“The Man” is trying to take your money. Don’t let him. I’ve put together 15 things that you should never pay “the man” for. For a lot of things in life, you get what you pay for. But in the case of these 15 items, most of us wouldn’t be sacrificing any quality to go with the freebie.
- Your Credit Report – Your credit report is available for free right now from http://annualcreditreport.com. Don’t be fooled by the other websites. Just go to annualcreditreport.com and get your free credit report every 12 months. You can get 1 free report from each of the 3 reporting agencies every 12 months.
- Banking Services- Never, ever, pay bank fees for a regular account. Just say no. Sign up for their free account. Switch banks if you have to. Just don’t pay any fees to a bank. It’s not necessary anymore, plus they’re already making interest by holding your money. And do your best to never pay for another checkbook again. Pay as many bills as you can using free bill-pay services. When you do run out of checks, make nice with your local bank branch manager and ask him about getting a free refill. You guys know I love the free banking with FNBO Direct and ING DIRECT. I’ve used them. Never paid them a dime. In fact, they’ve paid me. Best interest rates in the industry, by a mile.
- Software for Your Computer – Stick it to Microsoft! Don’t buy Excel or Word. Invest in a little “free” and get OpenOffice Calc (like Excel), Writer (like Word), Impress (like PowerPoint), Draw (like Paint), and Base (like Access). Why pay when you can get it for free? These programs all have a “save as…” feature that let’s you save in Microsoft format so you can send files to your ”payin’ the man” friends.
- A Credit Card- I can’t think of a single service that a credit card could offer me that I couldn’t get for free or a nominal fee elsewhere. Nor would I ever dream of using a card enough to garner enough services to justify an annual fee. Don’t ever pay for a credit card annual fee. Isn’t necessary. AmEx even has no-fee cards, and have for years now. Stop paying annual credit card fees.
- Books – There’s a magical place in your hometown that’s renting books for free right now: your local library. Check em out.
And I’m always giving away free books here on the blog. A new book giveaway coming up soon. - Tax Preparation- The vast majority of tax filers don’t need to pay to have their taxes prepared and e-filed. Every major tax prep company (TurboTax, TaxAct, TaxCut, to name a few) offers free e-filing services of some kind. And there’s always the IRS Free File that could set you up with free tax prep and filing.
- The Newspaper- C’mon. Do I have to explain this one? If you’re doing it for couponing reasons, ok. But for getting your news??
- Credit Counseling – Credit counseling is available free through the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC). Don’t ever hook up with some shady “get out of debt quick fix” company.
- Water – Well, I realize there’s always going to be that water utility bill. But the bottled water is out. Tap is cool again.
- Budgeting Software – The past couple of years have seen an explosion of online free budgeting software options. There are some really nice option available to you. All are without a charge. Check out PocketSmith.
- A Pet – Search your local animal rescue center for a pet that’s free and in need.
- Online Shipping – With sites like freeshipping.org now available, you should be able to make most of your online purchases without forking over a shipping fee.
- DVD Rentals- Instead of paying $5 for a DVD rental, just go to a RedBox or a New Release rental box in your local grocery store. Before you go though, get the free daily code from www.insideredbox.com.
- Auction Listing Fees – While some items require a true auction type service, or a larger audience to be sold for full value, the vast majority of items you’d want to sell online can be sold through Craig’s List. Ebay does have it’s place. But never use it (and pay their fees) if it’s an item that could be sold on Craig’s List. I’ve sold my last two vehicles there.
- …
Alright, now it’s your turn. I’ve left #15 for you to fill in. Offer up one more thing you should never pay for in the comments below…
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Did you know tap water was in before or after Tim told you on his blog
Something else you should never pay for: Speeding Tickets/License Plate Expiration. There are very obvious ways to avoid the fees in this category. Don’t speed and pay your registration on time. Typically the amount you end up owing is NOT worth it. Be a good civil servant – play by the rules and you won’t get stuck with extra fees!
Thanks for the tip on Quicken online. I tried Mint, loved the format, but they don’t support my small-town bank. I’ve used Quicken before and liked it fine. I didn’t realize they had a free service.
Thanks!!
Oh…my #15 would be “Milk/Formula for baby”. Breastfeeding is free, easily accessible, and always on hand! Of course, I realize there are a percentage of women who cannot breastfeed for some medical reasons, but those who can, should!!!
This is a great article, I just used #6 to file taxes for free.
And about to get my credit report.
thank you and i will feature this on next weeks top 10 list on my blog.
Absolutely love your list. Great advice.
15. Sex
Why pay for something you can get at home for free. As long as you treat your wife like she deserves to be treated, you should have no problem in this department.
How about Excercise Richard! (Sorry felt like I was on Family Feud for a sec there). Seriously though, gym memberships are expensive but going for a run, bike, or doing some pushups are all free. Don’t let money be an excuse for not working out.
With a DTV converter box and the increase in online TV you might add cable to the list too (though you might need a small startup fee).
I thought you were going to add internet service to your list. We have free internet coming to our city but it comes with banner ads, so I think I’ll pass.
I also think checks should be added to your list. So many banks offer online banking that you can send add anyone as a payee and never use a check again. And debit cards are accepted almost everywhere. Where they aren’t cash is still king.
#7 makes me sad. I used to be a newspaper reporter. The industry really botched the way they deliver news on the web.
Why pay $0.50/copy when you can get it for free online? Because reporters and editors need to be paid.
Unfortunately, their business model is going to bankrupt them.
@MrsRefney – Love the suggestion. We’ll be taking advantage of that one soon.
@tom – thanks, man. I’ll look for the pingback.
@Travis – Nice.
I’m with Kacie re: #7 newspapers
Besides my wife and kids, there is nothing I enjoy more than sitting back in the chair with my newspaper and a cup of coffee (on weekends) or taking a quick 10 minutes during the office day to catch up on the news.
Sure, I’ve embraced the internet and in fact read several newspapers websites each day, but all that does is leave electronic fingerprints. I want the ink on my fingers (well…most newspapers don’t do that anymore….oh well)
Good one on the wife thing Travis.
I will never pay (directly of course) for a cell phone. With all the 2 year agreement free phones, how could you. Plus, after 2 years is up, you can get another free one for another 2 year agreement. Free phones. never buy one again.
Great list!
There are plenty of free things that exist in the world if people take the time to browse around a little.
How about coupons? You can get the exact same coupons that are in your Sunday paper, online. It takes a little longer, but you save money, and can also find extra coupons! Also, signing up with a particular brand, like Tide or Tyson, they’ll send you coupons for signing up for their mailing list or trying a new item.
Just a note re: #11. Rescue shelters do charge adoption fees to ensure that people have good intentions and ready to make a long term commitment. It’s money well spent since shelters are typically non-profits and spend quite a lot to feed, house, care for, and provide medical attention to all the animals in their care.
#15 – Heat – We heat our house exclusively with wood I’ve harvested myself from our own woods. I cut, haul, split, stack, and burn all thw wood I need to heat my house during these long, cold, Michigan winters – and I haven’t sent a cent to the power company in four years for heat.
It’s a lot of work in, but as a teacher I have summers off and truly enjoy the physical labor and the time in the woods.
And there is NOTHING quite like the heat from a woodburning stove to warm your buns on a cold winter day.
This is a good list!
If we pay all of them it would be a huge number of dollar.
One word, 3 letters long.
SEX!
Great list.
#15 – Transportation within a couple of miles of your house. Walk or ride a bike to save on gas and auto use, not to mention to be more healthy, and to get outside for a breath of fresh air.
Any idea of the DVD rental option is only a US thing? I’ve never heard of it for Canada.
How about setting up your own debt plan. I like vertex42.com they have a lot of different speedsheets but inparticular one on setting up your own debt plan. I like the self help model myself. All free of course.
Tons of great tips. For movies, you can now stream full tv shows and movies online for free.
nice list. Mint is a great site.
This is a great list. I really like #3 since most people don’t consider this as a choice.
I too enjoy the list and the information from all of the folks who post comments
The free item that I am sharing is insted of using your dryer hang laundry outside on a clothing line and a bonus instead of using coinstar roll your own money and take to it to the bank.
Getting a pet at your local shelter is rarely “free.” Most reputable shelters will make you pay to have the animal neutered and vaccinated. However, since they get discounts and you need these services (we do not need more unwanted puppies and kittens, folks!) this is stil a very good deal.
gym memberships and for that matter exercise equipment. you really only need 3 basic exercises: running,situps/crunches, and pushups. All of which are free!
You missed some more free from the library.
Most public libraries also loan DVD’s & Music CD’s, many for cheap or free.
You can also get free internet from public libraries – thanks to the Gates Foundation, most have free wireless access.
@Andee – Good point. I was at the library today and browsed the DVDs myself. The selection isn’t as nice as Netflix or Blockbuster, but you can usually find something and free is always good.
i know i’m a little late posting this, but you don’t have to pay for diapers. i’m not talking about cloth, either — though i’ve learned how to use and like those; cloth diapering has benefited much from today’s technology. Rather i’m talking about Elimination Communication (EC) — also called “infant pottying”. Check it out on http://www.diaperfreebaby.org . We learned how to use cloth diapers with #3, and how to use EC with #4. If we’re lucky enough to have more children, we’ll EC from birth and will never go back to conventional diapering again. My daughter is 13 months old and i haven’t changed a poopy diaper since she was 8 weeks old — she prefers to use the potty.
Free samples! I get them from Wal Mart, Dove, just to name a couple. I have gotten samples of deodorant, toothpaste, feminine products, razors…the list goes on! You don’t even have to pay shipping!
cell Phones! you dont need to pay for a stupid phone. just get one of those free ones. you can txt or whatever you want. P.S. dont pay for txting. juts call them
I think it needs to be said that you should never pay interest
Anti-Virus Software…
There are MANY free antivirus software programs out there that are not like the ‘retail’ versions for the simple fact that they are all usually “BLOATWARE” and include a lot of stuff that you don’t need or never use. Most of the retail Antivirus software, like NORTON, will make a decent computer run like a slug. Being in the computer business for the last 20 years, I can tell you that the one I mentioned has been proven to alert you with false positives during the last few weeks before it expires, hoping you’ll upgrade again in a panic state of mind…. don’t do it. Get AVG or Avast.. they work BETTER than most retail software.
Textbooks – well, almost never. Check out http://textbookrevolution.org/index.php/Main_Page
Best way to stick it to your local council is to use:
http://www.parkinginspector.com
We use it at work to warn each other when our cars have been marked or a parking inspector is in the area. Saves us tickets and stops revenue raising!!!