30 Twitter bargain hunters to follow.

If you're a Twitterer and you like saving money, you might want to check out this list of 30 Twitter deal hunters to follow. Many of them are mommy bloggers, which isn't exactly my cup of tea or my preferred freebie genre, but having deals and freebies piped directly to your Twitter homepage might give you a reason to actually check it once in a while.

Free Chocolate Friday, again!

Yawn, it's Free Chocolate Friday... again. When did I become so blasé about getting coupons for totally free candy bars? I'm sure I'll be excited again when the coupons actually arrive in six weeks. Remember, you can sign up four times per household, so keep going back until you're all stocked up for this Halloween! Then you can be the COOL HOUSE that gives FULL-SIZE CANDY BARS.

Free Vitamin Water at Target with $1 coupon.

So this is a freebie with an extra step, but if you're feeling parched and only vitamin-enhanced liquid will do the trick, you'll want to pay attention. Ralph's grocery stores has a printable coupon for $1 off a Vitamin Water, and Vitamin Water is currently $1 at Target on sale. So you print the coupon, take it to Target (it's a manufacturer's coupon, so it's good anywhere), and hey presto! Free beverage.

I'm not generally big on coupon clipping, but when the coupon makes it free, that's a whole different story. Glug glug!

Free baby hippo 'poo.

At least, that's what I think it is... it's kind of hard to tell. It's either shampoo for baby hippos or hippo shampoo for baby humans. But it's pink! And it has a cute cartoon animal on the bottle. Sign up for your free sample and your one-way ticket to Lather City. Whooo whoooooo!

Free donuts on National Donut Day, June 5.

June 5 is National Do(ugh)nut Day, and you can enjoy free circles of fried, sugared dough courtesy of these fine folks:

• Dunkin' Donuts - Free donut, your choice of any kind, with beverage purchase
• Krispy Kreme - Free donut, your choice of any kind, no purchase necessary
• Mighty-O Donuts - Free organic mini-donuts, one per customer
• Apparently Southwest Airlines, bizarrely, celebrated NDD '08 by making a "donut tour" and handing out packages of donuts at a few airports, but no word on whether anything is planned for '09

Stay tuned for more donut day updates!

Free Yogi tea sample.

Feeling a bit clogged from all that free ice cream and meat over the holiday weekend? Cleanse your palate with a free sample pack of Yogi tea.

As I recall, I tried a packet of this once and found it to have an oddly spiced ick taste, but there's nothing like a free sample to get me to try it again.

$10 rebate on Polar Ice vodka.

Yet another sweet rebate deal on vodka... you can get $10 back by mail when you buy one 750 mL bottle of Polar Ice flavored vodka. They have the usual flavors (blueberry, cherry) plus some unusual ones I haven't seen before (huckleberry, northern maple), so it's worth checking out, for sure.

Two refunds are allowed per household, but it sounds like they want a separate form for each one, so split your purchases up accordingly.

Free Kiehl's shaving cream.

Menfolks, Kiehl's is running a pretty awesome promotion: a shaving cream swap. Just bring your old, used, even empty shaving cream can (must be at least 4 oz) to a Kiehl's store between May 29 and June 7, and they'll give you a choice between three kinds of their fancy shaving cream. That's a $15.50 value! You even get some free samples.

The fine print implies that you might have to sit through a sales pitch, so go on the weekend when they'll be too swamped to bother with that.

Borders 6-in-1 super coupon.

Well, this is different - Borders frequently sends out coupons, but this time they sent a many-headed beast of a coupon that appears to be good on all kinds of things. Such as:

• $10 off one DVD set or computer book
• $10 off one hardcover over $35
• $5 off one tote bag, game, CD, history book, sports book, cookbook, or reading glasses
• $2 off one travel book, sci-fi book, magazine, romance novel, or kids' book
• FREE SMALL COFFEE

As far as I can tell, you can combine coupons on your purchase (i.e., you can get $5 off a tote bag and $2 off a sci-fi book in one purchase), and it's very rare that they issue coupons for magazines, so now might be the time to check out that fancy foreign-language or slick design magazine you've been coveting. And wash it down with a free coffee, of course!

Free Burt's Bees lip balm if you get up at 6 am.

Burt's Bees is celebrating their 25th anniversary by giving away 25,000 free lip balms. But not in one fell throw-them-in-the-air swoop - in the most annoyingly stingy of ways. Each day for 25 days, between 9 am and noon EASTERN time, they're giving away 1,000 lip balms to the first registrants. Or, excuse me, a "chance" at a free lip balm. Not sure exactly what that means, but I'm sure as heck not getting up at 6 am if they're not even guaranteeing a free lip balm!

Once again, our friends on the East Coast steal a march on us. Enjoy, early risers.

Free Ice Cream Day May 30 at Walmart.

Who doesn't want to spend their weekends with their good buddy Walmart? Going to Walmart is like going to your friend's house who has COOL parents that stock the freezer with Bagel Bites and Drumsticks and don't care how many you have before dinner.

On May 30, you can swing by Walmart for your free ice cream. Technically it's a free ice cream "sample," which means "small," but they actually offer some decent brands, like Ben & Jerry's and Dibs. The free ice cream happens between 11 am and 4 pm, so plan your day accordingly.

Barnes & Noble coupons, for members.

I'm only posting these here as a curiosity, since I rarely see Barnes & Noble issuing coupons... and it turns out the reason is that you have to belong to their (annual fee) members club in order to get them. But on the off chance that you have a B&N membership and haven't seen these coupons, you can save a few bucks on Father's Day books and get yourself a free cookie.

Free Blue Moon bottle opener.

Now that summer is officially here, there will be puh-lenty of beer-drinking opportunities... and you'll want to have lots of beer openers lying around for your guests' boozy, clumsy convenience. Well, you can get a free beer opener when you sign up for Blue Moon's email club!

I like Blue Moon beer, and I like it even better when it's opened, so this freebie seems to be a no-brainer...

Free 32 oz. Seventh Generation cleaner.

I like Seventh Generation cleaning products already, so I'm probably not the target market for this particular "go green" freebie. But you bet your boots I'm going to sign up to receive a free 32 oz bottle of Seventh Generation Free & Clear cleaning fluid anyway.

You'll also get a pamphlet of info on going green, and some helpful links to websites with further information, so it's essentially a little bundle of good karma plopped into your mailbox.

30% off Borders coupon.

So you missed the awesome 40% off coupon this holiday weekend? Not to worry, you can still save with this almost-as-good 30% off Borders coupon. This one is good through 5/31, so you have a little more time to get down to your local Borders. As always, you need to be a Borders Rewards member to use it, so make sure you're all signed up to receive these coupons in your inbox.

Free Gillette deodorant AND sweepstakes.

Don't be fooled by this page, it looks like a sweepstakes but it's actually a freebie in disguise. I mean, yes, you can enter to win one of 20 photographic prints of famous sporting personages or something, but more importantly, you can get a free sample of Gillette anti-perspirant and deodorant. Just remember to check the box at the bottom that says, "Yes, I want a free sample."

And who knows, you might win a picture, too. Um... if you're into that kind of thing.

Free Black Angus steak dinner on your b-day.

I don't usually go to chain steakhouses, and I think I've only been to Black Angus once in my life, when I was still a kid but old enough to be horrified by the prices. Luckily, you can get a free dessert when you sign up for their email club and then a free steak dinner on your birthday. It doesn't appear to have any strings attached, but I guess we'll find out in a month or so when my b-day rolls around and my coupon shows up.

Free Smirnoff Ice cooler for $5.

The only thing I love more than advertising for companies for free is paying them to do it. Now I can enjoy both with this generous offer of a "free cooler" for only $5, courtesy of Smirnoff Ice.

Well, technically it's a "cooler pack," which looks more like an "insulated bag with tacky logo" to me, but I guess that's an okay price for an insulated lunch bag that can hold a 12-pack of Smirnoff Ice bottles. Still, any so-called freebie where I have to enter credit card information just sticks in my craw.

Sorry, residents of CA, PR and UT, you are not eligible to participate in this promotion. You'll just have to buy your own free $5 insulated lunch bags at the store.

BOGO at Soupplantation.

Soupplantation fills me with ethical dilemmas. On one hand, I really dislike their bizarrely inappropriate name with its slavery-related connotations - and there's no reason it should be called that, because, well, soup doesn't really grow on plantations. Mostly you just get cotton, tobacco, and man's inhumanity to man.

But on the other hand, they do offer a delicious and reasonably priced all-you-can-eat array of soups, salads (pre-mixed and salad bar), hot dishes, and desserts. AND they're offering a BOGO coupon through 5/31 at Soupplantation and their less-offensively-named Sweet Tomatoes sister chain. Luckily, I don't think there are any in the Seattle area, so it removes the difficult moral quandary rather neatly. But now you have a tough decision to make.

40% off any one book at Borders on Mon., Memorial Day.

Evidently Borders has extended their 40% off one book coupon to include Monday, Memorial Day, as well. The email I received said "Oops! We meant Monday!" in the subject line, which makes it sound like they screwed up, but who knows, it's probably just a coy marketing ploy.

Whatever - when Borders bats its eyelashes and throws a 40% off discount my way, I'm not one to ignore it. Enjoy!

Guide to grilling cheaper steaks.

Want to grill up some cow this weekend, but don't want to pay a fortune? The Washington Post has created this handy PDF guide to grilling cheaper steaks. It explains the grades of beef, where these cuts are on the beast, and grilling techniques to make sure your meat is properly done... because nothing takes a bite out of grocery-bill savings like a trip to the ER for your whole family.

Free ground beef from AmazonFresh this weekend.

At first, when I saw the subject line "Free Ground Beef - This Weekend Only," I figured it was the latest wave of bizarro spam. But no, it's a genuine offer from Interwebs grocery delivery service AmazonFresh.com.

When you enter code GROUNDBEEF at checkout, you'll get two packages of organic ground beef patties free. It's less exciting when you realize that a "package" is 2 patties, so you're getting four patties total, a mere drop in the holiday BBQ bucket.

Still, free is free, so if you were planning on having crates of food delivered conveniently to your door this weekend, you may as well throw some beef on it. (Note: They'll be closed on Memorial Day, so order early for your parties.)

40% off any book at Borders, May 22 and 23.

Before you head off on that grueling road trip with the family, swing by Borders and pick up any book for 40% off, today or tomorrow. That's the best coupon they offer, so if, say, you don't own Pride and Prejudice and Zombies yet, now would be the time to pick it up.

This coupon is good for Borders Rewards members only, but you should really be signed up for that anyhow, because they send lots of coupons ALL THE TIME.

Free Chocolate Friday for all!

It's Friday, and that means free chocolate for you when you go to this magical website and type in your address. You can sign up for the coupon four separate times, so even if you don't think you need any more, get one and use it to bribe a kid to mow your lawn or something.

BOGO Frosty-cino at Wendy's.

Jeez, I guess summer is officially here, because it's nothing but ice cream freebies this week. Well, here's another deal: BOGO Frosty-cino or Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty when you sign up for the Frosty Club. I do not know what the Frosty Posse is, but they look like a bunch of fun guys who enjoy wearing white and frozen beverages, and I can get behind all of that.

BOGO "31 Below" at Baskin Robbins.

I don't really know what a "31 Below" is, but by the looks of it, it appears to be Baskin Robbins' answer to the Blizzard. Well, if you're curious, you can try one and share one with a friend using this printable BOGO coupon.

It's good through June 21, so even if you're shivering in Seattle, you should be able to enjoy this during some warm summeresque weather.

Free Blue Bunny frozen yogurt.

A weekend BBQ or picnic wouldn't be complete without frozen treats, right? Because children should be as sticky as possible at all times. Send in this rebate form with your UPC code and receipt, and you'll get reimbursed for the purchase price of a box of Aspen or Sedona frozen yogurt treats.

Your receipt has to be dated 5/23, 5/24 or 5/25, though, so watch those dates. That frozen yogurt isn't going to rebate itself.

$10 off $30 at Party City.

Good news if you were planning on throwing a birthday party, BBQ, or beach blanket bonanza this holiday weekend... Party City has a coupon for $10 off a $30 purchase in-store. And the fine print doesn't say you can't use it toward a helium tank, soooo... that's kind of a party right there. Just saying.

Free ice cream at Friendly's.

Oh, Friendly's. Why can't you bring your free ice cream here, right up next to my hungry face? Or even somewhere in the state of Washington?

Anyway, on June 6, Friendly's is giving away free cups or cones from 12:00-5:00 pm, if you live in one of these 11 states: MA, FL, VT, PA, VA., NJ, CT, NY, OH, MD, or ME. You can find a location near you here, but as usual, it's "participating locations only," so you may want to call ahead before you go.

Free salami in your mailbox.

My free-summer-meats theme rolls on with this offer - sign up and receive a free sample bag of salami in your mailbox! You'll be joining their "VIP Tasting Panel" by doing so, which probably means you'll be on their junk mail list 4-ever, but... free salami!

It's been independently confirmed that this freebie does work and you get an approximately 2-oz bag of salami, so, you know, that's enough for a decent sandwich.

Oscar Meyer wiener coupon.

My hot dog has a first name, it's F-R-E-E-E...

Get a coupon for some hot dog action when you sign up with your email here. Actually, now that I look at it, it certainly implies that the hot dogs are free, but it could also be read that the coupon itself is what's free. Still, if you were planning on grilling some dogs this summer anyway, you might as well save yourself some $$$. Who knows, maybe they'll feel generous and send you some free meat, too.

Free Frozen Mango or Pomegranate Lemonade at Corner Bakery.

Now that Memorial Day Weekend, is upon us, I will only be posting summer-related deals and freebies from now until Labor Day (see previous post about $1 flip-flops at Old Navy). Next up: a coupon for a free Frozen Mango or Pomegranate Lemonade at Corner Bakery.

Alas, Seattleites, there don't seem to be any locations in Washington, but if you're traveling someplace that they have a Corner Bakery this weekend, print a coupon and let the frozen frolicking begin.

$1 flip-flops at Old Navy, May 23.

Memorial Day Weekend! Summer's totally almost kind of partly HERE!! And you know what that means... a) you can wear white and b) you can wear flip-flops. White flip-flops, if you're feeling REALLY crazy.

On Saturday, May 23, all solid-color flip-flops will be just $1 at Old Navy. If you've been in their stores recently, then you've seen the wall of flip-flops in every imaginable color, and for just a buck, you can get one to match every single summer outfit! Granted, they're like $3.50 normally, which is still a good price. But who wants to spend this weekend outside in the sun when you could be shopping at Old Navy?

Free Arm & Hammer toothpaste.

Clean off those dirty teeth with a free sample of Arm & Hammer toothpaste! Apparently clicking the link may not work, so you might have to copy/paste this directly into your browser:

http://armandhammertrial.com/

Man, look how happy that lady looks with her white teeth. She is stoked about dental hygiene. Wouldn't you like to wake up in the morning feeling like that? You know what to do.

Purina pet samples.

Even pets love free stuff - well, pets probably appreciate it most of all, especially when it's something they can eat. Teach your furry friends the value of thrift with these free Purina samples. Click the "Give Your Pet a Taste of Purina" banner and receive your choice of Purina® Fancy Feast® Cat Food (3 oz can) or Purina® Beggin' Strips® Dog Snack (3 oz sample).

Heck, if you're a crazy cat lady, you could eat 'em yourself... but you want your babies to have the best, don't you?

Free Elizabeth Berg novel.

Want a free book by Elizabeth Berg? Okay, then go here and fill out the form, and they'll send you a complimentary Mystery Book as thanks.

What's that you say? You've never read anything by Elizabeth Berg, and so you don't know what to fill in the comments field where it asks you to give your thoughts on her book The Year of Pleasures? Well, I can't help you there. I have no idea where you could find information that would help you crib answers.

4GB memory card for $8.

In need of some handy, portable data storage? Who isn't, these days? This 4GB card will be enough to capture many a photo and video, and it's just $8.25 PLUS free shipping, which is a pretty awesome price.

I haven't bought from this store before, so caveat emptor, but if you just want some backup/duplicate storage for your camera, this is a steal of a deal.

Crafty Crafterson: Make your own play dough.

Well, this isn't really something I can personally endorse, because the smell of Play-doh made me gag as a kid and I hated, hated, HATED it. Still do. Buuuut, if you're looking for an inexpensive way to whip up some fun-time dough product, here is a recipe you can try.

What else can you make at home for a fraction of the price of the fancy, store-bought version? Let us know in the comments!

Better than free: Wise Bread's money-saving book is $-5!

What's better than free? Getting PAID for free stuff. Wise Bread has a new book out, "10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget," and they want you to have it so bad that they'll pay you $15 for a $10 book*! Furthermore, they're giving away 5 Flip Minos cameras for those who participate today.

How this works is, you order the book today and forward your Amazon receipt to the email account provided, and they'll put the credit into your Ebates account when you sign up as a new member. It kinda blows that existing Ebates members (like me) aren't eligible for the $15 promotion**, but Ebates is a good online-shopping-rebate site, so if you don't already belong, you should totes sign up for this offer.

**I actually emailed them about it, because I was annoyed that the homepage claims "everyone" can get the refund when that's not really the case. Updates to follow if they reply today.

Free Drinkin' Mate hangover cure.

The best part about this sample is that when you click on the link, it says, "Please be patient with us. We are experiencing an unexpected demand. We will ship your free sample as soon as possible." There's a whooooole lotta drunks in the world, and apparently they ALL want a magic hangover cure pill.

Sign up for your sample and try to stay sober until your fizzy cure arrives!

Free fiber for the old folks.

No, seriously, fiber is an important part of your healthy diet and most Americans don't get anywhere near what they need. So if you're not double-fisting whole wheat pitas stuffed with spinach and bananas right now - RIGHT NOW - you should really sign up for this free sample.

Looks like they come in several delicious fruity flavors, too, so it's almost like eating actual fruit, sort of. And you don't even have to have teeth!

Free DiGiorno's Flatbread Melt.

Today's the day for free DiGiorno's flatbread melt coupons! Or, as the website says, "get your hot lunch here." Tee hee.

(But alas, you need to install the Coupon Printer, so by the time I get home to my home computer, the coupons will probs be gone. Boo!)

U-district Street Fair = free samplefest.

I almost forgot, but this weekend is the U-district Street Fair, wherein hundreds of vendors brave dicey weather to present their arts, crafts, services, and delicious foods for your pleasure. The values on the handmade stuff run the gauntlet, though there are always bargains to be had for the eagle-eyed, but more importantly, this fair is a free sample and promo fiesta! In the past, I've gotten free sodas, free hippie granola and snack bars, free pens, free lip balm, etc. etc. There's also free live performances all day; get a map of the whole shebang here.

Parking, as always, will be a bummer, but I like to park at 50th or higher and just walk down - it's easier than circling around for 20 minutes searching for a spot. Too bad nobody will be giving out free umbrellas - that's something everyone would be clamoring for.

Free hippie magazine subscription.

I just learned about Ode Magazine fairly recently, but apparently it's one of those feel-good, green, home-gardening-NPR-listening-reusable-tote-carrying hippie magazines dedicated to environmental and karmic topics. Now you can get a free one-year subscription when you join RewardsGold, which appears to be a free survey site. If you're curious about it, you can read the FAQ here and find out more.

Survey sites can be lucrative - I've earned lots of free subscriptions, gift cards, and even cash through up-and-up ones. Remember, you should never have to give out personal financial information to a legit freebie site! But if you email me your Social Security and PIN number, you'll qualify for a special Titanium Diamond HTN Membership with even better freebies...

Free journal at Barnes & Noble with $50 purchase.

Dear Diary: Right now, there's a special offer at Barnes & Noble - when you buy $50 worth of stuff, you can get a free journal in one of four bright spring colors. It normally retails for $12.95, so that's a pretty good deal if you were planning on stocking up on some entertainment media anyway.

It's a wee 4"x6" book, but that could be a good travel journal or to-do-list keeper for your bag. I'm partial to the azure one myself, but all the colors make me want to hit the beach...

Free Chocolate Friday strikes again!

Don't forget to head over to get your free candy bar from M&M/Mars every Friday. You can only get one coupon per Friday, but you can request four coupons per household during this promotion, so this should be your golden ticket to a summer of free, delicious melting chocolate. I'm going straight for the Dove bars myself.

Free Hawaiian Tropic body butter.

Hawaiian Tropic wants YOU to have a sample of their After Sun Body Butter. Supposedly it's moisturizing and hydrating with "special island conditioners" and all that, but what I'm really after is the delicious coconut scent. I'm having a serious tropical phase right now, buying fresh pineapples and mangoes, and slathering tropical fruity body wash, lotions, and perfumes all over myself. BRING SUMMER TO ME!!!

Free popcorn from Yahoo.

Yahoo! wants to give you a bag of free popcorn as you have a tearful goodbye with your old TV before kicking it to the curb for a slick new "green" model. That's the environmentally friendly thing to do, right?

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and it's on the right-hand side. Then, as they say, you can proceed to "get poppin'."

Six Pounds of Pens is back!

SIX POUNDS OF PENS is back! For $14 + $5.99 shipping, you can get six full pounds of click pens - that's 318 pens, or a normal person's lifetime supply. They're misprints or seconds from a pen printing company, which means there might be hilarious typos on there for an added bonus.

If you're in need of a multitude of pens, this is the deal for you!

40% off coupon at Levi's.

Only recently have I started shopping at Levi's - I mean, I've always liked their jeans, but the prices tend to scare me away. Luckily, this weekend they're having a 40% off Friends and Family event - and you can be a friend too!

Click on the link, enter an email address, they'll send you a promo code that can be used online or in stores. It also signs you up for promotional emails, so make sure to blow the dust off that AOL account for this one.

Free Kellogg's All-bran Pack.

Bran is, um, good for you, I guess... and some people seem to like it. If you're one of them, you can sign up for your free 10-day All-bran kit here, which includes the following:

1 sample of Strawberry Medley Cereal
1 Strawberry Drizzle Fiber Bar
1 Red Raspberry Fiber Drink Mix

I find just thinking about bran takes away my appetite, so maybe it really can help you lose weight.

Class-action settlement for Fuze Slenderize.

Speaking of fruity beverages, apparently there's a class action settlement out there for Fuze Slenderize drinks, to the tune of $4.5 million. It seems that, allegedly, "Fuze’s marketing, advertising and labeling of its Slenderize, Vitalize, Refresh and Tea beverages misled consumers regarding ingredients contained in the beverages, as well as their potential functional benefits. The lawsuit further alleges that Fuze misled consumers of its Slenderize beverages by claiming or inferring that the product promoted appetite suppression and/or weight loss."

Fuze decided to settle, and their fail is your win. If you purchased any Fuze Slenderize in like the last five years, you can submit a claim for up to 10 bottles by July 10, 2009. Of course, that means you're publicly admitting that you believed a fruity drink would magically help you lose weight, but a buck's a buck.

$10 off $20 at Buca di Beppo.

I've never been to Buca di Beppo, but apparently it's a vaguely Italian-themed family restaurant chain. We do have them in Seattle, and I've always sort of meant to go, but now I have a good reason to: a $10 off $20 coupon.

Just print the coupon and take it with you when you go. That sangria looks awfully tasty in the picture...

Free Fling candy bar.

What is Fling? Oh man, it's like a chick-lit novel you can eat: hot pink wrapper, delicate girly handwriting font, coyly "naughty" puns about "having flings" and "enjoying flings" and "flings with the girls." I can feel my testosterone surging to compensate as I type this.

Well, anyway, you can get a coupon pack for a free single Fling and a coupon off a box of them.

"FLING™ is a light truffle on a subtle, crisp layer, enrobed in shimmering chocolate that’s as glamorous as you are. At under 85 calories per finger, it’s slim, but not skinny. Indulgent, but not greedy. Naughty, but nice. So you won’t regret having a FLING™ whenever you want one.

"FLING™ comes in three delectable flavors — Milk Chocolate (10-count or singles), Dark Chocolate (10-count) and Hazelnut (10-count). You never know when you’ll need a FLING™. It’s perfect for an afternoon snack, with tea or coffee, or just while having fun with the girls!"

Okay, okay, Fling is tasty like hot sex. I GET IT. Can I have my free candy now?

Free Bodycology samples.

Despite its somewhat icky name, Bodycology is a line of scented girly bath products, not a grisly medical procedure that may or may not be covered by your insurance. You can try a free sample of hand soap, lotion, and mist in either Coconut Lime or Brown Sugar Vanilla. That appears to be "and," not "or," as in, you get a trio of samples, which is pretty cool.

I like both limes and coconuts, and I find that vanilla-scented bath products often just smell like wet dog, so I think you know which flavor I'm going for. If you go for the Brown Sugar Vanilla, let me know how it is in the comments!

BOGO Snapple coupon.

Delicious, fruity Snapple, your taste takes me back to the mid-'90s, when you were new and hip. Well, as hip as a lightly-juiced fruit beverage can be, anyway. Ooh, although actually, I think Sobe might have been somewhat cooler, what with their crazy bottle designs featuring that scary tribal gecko.

Get your BOGO offer by becoming their Facebook fan, then clicking on the Coupon link to print your coupon. Yeah, I know it would be better to just get one for free, but this encourages you to share. Or have twice as many liquid calories, I guess.

$10-15 refund on Pearl Vodka.

Make every hour a happy hour with this excellent rebate offer from Pearl Vodka. You can get $10 back on a 750 ml bottle and $15 back on a 1.75 L bottle through 12/31/09 - and you can do it twice! You do have to fill out the rebate form, send in your receipt and UPC, etc., but I can vouch for the fact that it actually - hic! - works.

A 750 ml bottle costs $20, so that's $10 after the refund for a pretty tasty vodka. They also make some fruity flavored vodkas, so if you're curious about trying pomegranate or blueberry but wary of investing a lot in the experiment, now's your chance to branch out.

Free Jenny-o loser turkey.

A little bird told me that tonight, Jennie O's website will be giving away coupons for free turkey (up to $5 value), to coincide with the finale of "The Biggest Loser." The show is evidently at 7:00 pm CST, so the online giveaway will probably start around that time too.

25,000 coupons won't last long vs. a nation of hungry fatties, so register right at 7:00 CST or you might not get your free turkey! I've actually had their ground turkey and their turkey sausage and it's pretty good, so you might see me in line.

Free one-day membership to Sam's Club.

Well, this falls under the umbrella of Walmart evil, but if you're interested, you can get a one-day membership pass to Sam's Club for free. I suppose this might be good if you're planning a party and need to buy a vat of potato salad and a pallet of hot dogs or something - I've never been inside, but if it's anything like Costco, then I'm sure there are deals to be had. Plus free samples on weekends too, probably.

Free shipping, samples at Lancome.

Through May 15, you can get some sweet deals at Lancome.com. Free shipping on any order, plus two samples with your purchase (a mascara and an eye shadow compact) - no coupon code necessary.

With promo code MAYBEAUTY, though, you get a cosmetic bag full of treats with your $50 order. And with promo code UNIQUE, you get a sample of their new fragrance, Magnifique. AND if you sign up for a My Lancome account, you can get still more deluxe samples at checkout, including a lipstick, mascara, moisturizer, or makeup remover. Super score!

Free sample of El Dove Energy Glow tanning moisturizer.

Again from our Spanish-speaking friends at Univision, you can score a free sample of Dove Energy Glow self-tanning moisturizer. Don't worry, the page is in English via Google's page translator. Futuristic!

Free DiGiorno Flatbread Melt coupon, May 18.

Freezer pizza tycoon DiGiorno's is expanding into frozen sandwiches, it appears, and you are the beneficiary. On May 18, they're giving away 100,000 coupons for Flatbread Melts*, starting at 12:01 am - so don't let those sneaky EDT people steal a march on us!

This is the link, but it does not appear to be working yet. Here's the story, so you know I'm not just making this up.

*Those would be "premium, single-serve hand-held meals with toasty flatbread folded over Italian-inspired ingredients such as white meat chicken, fire-roasted vegetables and delectable cheeses."

Free smoothie on National Flip-Flop Day, June 19.

I know this is WAY advance warning on this one, but I like to post these things so I don't forget them, and then remind you when it's closer to the actual day. The latest bogus promotional pseudo-holiday is "National Flip Flop Day," which is June 19, and on that day you can get a free 24 oz. smoothie from the Tropical Smoothie Cafe when you enter the store wearing flip-flops.

No locations in Washington, boo, but you can check this map and see if you're one of the lucky states that can enjoy a free smoothie in about a month.

You can also sign up for their email club and get a free smoothie on your birthday, so really, there's no reason you should have to pay for a smoothie ever again.

Free scoop of Haagen Dazs, today from 4-8 pm!

Today only, get a free scoop of any "Bee-built" ice cream flavor (I'm assuming that means it's some hippie-dippie flavor made with honey or something) from 4 to 8 pm at your local Haagen Dazs.

Seattleites, the one and only participating location (maybe the only location) around here is the U-District one at 4301 University Way NE. Good news for hungry students, bad news for, well, anyone in any other neighborhood.

On a related note, if you care, you can go here to hear them whining about how hard their lives are and how their shrinking carton sizes (but not prices) actually reflect their commitment to quality and better business. Mm hmmm. I'll take the free scoop, please.

Free ice cream day at Walmart = free money day at dentist.

Free ice cream is really good. But Walmart is really, really bad. ARRGHH! It's a dilemma, one you'll have to look into your own heart to resolve.

Free Ice Cream Day is May 30 (Memorial Day weekend, so I'm sure you've got nothing better to do) at your local participating Walmart. You can choose between a few different kinds, one sample per person. Seattleites, looks like the closest participating store is in Federal Way, so that might be a little far to drive for an individual cup of Ben and Jerry's. Or it might not.

Last free Redbox code evar!

For a while now, the Redbox in-store DVD rental kiosks have been running a seemingly too-good-to-be-true promotion: each Monday, they'd release a promo code for a free 1-night rental on any movie. Well, the promotion is finally over... almost. They were going to kill it in May, but in response to popular demand, they decided to phase it out slowly, going from one code a week to one code per month through the summer, before giving it the axe.

Today's final Monday free movie code is 6A43JK, so go nuts while you can. And if you haven't heard of Redbox until now, here's a quick guide that explains it all.

Free Nescafe Taster's Choice pack.

Looks like Nescafe is feeling the looming threat of Starbucks' VIA instant coffee... they're offering a free sample six-pack of their "Taster's Choice sticks," whatever those are. Guess I'll find out in about six weeks via my mail.

When you complete your email registration, it assures you, "We'll drop your sample in the mail... probably quicker than you'd get to the front of the line at Starbucks." That's a lot of sass-talking and no coffee sticks in my mailbox yet, Nescafe.

Free sample of Ragu spaghetti sauce.

I'm not sure what a "sample" of spaghetti sauce would be. A foil packet that's just enough to put on one bowl of pasta? A coupon for a free jar? A futuristic tablet of freeze-dried sauce to reconstitute in your microwave? The mind boggles.

Well, anyway, fill out this form to request your free sample, and the mystery will be solved. Actually, I see it's a "chance" to receive a free sample of spaghetti sauce, but, you know, if that seems worth it to you, go for it.

BOGO blueberry beverages at Tully's.

It's spring, right? Spring? Spring? Well, maybe if we purchase and enjoy delicious fruity blueberry beverages, it will be.

BOGO blueberry drinks at Tully's. There's a Blueberry Shake and Bellaccino, a Blueberry White Chocolate Mocha, or you can add a Blueberry "BLOOST" to any smoothie. The coupon is good through May 15, which still won't actually be spring, but you might be able to see spring on the distant horizon by then.

Oprah Chicken Fiasco Update: KFC issues rainchecks.

Did you (like most of America) rush out with Oprah Chicken coupon in hand this week, only to be shot down by KFC's badly mismanaged promotion? Don't throw away those coupons yet. You can stop by a KFC store and fill out a form, along with your coupon, and they'll send you a coupon in the mail for a free meal with Pepsi (the original offer didn't include a drink).

They're staggering the new coupon dates so that it won't overwhelm the franchises so much, which hopefully means the stores will actually accept them this time. Of course, they're still making it as difficult as possible to GET your free chicken, but it can be done.

Update on Free Chocolate Fridays.

So I went to the Free Chocolate Fridays website to try and get my coupon for a free candy bar... like everyone else in the free world, apparently. The offer does work, but it is SLOW. I mean S-L-O-O-O-O-W. It goes like this:

1. Type in your birthday to verify... something. Click "Submit" and wait five minutes.
2. Read welcome message, click to Register Now. Wait five more minutes. Get a few error messages.
3. FINALLY get to the registration page, enter your info, wait a few more minutes.
4. In about six weeks, you'll get your coupon!

So it's anything but instant gratification, but still, free chocolate is free chocolate.

Mother's Day freestravaganza!

Here's your Mother's Day free stuff roundup so far:

• Free TCBY for moms on Mother's Day
• Free breakfast at IKEA for moms
• Free Mother's Day gift at Avenue (but it's a plus-size store, so tread carefully...)
• $10 gift certificate for a future visit at Outback when you eat there on Mother's Day
• BOGO rose-flavored organic lip balm for you and Mom to share
• Free dessert at TGIFriday's with purchase of an entree... aaand free rotting snakehead!
• Free slice of pie after 4 pm at Bob Evans, whatever that is

Stay tuned for more updates as we discover them. Remember, your mom would WANT you to save money by getting free stuff for Mother's Day... right?

Free Oxyfresh toothpaste sample.

Jeez, after all the freebie and cheap treat offers I've been posting lately, you'll probably want to brush your teeth extra-hard to scrub off all the free sugar. Now you can do just that with a free sample of Oxyfresh toothpaste. Just fill out your name and address in the comment field and click "Submit," and minty freshness will be on its way to you shortly.

This post is sponsored by your dentist. He says to tell you to floss.

Free Mother's Day breakfast at IKEA and "tax-free" weekend.

Before you take your mom to El Pollo Loco for some delicious Mother's Day free chicken (using your rejected KFC Oprah Chicken coupons), you can stop in at IKEA first for a free Mother's Day breakfast and cup of coffee.

Seattleites, at our Renton store, the offer is good from 9 am to 10 am only, so get your gjetosts down there early if you want your free maternal breakfast.

On a related note, this weekend is also a "tax-free weekend" at IKEA, meaning that if you belong to their Mobile Messaging program, they'll text you a special promo code. Take the code to the store, print a coupon at the IKEA Mobile kiosk, and you'll get a coupon for 9.5% off all your purchases. So if you were thinking about getting that JARGLOBERSTASK sofa to spruce up your living room, now's the time!

88-cent soft serve at Baskin Robbins.

Personally, I'm not a fan of soft-serve - it's just not ice cream and it never will be, and I find its swirly tube shape extremely unappealing. But I know a lot of people out there are soft-serve fans, and to show that I don't judge you, I'm sharing this Baskin Robbins promotion where you can get a 6 oz. soft-serve cone for 88 cents.

Apparently they also have flavored, color-changing "magic sprinkles" that change color once they hit your soft-serve cone, which is just... weird. Nice try, BR, but it will take more than magic to make me want to eat soft-serve.

Free Sun(flower) Butter sample.

I was confused when I first saw this listing (anyone else want some butter that takes 4 to 6 weeks to arrive in the mail?), but it turns out that Sun Butter is sunFLOWER butter - like peanut butter, but, um, not. So I'm requesting my free sample now and we'll see what comes in the mail.

Use authorization code 3569 when you're filling out the form.

KFC Fail = El Pollo Loco FTW.

You gotta love how El Pollo Loco has pounced on the KFC Oprah Chicken fiasco to deliver a stinging blow AND get some free promotion in one fell swoop. Bring in your rejected KFC meal coupon to an El Pollo Loco on Mother's Day and they will honor them! ZING.

Alas, they do not appear to have any Washington locations, but it's good news for those of you in other states who got denied free chicken.

SoCal residents: Free Metrolink tickets.

Southern CA peeps, sign up here to get four free Metrolink tickets! That's two free round-trip tickets per registration.

I just signed up for it (hey, I have friends in SoCal, we use Metrolink sometimes) and it doesn't appear that you have to live in southern CA to sign up, so if you're feeling generous and you have Cali friends, maybe you can sign up and mail them the tix when you get them. Or use them on your next visit!

Mother's Day $10 gift card giveaways at KFC.

In case you've gotten burned by the free Oprah chicken meal hoo-ha at KFC, you have another chance to make good before Mother's Day. Register here, and if you're one of the first 200 people at 9:00 am Eastern time, you'll get a $10 "gift check" to KFC. This is a daily giveaway through May 10, so set your Outlook reminders and sign up!

Free Mother's Day mystery gift at Avenue.

This is very mysterious. I don't know what Avenue is, but they're offering a coupon for a free Mother's Day mystery gift starting tomorrow, May 8, through May 10.

Oh, okay, it looks like it's a plus-size women's store, and you can find a store locator here. Seattleites, there are a couple scattered around the metro area, but not particularly conveniently - one at Alderwood, one in Renton, etc. These sundresses are pretty cute, but should I be bummed that the "plus size" model is thinner than me?

Free Almond Accents sample.

This one might be gone already, since it was open to the first 100 registrants (cheapskates!), but it might be worth a try anyway: free Almond Accents 3.75 oz sample bags. Available in Honey Roasted or Oven Roasted No Salt, unless the samples are already gone, in which case available flavors are bitter disappointment and salty tears.

Free strawberries at the grocery store.

Safeway shoppers, you may already know that you can go to their website and print coupons to take on your grocery runs. BUT did you see the coupon for free strawberries? Go to page 2 of the coupons and check it out. Apparently all you need is your Safeway club card and the coupon (though you will have to install a coupon printer, if you don't have it already).

They're also at Randalls, Vons, Dominicks, and Tom Thumb, so no matter what weirdly-named grocery store you have in your area, you should be able to cash in on this offer.

Free Chocolate Fridays from M&M.

Admit it, you could use some free chocolate, couldn't you? Well, Mars is here to help. Every Friday through September, starting at 6:00 am Eastern time (ouch), go to their Real Chocolate site to receive a coupon for a free Mars candy bar - your choice of Dove bars, M&Ms, Snickers, Milky Way, Twix, and more.

Also, if you scroll down, you'll get to see a fun rant about how THEY use REAL chocolate, unlike SOME OTHER CANDY MANUFACTURERS who use cheap, tacky ARTIFICIAL INGREDIENTS. Not sure who annoyed them so much *coughhershey'scough*, but clearly, we are the beneficiaries of their ire.

Buy 3 Hallmark cards, get free votive holders.

I happened to stop in at Bartell Drugs on my way to work this morning, and saw that Hallmark was having a promotion - buy three cards and get a set of two mosaic votive holders free. (That top tab that says "FREE" rips off.) It's intended for Mother's Day, but I just got three regular cards - including a couple of cheapo 99-cent ones - and it still counted!

$3 for 3 cards and 2 votive holders is a no-brainer. If you can't think of anyone who would like the votives, just throw them in your gift drawer for your next hostess-gift emergency. And if you ever receive these votive holders from me, forget you read this.

Tulle's spring sale, $3.99 and up.

I hadn't heard of Tulle until fairly recently, but I now own two cute coats from them - a ruffled iridescent dark blue raincoat and a short red cotton trench. They can be pretty pricey, but right now they've got a spring sale going for $3.99 and up. There's tops, jackets, dresses, leggings, you name it... but sizes run small (or I run fat), so you may want to order a size up. For $3.99, you're not going to want to go to the hassle of returning it, but then, for $3.99 you may not even care.

BOGO rose lip balm for Mom, with free karma.

I'm a big fan of Peace Keeper's 73% organic lip balm, which has a tingly mint flavor. I really like their natural nail polish too, especially when they periodically offer BOGO deals. Plus, they give all their after-tax distributable profits to women's health advocacy and human-rights issues, and their products are slave-labor-free, fair-waged, no-animal-testing, and they offer vegan products. You don't even have to try to rationalize a beauty spree here - it justifies itself!

Just in time for Mother's Day, you can try their new "Perfect As Is" lip balm, which is 75% organic and is made with natural rose flavor, stevia, and a bunch of natural oils. The lip balm is .25 oz, which is almost twice as big as your standard lip-balm tube, and with promo code MomPK09 it's a BOGO offer. Plus, when you order three, you get free shipping, so throw one of their Eco-Sensual lip balms in your cart and you're good to go (I think that's cheaper than shipping would be, anyway).

If you're stumped for a pretty, karmically sound Mother's Day gift, look no further!

Free 5-lb. Cinco de Mayo burrito at Taco del Mar.

Buenos dias, gluttons... are you up to Taco del Mar's 5-lb burrito challenge? If you can choke one down in half an hour or less, it's FREE. No word on how much it costs when you finally whimper, "No mas!" and collapse face-down in bean mush, though.

Free KFC meal, courtesy of... Oprah?

OK, I don't really understand why this is called the "Oprah Winfrey Show" coupon, but whatevs. KFC's latest gambit in promoting their "un-fried" grilled chicken is an offer for a two-piece free meal, which includes two pieces of grilled chicken, two sides, and a biscuit.

There's some interesting fine print here, which I don't really get either. You can download and print this coupon from 9am CDT 5/5/09 to 9:59pm CDT 5/6/09 only, but you can use it from 5/5/09 to 5/19/09, excluding 5/10/09. Why not 5/10? Who knows?* You can print the coupon four times, but only use it once per person at participating locations.

Sounds like a fustercluck just waiting to happen (Bawk-AWWKK!!), but maybe this will be better organized than other recent free-food giveaways.

*Oh, right, Mother's Day. Stay classy, KFC.

Four-course dinner for two, $39 at PF Chang's.

Scoff if you will, but I don't mind PF Chang's. I know it's a huge chain and I know it's not authentic, but I've always enjoyed their food (especially the crispy honey shrimp, mmmm) and it's good for groups, even with picky eaters and veggies.

Now you can get a four-course meal for two for $39.99. You choose two cups of soup, one starter, two entrees, and two mini-desserts from the prix fixe menu. Yes, you can get their famous chicken lettuce wraps, and yes, my beloved honey shrimp are included, as is the yummy Dali Chicken. I think I might be talking myself into dinner here!

Free Arby's iced tea on National Beverage Day.

I might finally have a reason to go to Arby's... tomorrow is apparently National Beverage Day (and although the idea of a holiday devoted to beverages pleases me, I'm pretty sure it's just a lame marketing stunt) and you can get a free iced FruiTea at Arby's just by going in and asking for one.

There's passion fruit, mandarin peach, diet peach, and diet blackberry, which all sound tasty. On the downside, you have to go in and say the words, "I'm parched, FruiTea me," which I'm not sure I'll be able to do.

Clinique Bonus Time... now with customizable gift!

I love Clinique Bonus Time as much as the next girl, but I admit that it's a bit of a mixed bag. Sometimes it's full of stuff I'll actually use, and sometimes I poke through it and think, "Gaahh, I guess these are going in the next beauty swap." If I had a nickel for every Clinique black mascara I've acquired, I'd have... enough to buy my next Bonus Time qualifying purchase.

Well, no more! Order from Clinique.com and you can pick the contents of your Bonus Time gift. Start with a choice of one of two springy green bags, and then the website leads you through the process of choosing 7 different kinds of samples from various categories. By the time you're finished, you'll have a beauty kit full of hand-picked items that are just what you wanted! The downside is you have to pay for shipping... but they're offering free shipping with a $40 purchase, another great excuse to spend even more.

Free True Shimmer Chapstick.

Walgreens is giving away 10,000 free True Shimmer Chapsticks, and one of them could be for you! Sign up with your email address, and they'll notify winners via email - I assume they'll email you a coupon that you can print and take to the store.

They're also giving away a bag of Revlon products worth $100, so you could totally score here.

Redbox Free Movie Monday code.

OK, everyone, the free Redbox rental code for this week is BT73H9. Use it today only and get a free one-night DVD rental!

If you're not familiar with how Redbox works, check out this handy explanation guide from Hey It's Free.net.

Free Hallmark card + postage.

Hallmark is really pushing their new paper card service, where you can create and customize a paper card online, then pay them to mail it for you. You can try it for free by using promo code APRILCARD at checkout. Just create your card and choose "I Want Hallmark to Mail My Card For Me." Get your Mother's Day duties out of the way early!

I tried to make an Easter card the last time they offered a promotion like this, and first it censored my swear words out of the card, and then it apparently never sent the thing. So I'm not sure if this offer actually works, but I'll try it again and let you know. If you try it and the card actually arrives, leave a note in the comments!

Free museum days sponsored by Target.

Not to be outdone by B of A's free museum days, Target says YES HUH THEY CAN DO THAT TOO IN FACT THEY TOTALLY THOUGHT OF IT FIRST. However, theirs isn't clustered around a particular weekend of the month, but spread out on different dates, which makes it a little more complicated to remember.

There are quite a few offerings in California and Chicago, but just one for Seattleites: free First Saturdays at the Asian Art Museum. The SAAM also offers free First Thursdays for everyone and free First Fridays for old people, so there's really no reason you should ever have to pay for admission if you plan carefully.

2009 Entertainment Books are now $15!

I don't need to tell you AGAIN what a great deal the Entertainment Book is, right? First of all, it has hundreds and hundreds of coupons in there for restaurants, museums, attractions, movie tickets, and so on, so you can't tell me there's nothing in there for you.

Second, now that it's on sale for $15 with free shipping, it'll pay for itself in no time! One example: use the BOGO coupon for admission to Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo, where tickets are $16.50 per adult. In one fell swoop, you've made your money back, so you can kick back and leisurely peruse the book for all the other great savings. (I also like the discount movie ticket coupons, which take tickets from $10+ to $7.)

Get thee to Entertainment.com and order your book already! Don't make me tell you again.

$5 off $10 at ThinkGeek.

ThinkGeek is chock-full of crazy, amazing, awesome geeky gifts, and browsing through their site is like letting me loose in a geek candy store... until it comes to checkout time and their outrrrageous shipping slaps me in the face. Ouch!

Now you can use a couple of handy coupon codes to mitigate that pain. $5 off $10, which is a pretty good deal, or $10 off $40, which is still 25% off. Don't put off purchasing that popping edamame keychain any longer!

Coupon code: 9C4 ($5 OFF $10)
Coupon code: PUZZLING ($10 OFF $40)

Free 12 oz. coffee drink, 40% off a book at Borders.

Well, this is a pretty good coupon... you can get a free 12 oz coffee beverage from the Seattle's Best Coffee kiosk inside Borders. Downtown Seattleites, it just so happens that the Borders at 4th and Pike has a coffee kiosk in it, so you know what to do.

It doesn't explicitly say so here, but I think you might need to be a Borders Rewards member in order to use this. But aren't you already? You get great coupons and deals all the time, and it's free!

While I'm at it, here's a coupon for 40% off any book, so you can get something to read while you're sipping on that iced latte. This one you definitely have to be a Rewards member to use, so sign up! See, I told you you get good stuff...

Caress/Degree/Hellman's/Pond's freebies up again.

Yesterday the Interwebs were going nuts about this four-in-one sampleganza - so much so that the site crashed. Not to worry, today it's back, and you can get your samples of Caress body wash, Hellman's mayo, Degree perfume, and Pond's moisturizer in one visit! Just click on the brand name and then the orange "Free Sample" button.

You can also ask "Rocco" your burning beauty questions, so really, you can't lose.