Bargain hunter, 24, reveals how her love of freebies enabled her to save the £500 deposit she needed to move into her own flat (and her top tips for bagging free stuff)
- Alice Gerwat, 24, from Guildford, saved £500 in one year by finding free items
- It helped her move in to a new rented property with her boyfriend in May
- Here, the Content Editor reveals her top tips for finding a luxury freebie
A savvy bargain hunter has revealed how she saved the deposit she needed to rent a flat without having to cut back, thanks to her love of finding freebies.
Alice Gerwat, 24, from Guildford, saved the £500 she needed in a year by simply finding free items online – and was able to move into a new rented property with her boyfriend Sam, in May this year.
After leaving university a couple of years ago, Alice noticed that most of her friends struggled to save, even with full time jobs, and knew she didn’t want to live ‘pay cheque to pay cheque every month’.
So, she started searching for free products, from toiletries to food and household goods, to help keep her spending to a minimum.
Alice, who now works for Magic Freebies, a website dedicated to sharing the best free find, told Femail: ‘When I receive a treat through the letterbox, I get a little buzz and it satiates that need to buy stuff.
Alice Gerwat (pictured), 24, from Guildford, saved a staggering £500 in a year by simply finding free items online
This helped her move in to a new rented property with her boyfriend in May. Pictured: Alice outside her home after having recently moved in
‘Freebie hunting has helped me to keep my over-spending to a minimum and I’m now much better at saving than I was before.
‘For every freebie I get, I estimate the value of it and put a percentage of that into my savings.’
‘I’ve only been seriously freebie hunting for about a year, and it has already saved me enough money for a deposit. A few months ago I was able to move out from living with parents and into a flat with my boyfriend.’
But Alice’s savvy ways first began at university, where she started by Googling to see if she could find something for free before buying it.
‘That’s when I found freebie sites and Facebook group communities,’ she said.
‘I felt like I had found my true calling in life when I landed my job at Magic Freebies to help them find the best freebies on a daily basis!
Alice pictured with some of her goodies. Finding products for free has helped Alice cut down on her luxury buys and she’s eager to encourage young people to be more savvy and look out for bargains
After leaving university a couple of years ago, Alice (pictured with her partner) noticed that most of her friends struggled to save even with full time jobs and knew she didn’t want to live ‘pay cheque to pay cheque every month’
She added: ‘Each day, my morning is spent looking for freebies on the internet, Facebook and other social media platforms.
‘On average I’d say four hours are spent every day simply searching for and applying for freebies.’
More than half of 22 to 29-year-olds in the UK have no savings at all, official figures released in October 2018 showed.
Some 53 per cent of this age bracket have nothing in a savings account or Individual Savings Account (Isa), the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, compared to 41 per cent ten years ago.
And Alice is eager to encourage young people to be more savvy and look out for bargains.
Alice recently got this little guy through the post. Those who desire their own need to like Andrex’s Facebook page and then keep their eyes peeled for an advert for it on their newsfeed
The bundle of freebies given to Alice throughout the year, including a £50 Tempur pillow and a £65 Phillips epilator
The bargain hunter’s favourite freebie is the Tempur pillow but she also loves getting little beauty products (pictured) to take on holiday
‘When you know there are amazing luxury items out there that you can get for free, it makes you think twice about splurging,’ Alice insisted.
‘I really wanted an epilator and it’s just as well that I held off from buying one because I managed to get one from Philips for free!’
Alice was gifted the £65 Philips Satinelle Corded Epilator through the company’s testing panel – which asks people to review the item and hopefully recommend it to others.
But that isn’t Alice’s best find, with the bargain hunter’s favourite freebie being a Tempur pillow worth £50.
She recalled: ‘All I needed to do was register on the Tempur site, then visit my nearest Dreams, lie down on a mattress, et voila – the free pillow was mine!’
Free products give you a chance to try before you buy, meet ‘some lovely people through freebie-finding communities online’ and to feel good receiving treats through the post, Alice (pictured with her boyfriend) explained
Alice has also saved with beauty products – filling out several forms from different brands which will gives customers a chance to the item straight through their letterboxes.
She added: ‘This has saved me from using up my current beauty products. I haven’t had to buy mascara or perfume for a couple of months because I was busy using up a full-sized mascara freebie and a tonne of perfume freebies!
‘I went on holiday recently and I took a 60ml shower gel freebie from Body Shop, a couple of 10ml perfume samples from brands like Chloe & Dior, a John Frieda mini conditioner and loads of other mini freebies – I didn’t have to spend a penny on travel essentials.’
And the positives don’t end there, with free products giving you a chance to try before you buy, meet ‘some lovely people through freebie-finding communities online’ and to feel good receiving treats through the post, Alice explained.
However, it isn’t always easy to succeed with Alice’s saving technique as a lot of gifted items aren’t guaranteed as the companies have limited quantities and the best items run out quickly.
It also requires a lot of time spent applying for the offers as often as possible.
Magic Freebies is one of the UK’s biggest freebies websites with over 1.2million registered users.
Top tips to getting free products
Alice Gerwat, who works as a freebie-finder for Magic Freebies, reveals her top tips for finding free products.
Join Facebook groups
The social media platform hosts whole communities dedicated to finding the best free items, competitions and deals.
Sign up to product tester panels
Brand’s will send out gifted items for people to review and hopefully recommend to others.
But Alice warns: ‘These run out super quickly and I have been rejected from loads – so you do have to just keep trying and not be put off by not getting everything straight away.’
Subscribe to brand mailing lists
This is the best way to keep an eye out for giveaways as they pop up in your email.
Make sure you’re signed up to freebie websites
Cut out the searching by getting an email sent to your inbox filled with free stuff you can apply for every day.
Follow and like brands on social media
This means shoppers are more likely to see sponsored adverts that are giving away freebies on their newsfeed.
Don’t wait
Alice insists: ‘As soon as you see a freebie, apply for it. The best ones run out fast!’
She also suggests customers shouldn’t wait to apply for freebies when they’ve got leisure time but instead should apply for freebies all year round.
Don’t use them up straight away and set some aside as ‘you never know when they might be useful’, Alice added.
Don’t spend what you’ve saved
Alice suggest: ‘Estimate the worth of each freebie and set the value or a portion of the value aside into your savings.
‘If you were going to spend that money anyway, it’s a great way to keep track of how much freebies are saving you.’
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