*By Barbara Pronin
If there’s one thing better than getting a good price on something, it’s getting it for free – and 2013 brings a new crop of sources for free goods and services.
From the money mavens at Kiplinger’s, check out this list of freebies available now:
Free college tuition – Believe it or not, there are a few schools offering a free education. Berea College in Kentucky covers the entire $20,900 annual tab for all students with a combination of grants, scholarships and work-study. Cooper Union in New York City grants a full-tuition scholarship to all students valued at $150,000 over four years – and College of the Ozarks in Missouri offers a work-study program in lieu of tuition.
Free computer security – Save $70 a year or more on security software by checking out Avast Antivirus and Microsoft Security Essentials for Windows – both of which get good reviews and offer basic defenses including malware protection.
Free digital storage – With free online backup storage, you can share files and protect them from computer crashes, theft and natural disaster. Windows Live SkyDrive gives you 7 gigabytes of free, secure digital storage space. You can also use Amazon Cloud Drive (5 GB free) or Dropbox (2 GB free).
Free tech support – If you have a problem with your computer, head to Techguy.org or 5starsupport.com for free help. You can search forums for your machine’s problem or post a question and get a timely response from the sites’ squad of geek volunteers.
Free passport photo – You’ll pay about $15 at the post office to get your picture taken for your passport. Instead, take your photo with your digital camera, then upload it to ePassportPhoto.com, which will help you size it properly before printing on your home printer.
Free language lessons – Go to FSI-language-courses.org to get free foreign language lessons online. Or go to OpenCulture.com for a list of lessons around the web thatyou can download to your MP3 player.
Free kids meals – Go to KidsMealDeals.com for a list of restaurants – such as IHOP and Johnny Rockets – where kids eat free when you buy a meal.
Free legal advice – Nolo.com is Kiplinger’s go-to source for legal information. The site is packed with free advice on a wide range of legal issues, such as estate planning, buying or selling real estate, managing a business and more.
