Mailbox Day!

I love getting the mail. Mostly because I get a lot of stuff for free! I definitely am not someone who will sign up for something just because it's free, but if it's something we use then I'll sign up for it, especially because it will usually come with a coupon or two as well. Below is a pic of everything I've gotten for free in the mail for the past couple of weeks.

• "Green" coupon book - full of coupons for organic and health foods
• A bag of popcorn, along with a coupon for $1/2 (a lot of times the coupons that come with free samples are higher value than ones you'll find in the Sunday paper or online)
• Puffs Plus Sample, along with 4-5 coupons for $0.50 off and one coupon for $1 off. This sample came from VocalPoint, a marketing website that anyone can sign up for. They send you free samples and coupons in hopes that you'll spread the word, share coupons with friends, and come back and leave feedback on the products you receive. I usually bring the extra coupons to work (let me know if you want one!)
• 3 $25 BP gas cards!! Tom and I joined this program, Commute Smart, where they basically reward you for carpooling. We were only supposed to get 2 gas cards, so I need to call them and see if they want me to send the 3rd one back (I'm hoping they'll say, "We appreciate your honesty - why don't you keep it?!")
• Kotex U - free tampons and coupons
• Dove for men shampoo - great for traveling or for the gym
• Shape Magazine - A few months ago there was a promotion where you could get a free 1 year subscription to Shape magazine! This is great for reading at the gym!

How do you even find out about free samples? Usually I find out from some of the other frugal or money-saving blogs that I follow in Google Reader. I rarely go "out searching" the web for them. Occasionally I'll check Walmart's Free Sample section of their website but mostly I just sign up when something interesting pops up in my google reader.