Free Stuff Sign by Jeremy Brooks (CC BY-NC)
Have you ever heard of “free” oil changes for a year, but then soon come to realize you need to buy the car in order to get the perk? Unfortunately, there’s really no such thing as a free lunch (okay, maybe sometimes). Here are 12 “free” things that might actually end up breaking the bank rather than saving you any money.
Have you ever seen those heart-wrenching “free pet” ads on your local online marketplace? I sure have — and I’m not ashamed to admit that I fell for the promise of a “free cat.” I don’t regret adopting my little guy from a social media listing and I certainly don’t regret the money I’ve spent on him but it’s safe to say that there’s no such thing as a “free” pet, especially when you factor in a lifetime of food, supplies, vet bills, medical issues, and more.
According to a thread on Quora, this is made even worse the larger the pet gets. You’ll often find “free” horse advertisements. However, before jumping at the chance to fulfill your childhood dream of owning your very own pony, keep in mind that the cost of owning a horse comes in at around $15,000 per year.
Free trials always seem like a great idea. Why wouldn’t you want to take advantage of something like having access to a brand-new streaming platform for a couple of months without having to pay for it? Unfortunately, most of these free trials require a credit card number to gain access to the deal, and there’s a good chance you’ll forget to cancel your subscription when the free trial is over. These streaming services bank on your forgetfulness; it’s such a small dollar amount per month that you might not even notice the charge unless you’re on top of your finances and reading your credit card bill line-by-line.
Okay, so this “freebie” isn’t exactly free, but the upfront cost is basically free. You know those viral one-Euro houses for sale in Italy? It seems like an absolute dream come true to be able to escape the rat race and retreat to the Italian countryside, never to worry about the cost of housing ever again.
That old adage of it "being too good to be true" suits the situation perfectly. A quick Google search will drum up dozens of accounts from Americans who opted to purchase these Italian homes who didn’t read the fine print before purchasing. Purchasing one of these homes is essentially an agreement that you’ll put tens of thousands of dollars into repairs and invest in the local community within a defined amount of time. You can’t even live in the house full-time once it’s renovated if you’re not a citizen of the EU because the deeds don’t include residency in Italy.
The promise of free shipping will get you every single time if you’re not careful. Most retailers will offer “free” shipping as long as you meet a certain dollar amount. You’ll want to keep in mind when shopping, though, that adding a random $10 item to save the $5 shipping fee actually means you’re spending an additional $5 on an item you didn’t even want in the first place.
I almost bite every single time I come across an ad for a “free” sailboat. It’s one of my biggest dreams to have my very own boat, and the promise of getting one for free lights up the dopamine department in my brain almost every time. That said — look at any sailing community forum and you’ll quickly see that a “free” sailboat starts to add up as soon as you pick it up. You’ll have to pay for moving it, storing it, fixing it up, and maintaining it for as long as you want to use it.
Credit card perks like airline miles or gift cards seem like an awesome deal — but you only receive said perks if you’re spending enough on your credit card. These advantages can be worthwhile as long as you’re responsible with your cards and pay off your balance in full every month. If you’re overspending or going into credit card debt (to the tune of 20% interest in most cases), you’d be better off just buying the flights outright.
BOGO — buy one, get one — sales seem like the perfect opportunity to pick up whatever it is you’ve been eyeing. But it’s important to remember that this is essentially just a 50% off deal that makes you pay 100%. You’d be better off waiting for the item to go on sale rather than purchasing two when you really only need one.
If your friends or family are going through a decluttering phase, they might be trying to offload certain items onto you. Free items can be great but more often than not, you’re simply becoming a free storage locker for their unwanted items. The next time you’re offered a bunch of clothes or small kitchen appliances from a friend who is moving out of town, consider saying no or only taking one or two items you know you actually need.
Theoretically speaking, if you eat more than your average amount of food while at an all-you-can-eat restaurant, you’re getting the additional plates for free. However you’ll want to keep in mind that most all-you-can-eat restaurants are more expensive than a la carte places and the quality of the food is usually not as high.
Beauty samples are awesome — but the big box beauty stores only give the good samples when you’ve spent a significant chunk of change at the beauty counter. Either that, or when you’ve achieved status in their loyalty program, which requires spending thousands of dollars.
If you’ve signed up at a check-out in order to receive a free gift or discount, chances are good that you’re going to be paying for it with your time for years to come. That one free gift or discount is going to result in unlimited promotional emails and texts until you remember to take your name off the mailing list (and sometimes even then, it doesn’t always stop).
Buy 12 coffees, get a dozen donuts for free? Sign us up! This was an actual promotion I would take advantage of as a college student. Who doesn’t want a dozen donuts for free? However, these punch-card style rewards always end up costing you more in the end. If I had just made my coffee at home, I could have bought at least three dozen donuts for the price I paid for the cafe’s brew.
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