The other day I received an email from one of the behind-the-scenes Coupon Hunters here at Ultimate Coupons. In addition to sharing the information I'd requested from her, she had a question for me: "Going for any of the tax day freebies today?" 
Well, yes, I did take advantage of one tax-day freebie. I stopped in at my local Starbucks, reusable coffee mug in hand, and enjoyed an absolutely free cup of coffee while I thought about freebies and etiquette.
It was incredibly hard for me to walk into that coffee shop and walk out with a large travel mug full of free coffee, having purchased nothing else. I did it, but it was hard, and I'll admit that I had to dare myself to do it. While I love getting free stuff, I definitely feel the obligation to purchase something else at the store that is offering me something for nothing. After all, the store expects people to come in for the freebie, but spend money on some other things.
It worked that way for Panera Bread. At a Boy Scout fundraising event last year, I won a "Bread of the Month" gift certificate from Panera. Each month I would bring in this coupon, and they'd hand over a free loaf of bread of my choice. We all enjoyed that prize--but I was never, ever able to walk into Panera and just leave with a free loaf of bread. I'd either buy myself a latte (I highly recommend their lattes) or pick up a quick lunch of my favorite Asiago bagel with veggie cream cheese.
Online, on the other hand, I'm happy to take a freebie but not buy anything. It's just the in-person thing that gets me.
We've always got Free Shipping Offers here at Ultimate Coupons--so don't shop online without checking here first.
