Home Frugal Finds Frugal Friday Tips, Free Stuff & Discounts [ 05/07/2019 ]

Frugal Friday Tips, Free Stuff & Discounts [ 05/07/2019 ]

by InvisiblyMe
A clock to the left and piles of coins to the right, with leaf shoots coming out of them. The post title 'Frugal Friday' is above and to the right.

It’s Friday again already & I’m feeling frugal (aka broke)! How’s everyone doing? I hope the week is treating you as kindly as possible. Here are a few frugal finds, discounts & free goodies to kick off your weekend – enjoy ????


Online Magazines From Your Local Library (UK)

I’ve recently discovered that most local libraries offer free magazines online. While this is in the UK, it’s likely other countries may offer something similar, so it’s worth asking.

This is something I’m pretty surprised about as services tend to charge for online magazines. You’ll need to register for an account, which took me under a minute as it’s just your name, email and library card number. You can browse titles before registering to see if anything takes your fancy. For free, I think this is amazing! My local has some impressive titles, especially as I’d expected magazines I’d never heard of before. There’s a lot here, for instance: New Scientist, Woman’s Own, Hello, Country Life, Practical Photography, Total Film, Knitting & Crocheting, Men’s Health, and Women’s Health, and lots more.

These are direct links for different counties. If yours isn’t here, you can try replacing the name of the county area at the start of the link and that should take you to the right page.

Kids Pass Discounts (UK)

Kids Pass is a site for family offers and exclusive discounts, from up to 40% off cinema tickets for kids & adults, to days out vouchers & kids eat free deals. You can use this link to sign up here for a £1 for 30 days trial (you can cancel any time) and get yourself some discounts!

Amazon Prime Day Discounts & Free Trials

Amazon Prime Day is coming, and this year it’s being extended from 36hrs to 48hrs to pack in more deals. If this is something that interests you, then put July 15th & 16th in your diary. These are two days of special offers on a range of products exclusively for Prime members. It’s a good time to have Prime as you get a range of benefits, including next day delivery with no minimum spend and access to lots of free Prime TV shows & films. Find out more on the Prime Day pages at Amazon US and Amazon UK.

There are also a few other cool offers to check out that are currently running. For instance :

US – Some of you may qualify for a Free Amazon Prime 30 day trial. Check your eligibility here.

UK – Prime members get 4 months of Amazon Music Unlimited for only 99p. This promotional offer is valid for new subscribers from 27 June until 16 July, 2019.

Next up is a free Audible trial for 30 days. You get a free audiobook to keep, and you can choose from the world’s largest collection of audiobooks. It’s £7.99 p/month after the free trial, where you then get one audio book every month, but you can cancel easily any time.

There’s also an offer for a 3 month free trial of Kindle Unlimited, usually priced at £7.99 p/month, which allows you to choose from over 1 million Kindle books & thousands of audiobooks, so you can read & listen to as much as you want. Sign up here for 3 months free & cancel anytime.

Free “Best Things In Life Are Free” from Lonely Planet

This is a pretty neat freebie considering the hardcover copy is selling for over £13 / $11 on Amazon. You can download a copy of the Best Things In Life Are Free book from Lonely Planet for absolutely nothing. The link here takes you straight to the PDF (I’m not affiliated in any way, I just came across this while browsing). It’s filled with tips, money saving ideas, and inspiration for things to do, visit and see all around the world. It’s great if you’re planning on travelling or taking a trip somewhere on a budget, or if you want to make believe you’re setting off while tucked up in bed in your pyjamas!

The Best Things In Life Are Free book cover.

Frugal Summer Fun – An Excellent eBook Read

I’d like to give a shout out to my blogging friend Wendi here as she’s published an excellent book for Kindle on ways to save money on summer fun – Frugal Seeds Summer Edition: 101 Ways to Enjoy Summer with Your Kids for Little Money. I highly recommend giving this a look!

Check out the Kindle ebook on Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Frugal Seeds eBook cover image, with clickable link.

Home Blood Tests (UK)

I have reviewed the Medichecks home thyroid testing previously, and after a highly positive experience, it’s a service I would highly recommend. They offer an extensive range of blood home tests for those in the UK, from vitamin and hormone checks, to tests for specific conditions. With reputable labs for reliable test results, kits sent straight to your door for quick, convenient testing, and an easy to use, contemporary user account on their website that allows you to download copies of your results, it’s a brilliant option if you can’t get the tests you need via the NHS.

You can save 10% by using this link & adding the code INVISME10 at the checkout.

Medichecks Logo with clickable link to take you to their website.

Boots Sizzling Summer Offers

Boots (UK) have lots of great offers on at the moment. This includes better than 1/2 price on TRESemme hair products, and better than 1/2 price ‘summer scorchers’ on the likes of make-up, perfume & Liz Earle sets. There’s also over £20 worth of points on the 23andMe genetic home test kit.

An image of the 23andme Genetic product box.

There’s currently 1/3 off Soap & Glory, which do lots of great beauty products. I especially like their Hand Food & Heel Genius, which is perfect for getting your tootsies sandal-ready.

For Advantage Card users, there’s also extra £10 worth of points when you spend £50 at Boots online.

I hope you all have the best weekend possible, whatever you’re doing. Make sure to find time to relax & de-stress ????

Caz  ♥

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43 comments

Benn Bell July 5, 2019 - 4:01 pm

Love Amazon Prime! Everyday is just like Christmas!

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InvisiblyMe July 7, 2019 - 6:00 pm

???? That’s a good way of putting it, hope you find something cool on Prime day. I treat myself to it every now and then (thank you, free trials & discounted Prime offers) so I get that same sense of excitement! I’m currently making use of the Prime video that comes included rather than having Netflix this month. Have a lovely week ahead, Benn x

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Jacqui Murray July 5, 2019 - 4:15 pm

What a collection! I did Amazon Prime Day last year but was underwhelmed. Now, I’m just buying as I need to.

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InvisiblyMe July 7, 2019 - 5:57 pm

I think any big sale that gets hyped up can end up being disappointing, especially if you don’t find much that’s relevant to you. Before I’ve got some brilliant discounts on electric toothbrush heads (boring but important purchase) so I still like to look in case there’s something I’d ordinarily buy. Have a lovely week ahead, Jacqui.xx

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Darnell July 5, 2019 - 4:16 pm

Thank you Caz.
I can always find something I can use from your frugal Fridays.
Have a great weekend.

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InvisiblyMe July 7, 2019 - 5:54 pm

That’s great to hear, I’m really glad you like the Frugal Fridays! Hope you have a great week ahead, Darnell! x

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Janet Gogerty July 5, 2019 - 5:30 pm

Thanks for the Amazon Prime Day reminder.

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InvisiblyMe July 7, 2019 - 4:20 pm

You’re welcome – do you use Prime? I’ve got it for this month so I’ll be checking out what’s on offer too 🙂
Hope you’re having a lovely weekend, Janet.x

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Despite Pain July 5, 2019 - 4:32 pm

Fantastic list, Caz. I had no idea about the free online magazines from libraries. I know they used to stock the actual magazines, but I am really (pleasantly) surprised to know you can get them online. Nice find!

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InvisiblyMe July 7, 2019 - 5:49 pm

I had no idea until recently either which is why I knew I had to share it, I think it’s brilliant! Thanks for the comment, Liz – I hope you’re having a restful weekend ????
xx

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Ashley July 5, 2019 - 4:32 pm

That Amazon book is a really cool find!

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InvisiblyMe July 7, 2019 - 4:21 pm

Yeah, totally agree! ????

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Tamara July 5, 2019 - 6:56 pm

Love Frugal Friday because even Robots have really tight budgets and need to save!

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InvisiblyMe July 7, 2019 - 4:19 pm

Absolutely, the robot struggle is real! ????

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Tamara July 8, 2019 - 7:02 pm

Plus Wordpress probably won’t be paying up on Alimony payments after our divorce…. ????

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Michelle July 5, 2019 - 7:27 pm

Great ways to save money! I try to stay as frugal as possible. ????

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InvisiblyMe July 7, 2019 - 4:18 pm

Frugal is good! Hope you’re having a lovely, frugal ???? weekend Michelle xx

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da-AL July 5, 2019 - 11:22 pm

great list — yes! good to see that UK public libraries have tons of free fab stuff the way we do here in US 🙂

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InvisiblyMe July 7, 2019 - 4:10 pm

I’m glad you have libraries over there that have such fab services like this, I was quite shocked to find UK ones do free mags. I hope you’re having a lovely weekend, da-AL! xx

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Katy July 6, 2019 - 11:42 am

What a cool post! Thank You an Cheers!!! 🙂

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InvisiblyMe July 7, 2019 - 3:23 pm

You’re welcome, glad you liked it! Have a great weekend, Katy xx

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Mama Duck July 6, 2019 - 11:51 pm

Online magazines through the library? I’m definitely checking that out. Great info on at-home blood tests too. They likely have something similar here in the U.S.

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InvisiblyMe July 7, 2019 - 3:21 pm

It’s definitely worth checking what your library offers, I was pretty surprised! I imagine, or would hope, there are similar services for home blood tests in the US too. Thanks for the comment – I hope you’re having a relaxing weekend ????
xx

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Nick July 7, 2019 - 11:04 am

Great round-up, Caz. I’m thinking of buying an Amazon Echo as everyone keeps talking about them, so waiting to see what deals are on offer for Prime Day!

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InvisiblyMe July 7, 2019 - 2:58 pm

Curiosity was getting the better of me with the Echo, too, but when I looked into how to hook it up to play music from my Macbook or iPod I started getting too confused..! I’d imagine there’ll be plenty of these for Prime Day though so I hope you like it if you do give in to temptation! 🙂

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Animalcouriers July 7, 2019 - 2:42 pm

That does seem like an incredible offer from local libraries!

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InvisiblyMe July 7, 2019 - 2:47 pm

It really is, I wanted more people to know about it as I didn’t have a clue until recently! Thanks for the comment – I hope you’re having a lovely weekend 🙂

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Kim July 8, 2019 - 4:35 am

I missed this post! Argh. I LOVE frugal Friday’s! Been packing like crazy! I’m moving the end of July and the hubby joins me as soon as the house sells in August! Sorry, trying to keep up here!

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InvisiblyMe July 8, 2019 - 2:51 pm

I’m amazed you’re reading other blogs let alone still managing your own right now – don’t overdo things lovely, the blogging jazz can wait. I hope everything’s going as smoothly as possible with the packing and don’t forget to rest!  ♥
xx

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Brigid Gallagher July 8, 2019 - 11:22 am

Thank you Caz. I love the idea of free online magazines. We pay a lot of tax on print copies of magazines here in Ireland.

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InvisiblyMe July 8, 2019 - 2:52 pm

I hadn’t really considered tax on magazines before, that’s such a shame because it’s a dying form now, magazines & newspapers alike. I used to love treating myself to a magazine when I was younger but they’re just too expensive these days. I’m glad you liked the post, it’s definitely worth checking whether your local libraries offer the same, Brigid. Have a lovely week ahead  ♥ xx

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Terri, Reclaiming HOPE July 8, 2019 - 5:11 pm

I always love your Frugal Friday posts Caz! I think it’s fabulous that you can get magazines online from your local library. Thanks for sharing some more great deals!

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InvisiblyMe July 9, 2019 - 4:27 pm

I’m so pleased you like Frugal Fridays, Terri – I really wasn’t sure how these would go but I still manage to find things so it’s great that others can enjoy them and sometimes find something useful. Free magazines from libraries was a surprise to me so I knew I had to share that, I think it’s brilliant. Hopefully libraries over the pond in the US do something similar! 🙂
xx

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Cecilia Kennedy July 8, 2019 - 10:05 pm

Really great ideas here–thanks so much! There’s something for everyone, really.

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InvisiblyMe July 9, 2019 - 3:57 pm

Glad you liked the latest Frugal Friday! Hope you’re having a lovely week so far 🙂
xx

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Kirsty July 9, 2019 - 10:15 am

Great round-up of money-saving tips! Especially with Amazon Prime, you don’t always see all of the benefits. For example, if you are a Prime member, there is also a selection of books that you can download for free each month called Kindle first (you don’t have to have a Kindle – I read mine on my phone). There are a number of genres with one book in each, and the choices change every month. I know it’s not so exciting if you already have library membership, but these are often new books, so good if you want to have something completely different.

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InvisiblyMe July 9, 2019 - 4:40 pm

Yes, absolutely agree, Kirsty – I hadn’t a clue of the extra benefits of Prime until more recently! Thank you for pointing that out and explaining it, it can certainly come in useful. I also love that there are free trials of these sorts of things, and even if you’ve had one Prime trial before they often open it again, or do a 99p one or similar, if you’ve not taken a trial recently. I hope you’re having a good week so far, Kirsty, and thank you for the comment ????
xx

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Mrs. Ram’s Jams July 10, 2019 - 11:14 am

Yep we’ve got free digital magazines from the library over here too! I love my library!

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InvisiblyMe July 10, 2019 - 12:15 pm

Woohooo, glad you have them in your libraries too! I find it so sad that libraries are struggling as people turn away from reading. I think they’re amazing, and I always look forward to a trip to the library 🙂
Hope you’re having a good week so far lovely xx

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The Lonely Author July 12, 2019 - 5:58 pm

Thanks for the tip about the free online magazines. I will have to check my local library.
Amazon Prime is wonderful. Watch movies ther all the time.

Have a great weekend.

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InvisiblyMe July 17, 2019 - 4:51 pm

It’s pretty fantastic so I do hope your local library offers free magazines, too. Thanks for the comment, Drew. I hope you’re keeping well.x

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Imani-Amour July 17, 2019 - 5:42 am

Love post like these. Everyone could save a buck or two in today’s economy, ya know?

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InvisiblyMe July 17, 2019 - 4:50 pm

I’m glad you liked it! I totally agree, being smart with money & looking for ways to save it always useful. Thanks for the comment 🙂

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