WHEN the festive fun is over, and our bank accounts are left reeling from Christmas spending, cheer yourself up with some of the best freebies 2026 has to offer.
From £279 in cash, to £16 Odeon tickets and £100 to spend at Brewdog. Sun Savers editor Lana Clements rounds up all the goodies and discounts YOU can pocket to help get your new year off to a bountiful start.
Budgets are stretched thin in January, with around 15% of people estimated to run out of money before payday, according to comparison site MoneySupermarket.
It comes after one in ten relied on credit cards, overdrafts or borrowing to make it through December, while 9% were using Buy Now, Pay Later schemes to spread the seasonal spending.
But you can help ease some of the pressure on your budget with free cash, food, days out and more next year.
From a trip to the cinema to some top new beauty products.
Here we explain how much you could save…
Cash boost – £279
At this time of year, all of us can do with a cash injection.
Happily, there are a few easy ways to pocket a lump sum.
First, sign up as a member of the cashback site Topcashback.co.uk.
It only takes a couple of minutes, and from there you can get £25 cashback for opening a Cahoot Simple Saver account, which you can start with as little as £1.
You can get another £25 for opening a Cahoot Sunny Day Saver account, which can again be started with just £1.
Opening a Santander Everyday Current account through the site will also get you £20 – and that’s on top of £200 offered by Santander if you open the account after switching from your main bank account.
First Direct bank customers can pocket £50 if they open an account through the site with no need to switch.
Earn another £9 by opening a free Experian account through their site.
Remember, if you switch current accounts, you should make sure that the new provider suits your own financial circumstances.
It’s a good idea to close accounts that you are not using, once you have pocketed any incentives for opening or switching.
Applying for and opening current accounts can impact your credit score, so check if you are likely to meet the terms and conditions of the account before applying.
The time it takes for cashback to track can vary and may take a few weeks, but you’ll get notifications through the site when the cash is ready to transfer.
If you add up all these cashback sums, you’ll get £279.
Free food – £40
The rising cost of groceries is a major strain on bank accounts – even more so as we head into the new year.
First, download both Olio and Too Good To Go apps. Both brands work with local supermarkets and restaurants to give away food that would otherwise go to waste.
Search for what is available in your local area.
For example Aldi, offers “surprise” bags which could contain anything from vegetables, sweet treats and cupboard essentials through To Good To Go.
The bags cost £3.30 but contain at least £10 worth of food, so you are getting around £7 worth of shopping for free.
Do this just three times a week, and you can get £21 worth of food for nothing.
It’s also worth checking your local Tesco after 9pm when selected stores give away food that is close to expiry or best before dates for free.
This could easily be £10 worth of free food.
And if you’re shopping in Tesco, always get a receipt – there are often freebies that you can claim offered at the bottom of the receipt which can be worth around £5.
It’s worth downloading all the supermarket apps to scoop freebies and collect points, which can be exchanged for shopping vouchers.
For example, on the Lidl app, you can get around £5 worth of freebies by instantly downloading the app.
When you are shopping online, search for free samples on the website – you can often add full-size products to your cart for free.
Free pampering – £60
January is the ideal time to indulge in a little TLC after all the stress of Christmas.
But you don’t need to dent your bank balance to get your glow-up.
Many beauty salons and hairdressers look for models that trainees can use to practise treatments.
These sessions are typically heavily discounted or entirely free.
Students are overseen by qualified professionals, so you needn’t worry about a wonky fringe. However, as students are learning, the session may take longer than someone who is fully qualified.
For example, Toni & Guy has training academies in London and Manchester where you can book colour or cuts at a snip of the standard price.
Or Chamney’s Spas has a beauty college in Hertfordshire, where you can sign up as an exam model and get a full body massage for just £10.
An hour’s free massage would be worth at least £60 in a salon.
Another option is a skill swap.
For example, if you’re a teacher, you can offer tutoring in return for massages from a beautician.
Try the Facebook group Skills Swap UK.
Free beauty products – £260
If you want to try some new skincare products but don’t have the cash to spare, consider signing up as a product tester.
You test new products for free in return for giving some honest feedback.
Join several panels, and you can start to build up a big beauty haul.
Test and review new products from luxury brand Elemis, such as the pro-collagen cleansing balm, worth around £30, by joining its review panel.
For each new product launch, the brand will select a panel of reviewers based on their demographic and provides full size items to be tried and tested.
To apply to join the panel, you can fill out a short form online.
Boots also looks for volunteers to test products from its own brands, including No.7, Soltan and Botanics, before products hit the shelves.
You get to keep all the products you’re sent to trial.
This could mean getting a No7 future renew serum worth more than £30, for example.
The company is not currently accepting new volunteers, but keep an eye on the website as it periodically opens for new applicants at bootsvolunteers.com.
Volunteers are made up of people of different ages, genders, ethnicities and skin types, so it depends on where there are gaps as to whether you’ll be accepted.
There are also agencies that send out products to willing testers on behalf of brands.
Sign up for the Glamour Beauty Club and you’ll get all sorts of goodies to test and report back on.
This could be anything from beauty tools such as an LED facemask, worth more than £200, to St Tropez tint, worth £30.
Plus, all members are entered into a monthly draw, where one winner will receive a box of beauty goodies curated by the Glamour beauty team.
It’s also worth asking for any samples or freebies available from beauty counters when you are in shops such as Boots or Superdrug.
Free dinner out – £110
You could also head out for lunch or dinner for free by working as a mystery diner.
Sign up to a specialist agency such as Hgem, which works with restaurants including Dishoom, Flat Iron and Brewdog.
They will then give you a location and a brief on what to assess on the visit in return for a free meal, which could be worth around £50 a person or £100 for two.
Sign up for the Dusk app to save money on drinks out. Cocktails can easily cost £10 or more at a swanky bar, so it’s a real money-saver.
The app finds free drinks and unlocks rewards at different pubs and bars.
Sign up and then search the app for pubs in your area. It can also filter the results to only show those offering free drinks.
Child essentials – £1,000
If you have small children or babies in the family, you’ll know that everyday costs can be a burden.
It’s easy to bag a few freebies, however.
Sign up to emmasdiary.co.uk for a bundle of free testers, including a free pack of nappies worth around £5.
Parents can also get free nappies by testing products for Pampers and giving feedback. Sign up at pamperssquad.co.uk.
The brand’s Pampers Club gives points for every pack you purchase, which can then be traded in for free packs. Join online at pampers.co.uk.
Check local selling sites for parents giving away clothes, toys and other essentials.
The app Young Planet works in a similar way, allowing parents to offload good quality essentials so those in need can get all sorts of free.
A quick look shows lots of valuable items available for free, including a travel cot, which you could expect to spend at least £35 on.
You should also check your entitlement to benefits.
For example, the Government’s Healthy Start scheme is available to low-income pregnant women and families with young children.
The scheme provides a weekly allowance of up to £442 a year for nutritious groceries such as fruit, vegetables and milk.
Or if you’re expecting your first child and receive selected benefits, a one-off payment of £500 can help pay for big essential items such as a new cot or pram.
The help comes through the government’s Sure Start scheme.
I kitted my home out with freebies worth £2k
A THRIFTY dad saved £2,000 by finding free furniture from Facebook Marketplace for his new home.
Darren Leeming, 54, moved to York from Harrogate with his wife Elena, 39, and their two young children – Clive, six, and Violet, five.
They bought a four-bed “doer-upper” for £330k and spent £50k renovating the property.
The family ran out of money and had to find an alternative way of finding furniture to fill the house.
Darren turned to Facebook Marketplace and an app called Olio to source 22 household items.
He estimates he has saved £2k so far by avoiding buying new.
Darren’s best second-hand finds include a sofa, a coffee machine and a bed for his daughter on Facebook Marketplace.
The dad also used the Olio app – which allows users to give away unwanted food and household items – to find two TVs, two computer monitors and a cross trainer for his home.
He got everything completely for free and in good condition; it was just required for him to go and collect it.
He said: “It’s an ideal thing really, especially nowadays with the cost of living crisis.”
Trips out – £185
Budgets are typically stretched in January which can make it hard to justify spending on things like trips or meals out.
But life needn’t be all doom and gloom.
There are lots of ways to have fun without splashing out.
Heading to the cinema is a winner when the weather is cold and wet.
Check for free or discounted tickets through benefits from banks, insurers and phone providers as they all offer deals.
For example, every month Sky Cinema customers get a pair of free Vue tickets through the MySky app, worth around £15.
Vodafone customers get four Odeon tickets for £16 through VeryMe Rewards on the MyVodafone app, saving approximately £11 and £22 respectively.
Three customers can use the Three+ rewards app for £3 Cineworld tickets, saving a typical £4 each.
And O2 users are offered two cinema tickets at Vue for £9 or four for £18 Vue tickets on the Priority app, saving approximately £11 and £22 respectively.
Octopus customers can also tap into Octoplus rewards for a free film rental from Rakuten worth as much as £15.99.
If you claim Universal Credit, you can get heavily discounted tickets for days out at some of the UK’s top attractions.
For example, standard adult ticket entry to the Tower of London costs £35, or £70 for two adults.
But it offers tickets for just £1 if you receive Universal Credit, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, Pension Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, or Jobseeker’s Allowance.
Tickets must be booked online, and you can take up to six people from your household.
Help with bills – £2,600
Octopus is handing out free electric blankets to help struggling households stay warm this winter.
The energy firm is giving away 10,000 gadgets, with priority given to elderly customers and those with mobility issues. It estimates customers could save £300 on energy bills as a result.
Applicants must first complete a Paylink budget form, which looks at income and expenses to determine what help they qualify for.
If bills are pushing you to the brink, you could get free cash or supermarket vouchers from your local council through the Household Support Fund.
Every council in England has been allocated a share of a £742million fund that they can distribute to residents in need.
Whether you are eligible will depend on where you live, but the help is usually available to those on a low income and on selected benefits.
For example, residents in Surrey can get vouchers worth up to £300, which can be exchanged for groceries and toiletries at supermarkets including Aldi, Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s.
If you are behind on energy bills, find out if your provider can help.
Most of the top firms offer energy grants to help people who are in debt.
The British Gas Energy Support Fund offers help to households in England, Scotland and Wales worth up to £2,000.
Plus, you don’t need to be a British Gas customer to get the help.
E.On customers who are experiencing financial hardship can get help through the E.On Next Energy Fund, and Ovo Energy is helping customers this winter through its Extra Support Package.
A getaway in the sun – £1,000
Has January got you feeling like you need a holiday?
You can get a free break and travel the world by housesitting.
Try registering with TrustedHouseSitters.
A quick scan of the site shows a two-bedroom apartment in the heart of Barcelona looking for a sitter for a week in September.
You’ll usually need to feed a pet in return for the free accommodation – not a bad price to pay.
For example, the owner of a waterfront apartment in Ibiza is currently looking for people to look after a dog.
A similar rental through Airbnb could easily cost you £1,000 for a week.
