“Whoever said money can’t buy happiness simply didn’t know where to go shopping.” – Bo Derek… Yes, things aren’t what bring real happiness to our lives. But getting things that are fun, pretty, helpful, and needed – and getting them for cheap, or even FREE – does bring me some serious happiness. And, since I’ve learned quite a few savvy shopping tips over the past two years since becoming a momma on an incredibly tight budget {learn why our financial situation changed so drastically here}, I put together this awesome list of all of the sites that I use to shop for free. Seriously. Keep reading to learn my 15 ways to shop for free – this is especially helpful during the holiday season!
15 Awesome Ways to Shop for Free – Perfect for the holidays!
Ok – here’s how it works. All of these sites work really similarly, and I’ve given some details on each one listed. Each site finds new products, often designers and high-end brands, and offers a limited selection of those products at rock bottom prices. The brands benefit because they get their products seen by a ton of new people – and while they’re selling their products below cost, they’re hopefully reaching loyal new customers. You benefit because you get introduced to amazing new products and brands you might not have found on your own, and you get access to them at prices you can actually afford {versus the regular designer brand prices that most of us just can’t fit into our budget!} And…. You can share the awesomeness with your fave friends and family, and earn rewards for it. Every single one of these sites will give you free money to spend when you refer your friends to join.
I {obviously} love sharing cool things that I find
Whether it’s a super helpful product, a smart resource or site, or a fab deal, I’ve always been the social type that says, “I can’t just keep this to myself, this is too awesome.” It’s why I used to post stuff to my personal Facebook page like crazy, why I love having mommy parties at my house to share products, and why I started this site – To share those amazing finds with you ladies. Because as I always say – “Friends don’t let friends pay full price.” Right?
It’s hard to believe, but it’s just a little over a 100 days until Christmas! Crazy, right? {Today is September 12th, 2012, to put it into perspective whenever you might be stumbling across this post…} Using sweet deal sites like these listed is a great way to save a ton of money on holiday shopping on it’s own {plus, it helps you find more unique gift ideas then you’d come across at your local mall.} – But it can be a total LIFE SAVER when you have tons of free credits at each one, and use those to do almost all of your holiday shopping for FREE. For reals. Last year I hardly spent any money at all, and was still able to do gifts for my friends & family, host parties, and donate to non-profits in my area – without breaking our budget. If you’re ready to jump in and do the same, these links will get you rockin’ in no time. Yes, I’m a blogger, so I have a wider network than some, making it a little easier to share & earn. But honestly – I started doing this years ago before I had a blog, and was still able to get loads of amazing free stuff for my family. Enjoy!
The Mini Social: This site is totally focused on the best sample sales for everything baby, kid, and mom related. You’ll find really great boutique brands here – but the steep discounts means that sales sell out quick! Every time you share a deal with a friend who makes a purchase, you’ll get a free $10 credit to spend. There’s no limit. Join The Mini Social.
Treehouse Tykes: This site finds awesome children’s furniture, bedding, gear, accessories and apparel, then sells it at up to 70% off. Plus, 10% of net proceeds go to the school or charity of your choice, which is so great. At this site, you get to share a free $10 shopping credit with new friends who sign up {yep, you get it too when you click that link. Awesome, right?} – Plus, you get $10 in free credit too when they make their first purchase.
Plum District: This is one of my faves, and I shop here a lot. Great deals on a really wide variety of family products – and I like that the “fine print” is very easy to find and understand, with any limitations clearly stated, to make sure you’re getting exactly what you think you are. So helpful. Join today, and every time a friend you refer makes a purchase, you get a $5 credit to spend!
Zozi: Ok – this is a ROCKIN’ site. They have incredible deals on amazing adventure trips, and super sweet savings on local day trips, events, and attractions too. At Zozi, you get a $10 thank you gift credit when a friend or family member that you invite makes their first purchase. And your friends will LOVE you when they find out how cool these deals are.
Open Sky: This is a ROCKIN’ site – You choose which of your favorite designers, chefs, or celebrities you want to follow. Then each week you get to purchase their fave finds at a BIG discount. And – you get your own special invite link to share. When someone clicks it, they get a free $25 credit to Open Sky {Seriously, click it and get it added to your new account today!} – PLUS, you’ll get a free $25 credit as soon as they make their first purchase. Uh-MAY-zing.
Totsy: This one’s been around for a long time, so many of you are probably members already. If not – join today, and invite your friends! When their first order ships, you get a whopping $15 bucks in free credit to spend on your next Totsy shopping spree. Sweet.
Moolala: This site is a little different – in a good way! It has sweet daily deals {the iPhone accessories lately have been amazing!} – and you can easily share the direct links to those cool deals with your friends. As they sign up, they go into your “Pay Matrix.” As they invite their own friends, those peeps also go into your matrix. Then every time people make purchases, you earn a little percentage of that into your account. Then you can request a check anytime you’ve got more than $5 in your account {sweet} – or spend it on the Moolala site to get a bonus bit of cash back! So cool.
Spotted Fox: This is a really cool new site that I’ve been working with lately… I love that unlike most of the deal sites, this one actually has MY city available! They’re getting new smaller markets in all the time, so it’s a great one to sign up with and enjoy the cool “Everywhere” deals until your city becomes available. When you click this link, for a limited time you’ll get a free $5 credit when you sign up. Then get an extra $5 bucks in credit every time a friend you refer makes a purchase!
HomeSav: I’ve shared these amazing home deals with you guys a few times now – VERY cool stuff. They find seriously cool collections for every part of your home, and offer them to you in limited quantities at deep discounts. And you get bigger rewards the more people you share your fab finds with – 3 friends join, get $10 in free credit. Once 10 friends join the site, you’ll get another $15 bucks in credit. And if you reach 25 friends total who set up a free account on HomeSav to get access to the awesome buys, you’ll get ANOTHER bonus of $40 in free credit – for a total of $70 dollars in freebies. Sweet.
Bloom: Get $1 in free credit every single time a new friend you refer sets up a free page. What is Bloom.com? I’ll let them explain it: “A place where real women and beauty pros share visually-inspiring beauty trends, tag products they use to achieve those looks and solve beauty dilemmas. Finally, one unbiased source that makes beauty fun and simple.” Join me at the web’s biggest beauty social network today!
Sharing Spree: When you refer friends to this site and they make a purchase, you’ll get a free $10 credit to spend on one of their amazing daily deals. What’s even better than that? Well, every purchase made on Sharing Spree means a donation to a local non-profit! So far, they’ve raised $352,519 for great causes!
Daily Deals for Moms: This is exactly what it says it is – A fun site with new deals each day, targeted towards busy moms like us. Share the family-friendly sales with friends and get $10 bucks to spend for yourself!
Moo.com: Everyone knows that Moo makes the best business cards, right? I love their super fun inspiration in each email newsletter, and that they have so many cool tools and options available to help you create incredible cards to show off your business. But, did you know that you can earn free credit to spend there too? Refer friends to Moo.com, and get $7.50 in your account when they make a purchase! {Plus, they get a sweet 10% off on their purchase when they shop from your link} – And, you don’t need a business to benefit from their cool cards – use them as “Mommy Cards,” with your name, number and email to connect with other new moms you meet at the playground. Make emergency contact cards, to give to babysitters, daycares, or inside kiddo’s backpacks. They could be super fun little mini-invitations. With the gorgeous quality of Moo printing, you could even use them to make little “baby update” cards to send out monthly to friends and family – Pic of baby on the front, growth and milestone updates on the back. So fun!
Zulily: This is one of my personal favorites to shop at – For me! They have great sale events on shoes, fashions, and accessories for me. Love that. And – share your faves with your girlfriends, and get TWENTY BUCKS in free credit as soon as they make their own first order. Sah-WEET!
Adore Me: This is a super fun site – Showrooms filled with pretty new bras, undies, and sleepwear pieces at really affordable prices. I’ve been really happy with the quality of everything I’ve ordered, and I can be pretty picky about undergarments! Also, free shipping – BOTH ways, in case you need to return ’em. And get $10 in free credit when your friends join and shop too.
UPDATE: I’m adding more of these sites as I find {and/or} remember them! Everytime I come across a new site like this, I always join – it’s just such a simple way to share deals and earn freebies. Hope you enjoy them too!
HomeMint: Awesome and totally unique home goods and art, designed and curated by Justin Timberlake. Love it, right? Join HomeMint and earn a $50 credit when 5 friends make a purchase too! {Plus, you earn points for every single dollar you spend there too!}
What do you think? Are you crazy-super-excited to start earning free credits to shop for you and your family? Ready to do this year’s holiday shopping for almost FREE? Awesome, because I’m excited to SHARE this with you guys. I’ve been meaning to write this post for months – but when I realized how quick the holidays are approaching, I realized I needed to get on it asap. Because not only do I want you guys to be able to shop free this year, but I’m also excited for you to be able to share sweet deals with your friends, and help THEM shop for free too!
Because Friends Don’t Let Friends Pay Full Price…
Do you have any other sites to add to this list? If so, I’d LOVE to learn about them! Leave your referral link in the comments below, so that we can all sign up and get YOU some free stuff too! And, if you have any great tips, stories of how sites like this have helped you, or other info to share – please leave a comment. I’d love to feature some great stories on this site!
{Disclaimer: Post contains referral links, which means I earn the same credits that you can, when you use my links to join these sites. But they are all sites that I am personally an active member on, trust, and can honestly recommend. Photo credit: AntwerpenR.}
Get $40 Free credit to spend at Paper Coterie here – http://www.papercoterie.com/?offer_id=18&aff_id=2106 with code WELCOME2012. Must use by 9/30/12. Make beautiful photo gifts – hint with $40 you can make more than 1 thing too!
Get $10 credit to ThredUp when you sign up – here http://www.thredup.com/479689. Plus get another $10 each time you refer your friends – no limit. Free kids clothes – yeay!
Those are my two favorites. (Besides Zulily, which is already on your list!)
Wow Meagan what an awesome post! I will be bookmarking it and checking out all of the neat places! Thank you for taking the time to write it out and break it all down.
I love that you did your research on this post! What a great compilation of shops. I’m a member of a few of the online shops, but not all of them. Off to sign up!
Hi Becky! That’s the BIGGEST question that I get when it comes to joining the deal sites, or using survey sites to earn extra money. I definitely haven’t had any problems, but here are a couple of tips to keep in mind:
1.) The deal sites will each send you just one email per day. That’s a new update on all of the cool stuff they have going that day, since the prices are really low and the products change quickly. No spam though, just their own email. I love scrolling through in the morning to check them out – I buy my faves, and use my referral links to share other deals with my friends, when I find things I things that I think they’ll love :) Then I’m helping them find cool stuff, PLUS I’m earning free credit too!
2.) If it’s easier, you can start a separate email address for sign ups. That way it won’t clog up your regular email if you don’t check it often, and you can just check it when you want to.
This isn’t free; all of these are pyramid schemes. You have to bother all of your friends get involved and you get your benefits based on their purchases. That’s not free, that’s mooching off of people. It’s hideous, and there’s no way I’m going to ask my friends to be a part of it. “Shop for free?” No, nothing is “free.”
Ivana, that’s not what it is at all. You can still take advantage of their amazing deals, whether you refer people or not. I shopped at these sites for a very long time before ever even knowing you could refer people and earn rewards! And… I don’t see anything wrong with sharing stuff that I think is awesome with my friends and family :) There are loads of sites, stores, services, apps, etc that I recommend without getting any “perks” out of it – I just love to share things I’m excited about.
Plus – don’t we all already do stuff like this? If you have a friend expecting a new baby, you share cool baby deals you find with them, right? Nothing wrong with that earning you a reward too. I don’t mind when my friends earn rewards for helping me find cool stuff :) But, to each their own!
"The phrase "working mother" is redundant."
I'm Meagan - a Momma, a Blogger, a Freelance Writer, and a total Social Media Junkie. I love sparkles and … [Read More...]
Get $40 Free credit to spend at Paper Coterie here – http://www.papercoterie.com/?offer_id=18&aff_id=2106 with code WELCOME2012. Must use by 9/30/12. Make beautiful photo gifts – hint with $40 you can make more than 1 thing too!
Get $10 credit to ThredUp when you sign up – here http://www.thredup.com/479689. Plus get another $10 each time you refer your friends – no limit. Free kids clothes – yeay!
Those are my two favorites. (Besides Zulily, which is already on your list!)
So many great sites! I love that you compiled them in one place for easy reference. Thank you!
Wow Meagan what an awesome post! I will be bookmarking it and checking out all of the neat places! Thank you for taking the time to write it out and break it all down.
I love that you did your research on this post! What a great compilation of shops. I’m a member of a few of the online shops, but not all of them. Off to sign up!
Do you have problems with spam/viruses and whatnot on your computer?
Hi Becky! That’s the BIGGEST question that I get when it comes to joining the deal sites, or using survey sites to earn extra money. I definitely haven’t had any problems, but here are a couple of tips to keep in mind:
1.) The deal sites will each send you just one email per day. That’s a new update on all of the cool stuff they have going that day, since the prices are really low and the products change quickly. No spam though, just their own email. I love scrolling through in the morning to check them out – I buy my faves, and use my referral links to share other deals with my friends, when I find things I things that I think they’ll love :) Then I’m helping them find cool stuff, PLUS I’m earning free credit too!
2.) If it’s easier, you can start a separate email address for sign ups. That way it won’t clog up your regular email if you don’t check it often, and you can just check it when you want to.
Hope that helps a little :)
This isn’t free; all of these are pyramid schemes. You have to bother all of your friends get involved and you get your benefits based on their purchases. That’s not free, that’s mooching off of people. It’s hideous, and there’s no way I’m going to ask my friends to be a part of it. “Shop for free?” No, nothing is “free.”
Ivana, that’s not what it is at all. You can still take advantage of their amazing deals, whether you refer people or not. I shopped at these sites for a very long time before ever even knowing you could refer people and earn rewards! And… I don’t see anything wrong with sharing stuff that I think is awesome with my friends and family :) There are loads of sites, stores, services, apps, etc that I recommend without getting any “perks” out of it – I just love to share things I’m excited about.
Plus – don’t we all already do stuff like this? If you have a friend expecting a new baby, you share cool baby deals you find with them, right? Nothing wrong with that earning you a reward too. I don’t mind when my friends earn rewards for helping me find cool stuff :) But, to each their own!