Extra Coin from Coinstar

Now through December 6th, you can get an extra $10 (in rebate form) when you turn in your coins to a CoinStar machine.
As always, there is a fee to turn your coins into cash, but the fee is waived if you turn it into a gift card from one of the participating merchants (e.g., iTunes, Amazon, etc.) -- and hey, now you have a gift card for that hard-to-shop for niece or nephew!

Get the promo details here. CoinStar machines are usually located in a Duane Reade or Whole Foods stores; find the one nearest you here.

Via MyFrugalAdventures.com
Photo by Chris_Jones

Free Software

We've told you about free PhotoShop alternatives before, and suggested you check out all the options they find on Lifehacker. Well, now there's yet another source for free software: AlternativeTo. [via VeryShortList]

Currently in beta, AlternativeTo allows you to search by platform as well as the specific gajillion-dollar software title you are trying to approximate with a free app.


[Photo by marblegravy]

We Love NPR

It's clear that we here at Recession This! are big fans of NPR, probably because they're smart and they offer a lot of free stuff, like their podcasts, which cover many topics from news to entertainment. My ipod podcast list looks like a love letter to NPR. (My husband says "If you love it so much why don't you marry it?" To which I reply, "Maybe I will." And then he says, "Well, go ahead." And then I say... you get the picture.) I've recently added Planet Money, and I'm hooked. I was reluctant at first; all this recession business really gets me down. Plus, there is so much I don't understand that I didn't want to listen to a podcast that would make me feel even more confused. Fortunately, Planet Money breaks down the economic crisis in an average of twenty minute easy to understand episodes. And, they keep in mind that many of their listeners probably did not study money in school, so it's very audience friendly. The hosts are pretty cool, too. If you want to make heads or tails of our crazy financial world then I highly recommend starting with Planet Money.

Image taken from NPR's website.

Reduce, Reuse, ReGoogle

Finding yourself with random stuff lying around your house taking up space that you don't want to send to the landfill, but can't sell or foist upon Goodwill? Google a way to repurpose it!

For example, I have a bunch of old mouse pads (culled from the day job) that I could not think of a new use for. A quick Google (actually, I used Goodsearch and gave to my favorite charity without spending my own money [See this previous RT! post]) and I found these myriad ideas:

• Bases for houseplants, etc. to protect your furniture [from Craftster]
• Pads for table & chair legs [from Reader's Digest]
• PDA sleeve and insoles [from eHow]

For general inspiration, you can also do a flickr search or Goodsearch image search of "repurpose" and see what others have come up with. Some folks, like Scavengerjo, even make art of things that have no other life left.

Also check out Brooklyn-based RePlayGround for tips and for kits to help make new things out of old trash.

What do you have sitting around your house that could find new life as something useful?
[Ode to the Modern Housewife by Scavengerjo]

Recession Fitness!

You no longer have an excuse to sleep in on Tuesdays. Starting May 5th certified personal trainer Abby Sweitzer is offering running classes for FREE. Don't have an expensive gym membership? Don't need one! This one hour a week work out is enough to motivate you to create your own training program and it won't cost you a dime -- o.k., you might have to buy some decent running shoes. Aside from that, just throw on an old t-shirt and shorts and get ready to run!

Bonus Earth Day Post

Now that you've shrunk your bills (see previous post) check out this free book download from Grist.org. Register with Grist for free and get tips on how to live green every day (because, as we've said time and again, living greener usually means living cheaper too).

Not only will you get the free e-book, but you will also be registered for a free trip to Bonnaroo '09!

[Photo by SouthernPixel]