Give Us Free Fridays – Lather, Rinse, Repeat

When I find something I like I stick with it. All of my jeans are Gap 1969 Skinny in a size Mind Your Damn Business X-Long. When I lived in Michigan the servers at the cafe around the corner from my house would ring in my order as soon as I walked in the door. When my running sneakers wear down I buy the same ones, put another 300 miles on them and do it again.

It’s not that I don’t like to try new things. If something is completely foreign to me I’m all about giving it a go. That’s how my friends got me to doggie paddle my Black ass half a mile on my back in Lake Michigan for a triathlon. However, when something works for me, I find no need to deviate from a sure thing. If I’ve only got $15 to spend on brunch I’d rather get the French toast that I know will make me happy (and do you know how hard it is to find good French toast? Egg dipped bread ain’t cutting it.), than to have mouth watering menu descriptions trick me into ordering what turns out to be unseasoned chicken breast with a side of despair.

When it comes to finding things for $Free.99, I’m no different. While I am always down for new ways to not spend my money, I tend to revert back to what is tried and true. The thing is the same method can yield a multitude of bounties. I go back to the same wells of mystery shopping, events, Jimmy Johns, etc. and constantly pull up new treasures. Let’s see what’s been in my bucket recently.

A Date With Denzel

Thanks to Intelli-shop, a couple of screen shots and an evaluation got me a free movie ticket, popcorn and Skittles for trying out a new ticket purchasing app. I decided to see Roman J Israel Esq. I’m more of an Idris girl, but I can respect Mr. Washington’s O.G. sex symbol status. Mind you none of Glory Denzel was on display with this character. Nonetheless, he was magnetic as always. Overall, the movie was aight. The supporting characters were pretty weak and the storyline dragged toward the end. I’d been wanting to check it out, but I’m glad I didn’t pay to see it.
Value: $23.10

Sunday Brunch

Bestmark’s* brunch assignments are the equivalent of the pizza served at all college events. They’re unremarkable yet punch high above their weight class as a result of being free. I am a self-proclaimed brunch connoisseur and I take my meals between 11a.m. and 2p.m. very seriously. With that being said, if I can feed myself and a friend a whole ass meal plus dessert for $35, then I am not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. I can put salt on my own eggs with that deal.

Aquatic Yet Educational Fun

Ever since my graduate school held its winter formal at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium I have been obsessed with going to the bottom level and adopting one of the penguins. I didn’t see them that night because that area of the venue was closed by the time I arrived.

But since that night I have imagined a colony of penguins awaiting my arrival and me giving one lucky tuxedoed bird a forever home in my bathtub. It only took four years for me to finally buy a ticket to go back. But not really! Thanks to yet another mystery shop I finally got to spend time with those cute waddlers for free. Unfortunately, someone must have known that I was coming because there was always a thick glass barrier between me and my new pet. Super disappointing. To temper my disappointment I watched Flipper and his bandmates synchronize swim.

Value: $66

Sundry Things

I picked up other goodies over the course of the last week. A new admits cocktail party thrown by my graduate alma mater got me full on hors d’ouevres, dessert, and club soda. Jimmy Johns once again came through with the free bread. And as previously mentioned, the Debt Free Divas not only hooked me up with lunch at their Capital One Cafe Scavenger Hunt finale, they also sent me home with enough leftovers for me to eat for days.

Your Turn

I’ve shown you mine, now it’s your turn. What are your favorite go-to’s for getting free stuff? I tend to gravitate towards food and entertainment. Where do you focus your efforts? Leave your thoughts in the comments and don’t forget…

*If they ask who referred you feel free to use my ID: IL40841.Full disclosure: if you complete a shop with them I may get a small bonus.

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