free stuff - the book

I am reading Steven and Lina Zussino's ebook, Free Stuff on Your Birthday for Canadians. It's packed full of things you can get for free, with offers organized by province and type of goods or service.

For most things I have read about so far, you have to subscribe to an email list online, and get a coupon. I have been signing up, and my inbox is filling up with confirmation and welcome emails. I have even received a few coupons.

Here are some of my experiences so far:

• I have signed up for a Beauty Insider account with Sephora. I expect to receive an email inviting me to print a coupon for a free birthday cake bubble bath. That will be nice!
• Baskin Robbins Ice Cream sent me a link to a coupon almost as soon as I signed up. That was speedy and welcoming! The interface on the Baskin Robbins website is a bit intimidating. Rules are clearly noted (don't make a mistake filling in the fields because your name on your coupon must exactly match your name on your ID that you must present to receive your free ice cream cone). Also, if you make a mistake filling in a field (like the format of your postal code) the field turns blood red! That's very alarming. It seems a bit overbearing for the sake of preventing someone scamming an ice cream cone, but maybe it is a problem. Even funnier, the web page that tells you where stores are located told me that 152nd Street in Surrey, and Dewdney Trunk Road in Maple Ridge are each 1.1 kilometer from my home in Port Moody. So I think I'll walk to one of them after supper tonight. I know the ice cream cone will be delicious, but I think BR needs some help with their web design.
• Bruegger's Bagels/Mmmuffins Canada just sent me a coupon too, just for signing up. I wonder if I'll get another one for my birthday? Then I can treat a friend to a muffin!

So far I have mostly found food offers. Most of these are carbohydrate-rich foods, which I do love. Comfort food for your birthday is a good thing. Still, I wonder, is there any free sushi or salad out there? I'm going to need some after all of the muffins and ice cream. Oh well, maybe I'll just sink into a birthday cake bubble bath and forget all about it.

question: have you signed up recently for any email lists?

mompoet - looking for free stuff for my birthday, and having fun with the hunt