alternatives to the software you want to replace based on our user recommendations and by joining the site, you can participate in the process of making these recommendations better.
article author(s)