Unexpected Freebies

[Christopher K.]

My University gives us a free bus pass that seemingly nobody uses. Joke's on the people who don't, I've saved 5-8 bucks a day on parking!

What are some things that you guys get for free (without stealing ) which would normally need to be paid for?

[Velaryon]

I don't have to pay overdue fines at my library, so that's something I guess.

[Algeh]

I end up getting free admission to a lot of conventions, because I keep getting roped into being on various convention committees. Of course, I spend hours and hours of my time working on the convention (usually both before and during, sometimes only during), so it's a mixed benefit at best...

Last year I went to 5 conventions and only paid full price for one of them, paid staff discount rate for one and got into the other 3 free as staff or concom. This year I'm only doing three, two of which I'm getting in free and one of which I continue to pay full price for to have the luxury of having one con a year where nothing is officially my problem. I generally still end up helping out at the one I'm not on committee or staff for, but at least I can limit it to a few things I actually want to help with so I get to enjoy the con as a whole. If I wanted to, I could easily work a con a month or more in terms of cons in the area who might take me on as staff, but I'm feeling overwhelmed as-is.

[tomandtish]

My University gives us a free bus pass that seemingly nobody uses. Joke's on the people who don't, I've saved 5-8 bucks a day on parking!

What are some things that you guys get for free (without stealing ) which would normally need to be paid for?

Through work as a state employee I get free Microsoft Office on my home computer.

I also can park free at some of the downtown parking lots (I live in the Austin area so some of you may know how hectic and expensive parking can be down there on weekends).

[Fri]

Yesterday my cat led me to some uneaten biscuits. It sniffed some pack of biscuits which I thought was empty, but they wouldn't be interested on it if it's empty so I checked and it turned out there's still some biscuits in it, which is a nice surprise. My friend told me it's a surprise that my cats led me to food I don't know I have, because usually they make food I thought I have to disappear.

[Jethro_Thrull]

My roomie and I got 40 bucks off our monthly rent, AND a free carpet cleaning.

[Eldan]

As technically a government employee (around a lot of corners), I get to use most public transporation at half price. Or for free, if I buy the reduced-cost all-inclusive ticket.

[lunaticfringe]

I also get discounts on rent for fixing stuff, keeping the hallways clean, and shoveling the walks when it snows. that's not really free but I was doing it for free anyway.

I have a free Sam's Club membership, HBO Go, and Amazon Prime through work.

[Themrys]

Yesterday my cat led me to some uneaten biscuits. It sniffed some pack of biscuits which I thought was empty, but they wouldn't be interested on it if it's empty so I checked and it turned out there's still some biscuits in it, which is a nice surprise. My friend told me it's a surprise that my cats led me to food I don't know I have, because usually they make food I thought I have to disappear.

The ancestors of the house cat live together in groups of female cats who babysit each other's kittens and hunt for each other.

It is why cats bring home dead mice.

Your cat must be the next step in evolution, a cat who knows what to feed its human.

[The Ari-tificer]

A little while ago, our internet modem broke down.
AT&T replaced it for free, so now we have wifi that not only works in all parts of the house (the last one didn't), I can also stay connected to it in a radius of about a block from our house.
So... yay.

[Peelee]

One of my best friends gave me his account info for a streaming service, so I get that free. Another of my best friends made a profile for me in his Plex server. My work pays for my Amazon Prime. I got a free Coke machine with my house. I also got a free house with my house.

Pretty good deals there, I gotta say.

ETA: had a friend who decided to cancel his cable to save money. He lived in a trailer at the time. The pole was in a ditch, and the only way to access it was to reverse a pickup halfway into the ditch, put a ladder on the bed, and climb the ladder to disconnect his cable.

I think about five techs were sent out over six months. When they knocked on the door, friend was always nice and helpful. Told em where it was, and they would spend maybe five minutes assessing the situation before saying "hell no" and driving off. Eventually they just stopped sending techs. Free cable til he moved.

[BWR]

Free internet. One ISP wanted to put a small node on our property so that was the deal. Not the package with most bandwidth but it's enough for our purposes.

[Mikemical]

The coffee they make at the office is pretty good.

[Velaryon]

I hadn't really thought of this, but Algeh's comment reminded me:

I volunteered at the American Library Association's booth at C2E2 this year, which got me in to the last day of the convention for free.

[Vinyadan]

Some people think that clothes at the washroom are a freebie...