All The Frugal Ladies Personal finance with a feminine touch
I’m a freebie and giveaway lover – I love anything that has to do with the opportunity to win. You’ll often find me participating in contests, entering giveaways or playing bingo. It’s been like this since I was very small and I now have about 20 years of experience in winning! Among the prizes I’ve won are:
- Living room set (three couches – one large three-seater, 2 small one-seaters)
- Plates (a 24 set)
- A TV
- A beautiful, huge Swarovski crystal
- Clothes
- Kitchen appliances (mixer, toaster, etc.)
- Gift certificates ($25, $100+)
- A hammock for two
- A netbook
- Money!
- So many others, that I can’t even remember.
As a matter of fact, just this week I won two gift certificates to a bagel restaurant. I can’t live off of my winnings, but it’s a fun on-the-side hobby and the thrill of the win is worth it.
Without further ado, I’ll share my secrets on how I am able to find awesome freebies, contests and giveaways!
1) Just because you live outside the US doesn’t mean you can’t win.
Look for sites that list contests, giveaways and freebies available worldwide. They won’t be the huge US sweepstakes, but you will be surprised by the variety of great prizes and freebies that are available all over the world.
My recommendation? Well, my personal website, of course! It lists giveaways and freebies open worldwide – my volunteers and I do the work of finding contests, freebies and giveaways for you. http://www.internationalgiveaways.com
2) Follow companies on Facebook and on Twitter
Look for social media profiles of companies that sell items that you would want to win. You can also follow supermarkets, restaurants, events/activities, and so on. They often run contests and giveaways, or offer freebies or coupons. Aim for the local companies as they tend to have the least amount of participants. For example, I try to find as many Israeli companies as possible. You would be surprised by the amount of competitions and giveaways that companies run on Facebook and Twitter.
3) Search and target
What kind of freebies are you looking for? Food, coupons, samples? Look for websites and forums that list general or specific types of freebies through a simple Google search. In my experience, you have the best chance of finding relevant freebies if you look for websites/forums that list freebies in your region. When I put an actual effort into this, I receive dozens of packages of free goodies each month!
4) Follow websites through RSS
Rather than having to go to each site individually, add all the sites’ feeds to an RSS reader. That way, you don’t have to worry about missing freebies, contests or giveaways. Plus, it’s all nicely organized in your reader.
5) Look for sweepstakes
Thousands of people may participate in sweepstakes, so your chances of winning the big prize are very small. However, sweepstakes tend to have dozens to hundreds of smaller prizes, so you may end up winning something small. I’ve won gift certificates, moisturizers, shirts and other goodies from these. Just remember to follow the rules and take advantage of the entry options – if they say you can enter once a day, then do it!
Winning tip: Be very selective about the giveaways & contests you enter
I don’t enter every contest or giveaway I find. If I did, I wouldn’t have enough time for anything else in my day. There are literally thousands of new giveaways running every day worldwide, so your best bet is to evaluate your chances of winning and time it right. I only enter the ones that I know I have a good chance of winning, and I try to avoid challenging my competition into beating me. The less time they have to add more entries against mine, the better… It’s all about strategy!
