Ten Free Things That Are Actually Free

Here are ten free things that are not only actually free, but will not get you slammed with spam for all eternity.

1. Market Samurai. Holy SEO help, Batman! Seriously, every small business owner needs to download the free trial of this totally amazing keyword research software. Yes, there is a paid version, which you will really only need if you get super, SUPER into keyword research, start an SEO business, and want to unlock the rest of the magic. Market Samurai is one of the few pieces of software that is completely awesome in the free version, and even more awesome if you care to pay to unlock the rest. Either way, you win! http://bit.ly/c2nRZq

2. Psychic reading. Wondering what the future will hold? Ask Tara Voyance! Yep, she's a real person, and she really offers a free psychic reading, which you can take advantage of right now. Do it! You know you're wondering.  http://bit.ly/bkj2VO

3. One giveaway every single day. Do you know about this guy? AnyLuckyDay.com is this totally innovative site where founder Giancarlo Massaro reviews a products, then gives away one or two of them. It's a different product every day, and all you have to do to enter is leave a comment (you do get more entries for "liking" the business on Facebook and/ or following them on Twitter. Giveaways have ranged from light-up dog collars to iPads to jewelry to exercise equipment. Subscribe to their (free, totally free) email to be notified each day, and then decide if you feel like entering. No pressure! http://www.anyluckyday.com

4. Free Education. OK, so this one's not as sexy as a free iPad, but you could get seriously smart with some free MIT classes, right? f you're recently unemployed or looking to change jobs (or simply augment existing skills to shore up the job you have), there are many places online now where you can get absolutely free education! Definitely check into these sites before paying to enroll in a course.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (yep, MIT) is offering free courses through their website, which you should go to right now just to say you're taking classes at MIT, don't you think?

I was starting to make a list of all the other places where you could find free courses (everything from getting your GED to taking Calculus, learning computer programs, and anthropology), but then a friend pointed me to Free-Ed.net, where you can pretty much find all these things aggregated in one place.

Word2Word.com offers links to hundreds of places where you can take free language courses, and for language courses and a zillion other cool things from universities ranging from Yale to Stanford, museums, and public radio shows, you should definitely visit iTunes U, http://www.apple.com/itunes to download. Sign up for a few courses, download them straight to your iPod, and get smarter while you're waiting in line!

5. Free Music. Of course there is the free music giveaway at Starbucks (grab a card at the register), plus Free Music on iTunes (totally free, just give them your email), but do you also know about this guy's blog? http://blog.largeheartedboy.com/, where you can literally download entire live albums plus read great interviews he does with authors and musicians. Seriously. More than one person has told me they're in love with me for the amount of Wilco this guy posts.

6. Free Ice Cream on Your Birthday. Both Ben & Jerry's and Baskin-Robbins have offered (and, to the best of my knowledge, still do offer) programs where they will give you an ice cream scoop on your birthday. Also, if you are very, VERY into Ben & Jerry's and their ice cream adventures, you can sign up to be (it pains me to use these words) a "Chunk Spelunker," after which they'll send you newsletters and invitations to insider-y ice cream things. I am not kidding about the name. https://secure.benjerry.com/contact-us/chunk-spelunker/index.cfm

7. Free Magazines. This woman maintains a crazy-thorough list of free magazine offers. Come to think of it, just read her whole blog. She is a freebie goddess. http://heyitsfree.tradepub.com/

8. The List. Did you know that EVERY SINGLE DAY 58,000 urls expire/ become available? That means that every day, you have about 58,000 chances to get a completely awesome domain (like dogs.com or something crazy like that). Many of these urls are complete junk (like, six q's and a hyphen), and you would make yourself insane hunting for a good deal. That's what makes The List so awesome-every day, they send out a list of totally decent urls that have just expired, which you can get for $7.99 at GoDaddy. OK, the urls themselves aren't free, but you're really getting the benefit of the research here. Go forth and get The List! http://www.bestdailydomains.com.

9. Free Wordpress Themes That Don't Suck
I don't know about you, but I've had it up to here with crappy Wordpress themes, which is why I love the WooThemes guys. They're totally into design, they don't bug you AT ALL to buy their premium stuff, and their free themes look so awesome, you can completely use them for small business sites, blogs, or just to not look like you use free Wordpress themes. My personal favorite free themes include "Bueno" and "Skeptical." I think I have a geek crush on the WooThemes guys. http://www.woothemes.com/themes/free/

10. Free stuff you can get through Facebook. Hey, you're on there anyway. Here is a list: http://www.heyitsfree.net/category/facebook/