What each category means

Unclaimed property, settlement funds and tax credits people miss. Searching is free. Never pay anyone to do it for you.

• Unclaimed money: States, pension plans and insurers are holding billions in forgotten money. Searching is free. Never pay a finder to do it for you.
• Open settlements: Companies settled lawsuits, and you might be owed a cut. It’s usually a few bucks. The deadlines are real.
• Free tax help & credits: Free tax prep from certified volunteers, and credits a lot of eligible people never claim. You shouldn’t have to pay to file a simple return.
• Credit reports & freezes: Your credit report is free every week, and freezing your credit is free too. Nobody should charge you for either one.
• Recalls & free repairs: If it’s recalled, the fix is usually free. Look up your car, your car seat or that space heater from a garage sale.
• Guarantees & warranties: Brands that repair, replace or refund gear that fails. A couple of these guarantees got a lot shorter lately, and we say which.
• Tax credits people miss: Refundable credits and rebates that many eligible people never claim. Some pay out even if you owe no tax at all.
• Free college & tuition help: State programs that cover tuition at community colleges and universities. Who qualifies, and how to apply.
• Provincial benefits & credits: Provincial credits, grants and allowances. Who qualifies, how to apply, and the official page for each.
• Only-here money & perks: Things only one state or province does. Alaska sends residents a check every year from its oil fund. Read the rules before you pack.
• Skip the middleman: Sketchy sites charge for shit the IRS and the Post Office do for free. Here’s the official way.

Help with heating bills, internet and phone service, your local 211 line, and neighbors giving things away. Who qualifies, how to apply, and the official page for each.

• Energy help: Government help with heating and cooling bills, plus crisis help if you’re facing a shutoff. Apply early. Funding can run out before winter ends.
• Internet & phone help: Discounted phone and internet for households that qualify, plus low-cost computers. Here’s who qualifies and how to apply.
• 211 help lines: Dial 2-1-1 and a real person helps you find local help with food, rent, utilities and more. Free, confidential, and open to anyone.
• Free shit from neighbors: Free couches, borrowed drills and free smoke alarms from people in your town. Nobody’s haggling over a lamp.
• Free store workshops: Lowe’s, Michaels, REI and IKEA run free classes, hoping you’ll buy something on the way out. You don’t have to.
• Free transit: Buses and trains that are free for kids, seniors or everyone. Who rides free, and where.
• Home safety freebies: Free smoke alarms, radon test kits and home safety checks. Here’s how to get them.
• Free shit from your city: Your city gives away trees, compost, mulch and a place to dump old paint. They announced it once, in a PDF, on a page nobody has ever found. We found it.

Free and low-cost care, crisis lines, legal aid, and help for kids, veterans, seniors and new parents. If you need someone right now, call or text 988 in the US or Canada.

• Free health programs: Health centers that serve everyone, crisis lines, screenings and help paying for medicine. Plain facts, real phone numbers.
• Kids’ health coverage: Free or low-cost health coverage for kids, including checkups, dental and vision in many states. If your family earns too much for Medicaid, this may still fit.
• Free legal help: Free legal aid, answers from volunteer lawyers and confidential hotlines. You shouldn’t need money to understand your rights.
• Seniors: Help for people 65 and older and the people who care for them: Medicare counseling, meals, eye care, dental care and energy help.
• Veterans & military: Support, jobs, legal help and free tickets for service members, veterans and their families.
• New parents: Free books by mail, WIC, diaper banks, registry welcome boxes and breast pumps through insurance. You’re tired. We did the reading.
• Senior & veteran benefits: Heating subsidies, pensions, fuel rebates and other help for seniors and veterans. Clear rules, real phone numbers.
• Drug, dental & health plans: Coverage that helps with prescriptions, dental care and other health costs. Who qualifies, and how to apply.
• Free car seat checks: Certified technicians will check how your car seat is installed and show you how to get it right, for free.

Free pancake day, free cone days, brand samples and coupon apps. Food banks are here too, by ZIP or postal code, for anyone who needs groceries.

• Food banks & meals: Food banks and free summer meals for kids. Find the closest one by ZIP or postal code.
• Food-day freebies: The big days on the free food calendar: IHOP pancake day, Free Cone Day, and a free Slurpee on July 11. Plan your year around them. We do.
• Free samples: Real samples in your real mailbox. No survey maze, no sweepstakes bait. The company wants your email, and we tell you so.

Sweepstakes and contests with a real rules page and no purchase needed. Entering is free. Winning is up to luck, and most of them want your email.

• Legit giveaways: Sweepstakes with real rules pages and no purchase needed. You probably won’t win. Somebody does.

Every birthday freebie and signup bonus we could verify, plus free trials worth the card on file. If it needs your card, set the cancel reminder the day you sign up.

• Birthday freebies: Put your birthday in the app and a chain restaurant will remember it every year. Free dessert, free coffee, free wings.
• Signup freebies: Free guac, free tacos, a free Pizookie. You make an account, they get your email, and your phone buzzes about chicken tenders for the rest of your life. For free guac, that’s a fair trade.
• Free trials worth taking: Every one of these needs a card on file and bills you when the trial ends. Set a cancel reminder the minute you sign up. They’re counting on you forgetting.

Free park days, free fishing days, free museums, library cards that stream movies, and free software that does the job of the paid versions. Go outside, or stay in and learn Blender.

• National park days & passes: Free entry days, plus free passes for military, fourth graders, volunteers and people with disabilities. Same canyon. Nobody in the booth.
• State park free days: State park free days, and libraries that lend out park passes. Bring the pass back on time. The librarian knows.
• Free fishing days: The days you can fish without a license. Most 2026 dates already happened, so we list the yearly pattern. Mark next year now.
• Free museum days: Free museum admission for cardholders and military families. Read every plaque. Nobody’s rushing you.
• Museum & culture passes: Library cards that check out museum and park passes. Your library has been doing this for years. Nobody told you.
• Library card perks: Free ebooks, audiobooks and movies through Libby, Kanopy and hoopla, all on your library card. Best card in your wallet. No annual fee.
• Free games & software: Free games you keep and free software that does the job of the paid versions. Cancel a subscription. You’ll live.
• Free learning & training: Free job training, free student software and free study tools. Learn a trade without taking out a loan.
• Free concerts, festivals & events: Free concerts, festivals, parades and art nights. The funnel cake is extra.
• Museum & zoo free days: The days museums and zoos let you in for nothing. Go look at a sloth.
• Government freebies: Your taxes already paid for these: old topo maps, free museums, storm-spotter training and a greeting card from the White House. Go collect.
• Space & science freebies: Free NASA posters, ebooks and 3D models, and an alert when the space station flies over your house.
• Free books & reading: Millions of free books, from the classics to accessible ebooks. You won’t read most of them. Still free.
• Free Ivy League courses: Harvard and Yale courses, free. No application, no essay, nobody’s dad calling in a favor.
• Free kids’ programs: Junior Ranger badges, free skating, coding lessons and free pizza for reading books. The ride home will be quiet.
• Park, hunting & fishing passes: Free and lifetime passes for seniors, veterans, people with disabilities and more. Rules differ by state and province, so check the official page.
• Free TV tapings: Free tickets to live TV tapings. Somebody has to be the laugh track.