20 Things You Should Never Pay For
Classified as: Tips & Advice
The best things in life may be free, but these days the important things certainly are not. We have taken on the role of consumers so well, that we don’t even realize that so much stuff that we are being made to pay for should be totally free. And the good news is: lots of it is. What’s lacking is awareness. And that’s exactly what I’ve brought for you here. Here is a list of 20 things that you can get totally free, without even compromising on quality.
1. Your Credit Report
All those ads online offering free credit reports are a scam, we learnt that ages ago. But what’s not is a scam is http://annualcreditreport.com. Don’t be fooled by what ever other websites are telling you. At annualcreditreport.com, you can get 1 free report from each of the 3 credit reporting agencies every 12 months.
2. Credit Card
Give me one good reason why anyone should pay the credit card companies an annual fee? First they make money by charging you interest, and then you have to pay annual fees as well. Don’t pay for a credit card annual feel. American Express has no fee cards, and many other financial institutions offer the same. Don’t pay any more credit card annual fees.
3. Banking Services
Just say NO to paying bank fees. Sign up for their free account. Switch banks if you have to, just don’t pay any fees for banking. Banks are already earning interest by holding your money, so why should you pay them more? Do your best to never pay for checks again too. Pay your bills using free bill pay services or online using your debit or credit cards. When and if you do run out of checks, have a nice friendly meeting with your local bank branch manager and ask about getting a free refill.
4. Tax Preparation
Another thing that many people pay for unnecessarily. Many other tax preparation companies offer free e-filing of some kind. And you can always use the IRS Free File to set you up with free tax prep and filing.
5. Credit Counseling
National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) offers free credit counseling to those who need it. Stay away from scams claiming to get you out of debt.
6. Budgeting Software
There has been an explosion of free online budgeting software options online in the past few years. There are plenty of really cool and free options available out there. Quicken Online and Mint are two that are highly recommended.
7. The Newspaper
This one doesn’t even require an explanation. If you are doing it to those discount coupons, fine. But for the latest news…?
8. Cell Phone
All cell phone providers give you a free phone for signing up with them for a fixed period. And once that period is up, you get another new phone for extending the contract.
9. Computer Software
In this era of open source technology, what is the point of paying Microsoft hundreds for buying Excel or Word? Go to OpenOffice and get your FREE software; Calc for Excel, Writer for Word, Draw for Paint and Base for Access. What’s great is that these programs all have a “Save As…” option that lets you save in the Microsoft format, hence creating zero problems in sending your files to anyone across the world.
10. Books
Why buy or rent books when you can get them free from your local library?
11. A Pet
Adopt a pet from your nearest animal shelter or local rescue center. It’s free, and provides a needy animal a home.
12. Online Shipping
Stop paying inflated shipping charges on your online purchases using websites like freeshipping.org.
13. Auction Listing Fees
It’s true that some items require a proper auction type service or a much larger audience to be sold for the right price, most of the stuff you’d want to sell online can be sold through Craig’s List. Yes, no one’s denying that eBay does have it’s place, but avoid using it and paying their fees if you can sell your item in Craig’ List.
14. DVD Rentals
Just go to a RedBox or a New Release rental box in your local grocery store instead of paying a $5 DVD Rental fee. But make sure that before you go, get the free daily code from www.insideredbox.com.
15. Milk / Baby Formula for your child
Yes folks. Every scientific research ever conducted has proven that there’s no alternative for mother’s breast milk. True, some women can’t do it for medical reason, but for others, do what saves you money and benefits your child.
16. Exercise
Why pay high gym membership fees when you can do everything for free? Go out for a run, a walk, bike, do a few pushups, everything that can be done without spending a single penny.
17. Water
I understand it’s impossible to get rid of the water utility bill, but why buy bottled water? Since you are already paying the bill, why not use tap water.
18. Packing Supplies
All you have to do is go to businesses that get their inventories in boxes, like convenience stores, and ask. It’s as simple as that. Another thing you can do is go dumpster diving. Boxes of all sizes, packing peanuts, packing paper and envelopes are available for free in businesses’ “recycle only” dumpsters. So if you are an eBayer, here’s a tip that could save you a lot of money.
19. Moving Boxes
You can find them for free on Craig’s List or in dumpsters as well. It almost seems absurd to imagine paying $4 per box at one of those moving places.
20. Legal Forms
Many forms, such as real estate forms, are readily available on the internet these days. All you have to do is conduct some online research and you are bound to find the forms you need.
There You have it. But you and I both know that this is not all, there are countless other things that can be had legally free. Suggestions?
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Good list.
17: You drink water that comes outa the ground? lol.
Major cities, sure. But some locations just have a ‘well’ and that’s ew.
First rule of world travel. don’t drink the water.
Fascinating List! Very well put together.
My wife and I are moving to Australia where almost all banks are quoting me $4 a month on basic checking accounts. I didn’t believe it at first, but apparently no one has stepped up to offer free checking to the masses over there! I wouldn’t dare pay a single fee from any banks here!
Keep up the good posts!
Baker @ ManVsDebts last blog post..Reader Question: Quick Ways To Raise Credit
21. Sex
22. Love
23. Children
B7s last blog post..Research Your Options For The Automated Trading Revolution
Very well compiled list
William M. Daviss last blog post..Bad Credit Mortgage Refinance – Spiral Ladder To Own My Dream House
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Regard
11. A Pet
Adopt a pet from your nearest animal shelter or local rescue center. It’s free, and provides a needy animal a home.
Great list but this one is misleading. Most shelters require a pet adoption fee and even then pet care can be expensive. Pet adoption from a shelter is a great thing (I’ve got 5 from different ones) but shelters have to have a way to pay for housing and feeding animals that thoughtless people have so blatently disgarded.
Great list! Although last I checked the local pound charges about $80-$100 to adopt a cat, and more to adopt a dog.
The Beer Soap Companys last blog post..Rosemary Reloaded Shaving – Shampoo – Bath Beer Soap – Made with Tyskie Polish Ale
http://www.freeshipping.org/, once charge me $140.°°…. there is nothing free in this life
marco ruizs last blog post..Vivir en superlativo
you cannot get an animal for free from a shelter or rescue
all the shelters i have ever been to have an adoption fee. As well as rescues. Try again mr list maker
This is a good list. But the animal shelter in my are does have an adoption fee for a pet. Better to go to Craigslist or to a freecycle group for your pet. I was able to save 2 kittens last year. I also got a beautiful dog, who had been abused and now is loved and taken care of.
Also, on the water issue, my tap water is okay for cooking and I have tried to drink it, but it has a funny after taste and I do not drink as much water then. So I buy my water in gal. generic if it is possible.
17: You drink water that comes outa the ground? lol.
Major cities, sure. But some locations just have a ‘well’ and that’s ew.
Actually well water is much better where in my city. The city adds too many chemicals to the water to be any good.
Pets adopted from shelters are not free. The local county kennel where I work charges 80 dollars for a dog. But that includes neutering, several of the necessary shots, worming, and heartworm check. And the dog license. It also includes the use of the facility. They have areas where a potential adopter can get to know the prospective pet. And of course they do have a large selection. Its still a lot cheaper and often better than a breeder. But its not free.
And on exercise: going for a jog is not a replacement for a workout with machines or free weights. Treadmills and crosstrainer machines can be used when its cold, dark or raining outside. Jogging in the park is great, but its not a replacement for real body building equipment.
No. 12: Actually, I had to pay for all three pets I’ve adopted from shelters. The cost for a teeny little kitten was $75, which included all of the shots, etc. It was so cute, I couldn’t say no. =)
Even though shelters charge a fee you can still get pets for free if you’re not picky and you’re willing to wait. Kittens come up all the time in the summer on freecycle and you see people giving them away in store parking lots sometimes. Free pets are possible, just not as easy.
@astroboy; I’d rather run up and down the stairs than pay for a treadmill.
Not a bad list, but if the only place to get books was the library, people would stop publishing them. Besides, most bibliophiles want to own their books. We even buy hardcopies of our favourite webcomics and novels.
Actually, as far as packing supplies go you don’t have to go dumpster diving. My dad buys and cells antiques on e-bay – just call up the local USPS and ask them to send you some boxes, they’ll even mail them to you for free.
Im not sure if you know, but the newspaper has been around for an incredibly long time and people have been paying for them for just as long. Just like you pay for access to many news sites you should have to pay to get the news paper. Unlike with the internet where you will read the news from someone who can barely write, newspapers employ journalists who have gone through school and have at least a baccalaureate in Journalism and English. You’re not paying for the news, but the quality of it.
Also. what is printed in the newspaper is 100% fact. Many times on the internet, the facts are embellished and/or made up.
You should add ‘music’ to the list (laughs at that Cyanide & Happiness comic).
Great article. One note, most local pet rescue centers charge anywhere from $20-$100 for pet adoption to cover for spay/neuter services and medical checks. Still a much better deal than buying a “pure breed” which have a much higher (medical etc) cost of ownership.
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I’m getting this crazy feeling like maybe shelters charge for pet adoptions. I don’t know why, though, since only two or three hundred of your readers felt the need to bring it up. Won’t anyone tell your poor blog readers about these fees? ANYONE?
Great list–thanks for the information!
lolwut@tap water one
Do you know what stuff gets through the tap? I can’t drink mine without feeling sick because it tastes horrible. Yeah sure bottled water isn’t much better, but at least it doesn’t taste like chemicals.
Good list, but one that should be included: “using the restroom”… It’s appalling, but some businesses (and airlines) have started charging for the privilege of using their loo, which could be considered a human rights violation.
Unfortunately OpenOffice still isn’t 100% compatible with Microsoft Office no matter how much people want to believe it is. There are plenty of viable alternatives to Word, but there is no substitute for Excel.
Re: 3. Banking Services–Just say NO to paying bank fees.
Try doing that in Mexico. Free services do not exist. Worst damn gougers in the world.
one word
online p0r9!!!
Point 2 “…Don’t pay for a credit card annual feel.” I certainly would feel violated!
There are lots of free things in life and you listed few of the best ones. Thanks.
Good job! Well done except for the one about the pets….and don’t forget once a pet owner you have to provide food, shelter and vet care… The last one can be very heart wrenchingly expensive….I paid over 1,000 $ last yr. to save my shelter pet’s life….. She ate string… and I did not have the money. We are still paying that huge bill off and struggling month to month….on the verge of loosing everything…praying for a miracle….daily.
in my experience, i have had to pay up front, to have my pets rendered sterile. and i have adopted many animals from all kinds of shelters in my time. i have also been asked for a donation- usually $5 or $10. i don’t think that’s a lot to ask. it’s been a while since i adopted- maybe close 8 or 10 years, so things may have changed. but even if it’s $50-$100, i don’t think that’s too much to ask. on the other hand, pet food and proper medical care is expensive! i have 7 animals and while i would never give them up, it’s almost like raising a child… everyone should think long and hard before adopting- you are taking responsibility for another life. the one thing i can’t stand is the person who “get’s tired” of caring for a pet or neglects their pet. it’s a commitment for the lifetime of the pet. and that should be understood first and foremost.
I pay for my credit card. The amount of money that gets put on it every month more than compensates in travel rewards, and the card has some cool features for when I travel.
True, not everyone need to pay for one, but it can be worth it.
@Alec:
Newspapers employ journalists, but so do many online sites (stories via AP, for example). But, the newspaper is at the whimsy of its advertisers just like TV news. They can, have, and will “limit” the facts to those that don’t upset their biggest advertisers. I was like you, until I found a most heinous example of this from our major state paper. Disgusting.
Pets shelter fees: I always look to shelters. The fees you pay cover health care costs (testing for worms, spay/neuter, etc) and not much else. When was the last time you walked in a pet shelter and thought “wow, I’m not sure my house can compete with this!” These are costs that *should* be considered no matter where you get the pet from (e.g., craigslist, freecycle), the difference is the shelters force you to be a somewhat responsible pet owner.
Water from tap.. no. 20yrs ago…yes. today…no
Pur 3 way filter 17 to 22 $ -3 month supply.
@ DevLano: Uhm, doesn’t all water come from the ground at some point or another? I hope you aren’t buying bottled water because that most certainly came from the ground, or worse, some stream that animals have been defecating in.
@ Alec: The newspaper is 100% fact? Awwwww bless your heart.
@ b7: Right on! Except children. There’s no way you can convince me those buggers are free.
How the hell can you say don’t buy books!?!?!
Sure you can get a book from your library, but how is one supposed to get a book collection for their house if they are only borrowing from the library!?!
And yeah, pets are NOT free from shelters and rescues… that’s 10% of this list… being wrong!
@ DevLano: I have well water, and it’s much more delicious and pure than anything I’ve tasted in *any* city.
17. Water :
Because regional tap water in most places around the world tastes terrible, not to mention isnt filtered/cleaned to near the amount of quality you should be wanting. Yes, this in particular includes the US..
#11 is most definitely not free. Adoption fees, food, water, vet bills, etc.
#16 might be free, but I think most women will pay for the peace of mind that there is safety in a gym rather then going out and running or jogging and risk getting attacked.
#17 isn’t free either. I pay a month fee for my tap water, which tastes like shit. So I just drink Dr. Pepper and get my water from there.
Suggestions? Sure, quit writing.
#16 exercise.
I’ll disagree with this on four counts. One is that, as Geenik said, many women will prefer to be in a building where it’s relatively secure, rather than covering half the city on foot alone or with a friend.
Secondly, outside is cold for half the year, and wet for half of what’s left. People who exercise outside are less likely to do so as often, as it’s much more tempting to put it off… again.
Thirdly, there’s a lot of power in the argument “I’ve paid so I’ll go”. This is half the reason I go to the gym. I pay the membership, and then I can convince myself I have to go to make it worthwhile. Otherwise I make a lot more excuses to not bother.
Facilities: Weights, rowing and swimming pools. Yes, outside has a road for running on, and you can buy a bike and cycle on it too. But while these are both good for cardio activities and weight loss, they’re useless for strength building (and no, I don’t just mean weightlifting) or for exercising more of the body.
Rowing and cycling will cover everything important between them, but swimming is the best all-in-one workout you can get, and how do you expect to row without a boat? They’re not cheap. My main reason, however, is that for guys particularly, weights are a big part of going to the gym. Running will make you healthy, but skinny, and most people don’t have a lot of room at home for an expensive multi-gym.
Find a cheaper gym, it won’t be as nice, but you aren’t there for the look of the place. Take an iPod and stare at the wall.
You should pay for the newspaper because it’s high quality journalism that keeps you informed over the goings on outside of your box and beyond your feeble horizon in a tried and true format. Your information will be wrapped up in eloquent writing for you by intelligent, sometimes even brilliant persons, who can help you achieve a new point of view, or look at a topic with its full background, rather than just scouting rss feeds of “news” you would’ve heard about anyways, because you’ve picked and mixed them to suit your interests.
That’s why.
Water haha so true, $20 for a glass of water in the burj al arab…
Show me a local shelter that gives away animals. The Humane Society requires $$ in exchange for animals. I’ve never heard of a FREE animal adoption.
“Everything in the newspaper is 100% fact…” What planet did you just arrive from?
I just wanted to say that the free cell phone they give you with the contract renewal is usually a basic POS. If you want anything touch, or “high tech”, you have to pay for it.
Also- humane societys and animal shelters never give away free animals. How could they possibly? They have to buy all that food and other things for the animals, not all of it is donated. I’ve paid $40 each time I’ve rescued cats.
Yes the list is good and all are the essentials we all desperately need. Hope it does work out this way though, these things and services for free. A dream come true. Thanks for the update.
I buy books and newspapers because I like to support the industries. I also just like owning lots of books.
FALSE: Adopt a pet from your nearest animal shelter or local rescue center. It’s free, and provides a needy animal a home.
There is a cost to print legal documents.
Pet’s from rescues may not be free by the time you pay for shots and stuff. Your free pet could be $125 to $200.
Ben Koshkin
Exercise was a silly entry. Sure, if you want to go for a walk that’s great, but any serious exercise requires equipment, even if it’s only $5 for two dumbells.
Terrible list.
1) Gets you your report, but not credit score. To get that, gotta pay.
2) Many for-fee credit cards (Amex comes to mind) offer incentives programs worth far more than the fee. My fee for an Amex is around $59 per year. I estimate I get $400-600 worth of incentives (free travel, gift certificates, etc.) per year.
4) For the majority of people, a competent tax professional will save you far more in tax than you spend on his/her fee.
6) For-pay quicken is far better than the free versions. Things like electronic bank integration can save hours of data entry. Well worth the few bucks.
9) True for common software, but a lot of specialty software is purchase only.
11) Most shelters charge adoption fees these days.
17) Tap water is not potable everywhere.
20) As an attorney, I make a fair amount of money fixing problems cause by “free” legal forms – it’s not the form, it’s knowing which form, when to use it, how to modify it, etc.