Most of the things you want in life cost money. But not always. Here’s a round up of six things that will improve your day-to-day life and which are entirely free.
Software
Contrary to what Bill Gates would have you believe, you don’t have to part with a wad of cash to get decent software for your computer. For years now the office software suite of choice has been Microsoft Office. And if you can’t afford the £70 price tag for that, you have generally ended up stuck with Microsoft Works, the fairly crummy sibling of Office that comes free on most computers.
But you don’t have to be a slave to Microsoft. I’ve spoken before about OpenOffice. It’s a completely free software package that is said to be as good as Microsoft Office. Last week I finally downloaded it. And I’m happy to report that so far I’m impressed. It has a word processor, spreadsheet tool, presentation program, drawing tool and a database system – so all most of us need. So far I’ve used Writer (the wordprocessor) and Calc the spreadsheet and both have been as good as Office.
OpenOffice has been able to open the Office and Works files on my computer without problem and I can save documents in Office format so that when I send them to other people they have no problem opening them. It all seems to be pretty good. And best of all it’s free.
Anti-virus protection
Sticking with the computer theme, note that you can also download free virus protection software. Instead of paying up to £70 a year for virus protection from companies such as Norton you can download protection from AVG. I’ve been using AVG for years and a virus hasn’t got past it yet. It has anti-virus and anti-spyware programmes and checks that every web page you visit is safe.
Eye tests
Anyone under 16 or over 60 is entitled to a free annual eye test through the NHS. However, if you fall between those ages but work on a computer for several hours each day you are entitled to free eye tests too under Health and Safety laws [pdf]. Ask your employer for more details of how your company operates this system. Some offer vouchers and others will simply reimburse you the cost.
Enjoying this article? Sign up for our free weekly email, MoneyWeek Saver, to receive free weekly personal finance tips and insight direct to your inbox from our expert, Ruth Jackson.
Sign up to MoneyWeek Saver here
Furniture
For a wide range of free stuff try Freecycle. Anyone can advertise on this website via their local groups. The only rule is that what you advertise must be free (and legal).
Just join, tap in your postcode to find your local group and see what you can get. Furniture, musical instruments, baby goods, it’s all on there and it’s all free.
Books
This may sound like an obvious one, but the nation’s libraries are criminally underused. The average book now costs £7.99, so if you get through one book a month your reading habit will be costing you nearly £100 a year. But if you joined your library you could read all those books for free. You would also get free internet access and rock-bottom prices for renting music, audio books, language course CDs, and DVDs – you can rent a DVD for an entire week for around £1.50 for example.
Food
The recession hasn’t been all bad. The number of deals available at your local restaurant and bar have soared as these places try to get hard-up customers through the door. You could enjoy two-for-one deals on main courses at Strada this week, or two-for-one at Pizza Hut. Or just head into your local Giraffe restaurant before 10:30am on a Wednesday (the deal finishes on 16 June) and ask for a coffee and they’ll give you it for nothing. It’s all part of their Wake up Wednesdays promotion.
• This article is taken from our weekly MoneyWeek Saver email.
Sign up to MoneyWeek Saver here