Homer Simpson, popular culture icon that he is, once asked, "Is there a
sweeter four-letter word in the English language than free?"
Conversely, Young MC, a relatively obscure rapper who peaked in success in
the late 1980s, remarked, "Honest day's work for an honest day's pay …
until Uncle Sam takes a portion away."
Indeed, it can often seem like money truly makes the world go round. From
morning coffee to afternoon commute home, you're always spending money in some
fashion. As a result, isn't it so tremendous when you come across something for
free — no strings attached, no money paid, completely yours just for the effort
of picking it up and taking it along?
It seems these situations don't occur often enough. How then, can you
acquire more free stuff?
Craig's List
The Online Posting
Community
A regional, peacenik answer to eBay but with just
as many viewers per month (if not more)—has a "free stuff" section on
each of its city pages. Presently on the Houston
site, there are two free couches; in Denver,
there's free kittens, screen doors, and a full bed with boxspring; if you're a
resident of Raleigh, you could
track down a totally free executive desk or Direct TV satellite dish. Every
city has different postings, but they are updated several times a day.
Late Appearances at Yard
Sales
Wherever you find out information about yard
sales—local newspaper, flyers, Internet—check the hours of operation. If a yard
sale runs from 9am until 3pm, show up at 2:30pm.
The basic concept behind a yard sale is that a family has a lot of extra junk
and wants to get rid of it to clear some space. While they figure it'd be cool
to make some spending cash selling off their old junk, the true value for them
is getting rid of stuff (ironically enabling them to buy new objects which will
be sold in a yard in 8-10 years). If you go to a yard sale near the end of it,
it's very easy to grab some of the items at no cost by speaking to the person
running it. "Oh, these golf clubs look nice. It's too bad I don't have 22
dollars on me right now… I guess I could go home and get it…"