Expo Fact-o

So sorry for the months' delay between posts. It's a simple case of "I Forgot My Password", but I wrote it down this time, and ready to continue expounding on getting the most out of life for the least amount of money!!

Expos!

I cannot emphasize enough the benefits of regularly attending expos held in your local area! Oh, yes, there's the "Support Your Local Business Community" angle, but more to the point of this blog, attend for.... the free stuff!

Home Expos, Healthy Living Expos, Business Expos, Recreational Sport Expos, You-Name-It Expos, chances are there will be free swag at each and every one of them. And even if you do have to pay an admission price to get in, chances are the bounty you shall receive will more than make up for the outlay of cash. 

My personal favorites to attend are the Business Expos put on by local Chambers of Commerce. Be it a city Chamber, or a county or regional Chamber, there's bound to be one nearby. And I'm pretty sure these are free admission; after all, the point is to promote their businesses!

You can do pretty well at even smaller exhibitions, in reaping free office supplies (pens, pencils, post-it notes, note pads, etc), kitchenware (travel mugs, water bottles, cups, can cozies, measuring spoons), personal hygiene products (hand sanitizer, facial tissue, lip balm, tooth brushes, eyeglass cleaner), clothing (well, t-shirts and maybe hats if you'e lucky), and certainly more tote and shopping bags than you can shake a stick at! Certainly just as good as if not nicer than the reusable shopping bags one would pay actual money for!

I'm almost reluctant to admit I haven't had to buy a tooth brush in 3 years, owing to the generosity of multiple local business expo exhibitors!

And the food, oh my goodness, the food! Local restaurants are eager to share their wares with expo attendees, you can enjoy all manner of foods, from pizza to grilled scallops to sushi to BBQ to soups and chili to... you get the idea! Cookies, cake, candy, coffee, bottled water, it's easy to fill up those free tote bags without hardly any effort! 

Of course there's the added bonus of entering all the free drawings many of the vendors offer. With luck you could win a gift basket, a gift card, a membership in a health club, a weekend at a resort, any number of prizes. But truthfully you're most likely to win a bunch of spam in your email inbox, but that's easily remedied by hitting the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of those emails if you find them annoying. 

And who knows, you may actually make some worthwhile contacts with local businesses that might prove valuable to the both of you down the road!

Expos! Attend one today!