Why not download our free ebook (originally £8.99) "How to get anything for free!" right here for free Its Easter - Fancy Some Chocolate?

"Its Easter - Fancy Some Chocolate?"

Now that's certainly the best start to an email I've seen in a long time. Who could say no?



I certainly couldn't and soon found on my desk three Aero filled eggs just in time for Easter. When I was young having a non Cadbury's egg at Easter always seemed like an odd premise. Much like Heinz Baked Beans their brand name was synonymous with their product and anything else seemed like a poor mans imitator. A Cadbury's egg was met with glee and anything else met with an ungrateful 'thanks' and a miserable look whilst eating something that didn't taste 'right'. This seemed to be very much the law of the playground as well, with kudos being earned for those with the biggest Cadbury's egg and lashings for those with any poxy 99p other brands.

Which is madness really. These days a Yorkie is my favourite chocolate bar, Hotel Chocolat is now the must have brand we all want and my taste buds have matured from 'I only want X' to 'lets try as many different foods as I can before I die'. The law of the playground is also a distant memory and thankfully I can make my own mind up without peer pressure telling me what to say (well most of the time). So now a small Aero egg is no longer met with disappointment but instead with intense curiosity. My thoughts are no longer "It isn't Cadbury's" but instead "Is it better?".

And in a way it certainly offers something different. Hard chocolate on the outside with Aero's bubbles on the inside. This creates a mixture of tastes that you don't get with a simple Aero bar, as the outer coating is thicker than usual. As for the Aero layer it seems to have mellowed over the years, now tasting much less rich but still offering a rewarding taste. The combination of soft and hard makes the egg very nice to bite in to, killing years of Easter preconceptions in one go.

So I guess my point is that it's worth a punt. Even if you only ever get one type of egg every year, for under a quid this one is certainly worth a go as well, no matter what the playground says.

Why not download our free ebook (originally £8.99) "How to get anything for free!" right here for free How to get free furniture

Today we answer a query from long time reader, contributor and one of the first ever readers of the Freebie-Man book: pgaleota who asks:

"OK so I need some gorgeous furniture... I am hopefully buying a house and will need some bits, I LOVE Laura Ashley, how can I get some??"

There are two options here, the first is simple and the other, well lets say it involves getting your hands dirty.

Option 1: Freecycle
The simplest option is to join Freecycle a series of local communities that are giving away products they no longer need. Depending on your location some of the groups are stronger than others, but the rule is simple, everything is free if you can collect it. A novel idea, one that cuts down on landfill waste in a great way and after chatting with the UK owner on BBC Radio 5 Live I'm convinced of the merits of the service. The only downside is that an active community can leave you flooded with numerous emails every day, but that does mean more free stuff up for grabs.

Option 2: Scrounge!
The rather clever Emily Ryan furnished her Manhattan apartment in nothing but free furniture. The way she did it? Well it involved getting her hands dirty. Mainly by looking for Grade A furniture in skips, dumpsters and randomly outside apartments in the city. You'd be surpised how well this worked with Emily grabbing "a desk, filing cabinet, TV and decorative mirror" according to the folks at USA Today.

So whilst there are certainly ways to get new furniture for free, who not do a little recycling of your own and give these options a chance?

Why not download our free ebook (originally £8.99) "How to get anything for free!" right here for free How to see movies for free

So there are obviously tons of ways to see movies illegally, but what about ways to see movies for free that won't land you a spell in the nick? Even better what about ways to get free tickets that give you exclusive chances to speak to film makers, see films months before your friends and influence the next big blockbuster?

But Why?

All of these things are posisble and they are made so thanks to preview screenings that are arranged by all of the big UK film distributors. These preview screenings are a way of the distributors to collect feedback on films, try out alternate endings and plan their marketing strategies. They are in every way legal, and as mentioned above you get to watch a whole movie for free and fill in a short survey at the end (which then goes on to make the film even better so if you ever see it again, you can say "I made that scene").

Of course some of these screenings are for films already in the bag, in which case companies show them to you for free in the hope you will share the experience with your friends, come back again at full price or pick them up later on DVD. As for the cinemas they are happy to put on these free screenings and charge for popcorn, drinks etc in the hope this will make back the revenue they lost by showing the film (oh and if the film companies are collecting data they will usually pay the cinema for the privilege).

So How?

With the why out of the way, it is remarkably simple for you to get started on a sea of free films. All of the below have been checked, verified and are scam free. They also represent some of the leading distributors in the UK, so you won't be seeing any old tat.

Momentum Screenings Club: A quick sign up to see previews up and down the country for Momentum.

Screen Bookings.com: Hosted by The Times this site includes codes to see recent films such as Confessions of a Shopaholic and Bolt.

See Film First.com: More free films here, recently included Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Sex Drive, Valkyrie, Bride Wars, most shown before their official release.

Love Film.com: Partnering with various distributors Love Film is a  good place to check for free screenings. Currently giving away tickets for Surveillance until March 1st.

Sky Perks: Sky customers should also keep an eye on their Sky Magazine as previous sky perks have include free cinema tickets

Anymore for anymore? If so share them below and let me know how you find the screenings above.

Got something you'd like to find out how to get for free? Ask me on twitter.

Why not download our free ebook (originally £8.99) "How to get anything for free!" right here for free £600 of Paintballing Free - Rednal Paintball Arena

If you see an offer for free paintball be very skeptical. Many companies will let you in for free and then charge for your protective gear, paintballs and everything in between. Knowing this all too well, when the invitation came from the folks at Gasp Design to join them for a morning of mayhem, it was with some relief to learn Rednal Paintball Arena offered to provide not only free entry for ten of us but also 600 paintballs each as well, a package worth nearly £600 for free.

Built around an old aircraft control tower the arena contains everything from a rocket to launch, an embassy to storm and trenches to get muddy in. Our day luckily coincided with rainfall the night before so we were ensured of a day of mud and squelching boots (which to be fair is always a bonus). We found time to play five games in all, and our team of ten (comprised of first timers, one expert player and the rest) was pitted against a group of 10-13 year olds and their fathers who seem to have played the arena every week for the entire of their lives. Eep.

Game 1: Our first game was simple. We had to work our way through trenches and an abandoned building to a bus and activate a detonator. As we slowly and nervously made our way to the building it became apparent that the key to winning was to have all your men in the building, a revelation that only became clear as five children appeared in the windows and fired at us repeatedly. Using a system of you pop up and shoot, then I'll pop up and shoot we were pretty outgunned, and numerous attacks from our team were rendered ineffective. Seeing a spare window we darted towards it and... I fell on my arse. Stumbling about I climbed through a nearby window and was quickly shot in the mouth-guard at the precise moment I went to say a Rambo-esque phrase. As I walked out trying to get the taste of paint out of my mouth, the team continued valiantly, but it was too late and the siren rang to signal our defeat. Kids 1 Us 0.

With the tables turned to defense, our revelation over the usefulness of the building was rendered redundant as the kids stormed the building (all too aware they had unlimited lives and we, as defense, had one each) and flushed us out. The remainder of our team sat at the top of the bus, and soon found ourselves pinned down. The four of us lay there on the floor (and I apologise for not using names, but it's hard to tell who people are with smoke around you and everyone in identical masks) as we got shot at continuously for two minutes, If we tried to move another bullet went whizzing past our heads. Unable to get downstairs and defend the detonator, we heard the sweet siren of defeat but felt slightly relived we wouldn't spend the rest of our lives being shot at in a bus. Kids 2 Us 0.

Game 2: Still stinging will be feeling of defeat, we dusted ourselves down and returned to the field. This time our goal was to protect a flag in the building which we inhabited from the start (hooray!). We were unable to leave the building unless killed, which meant close combat, high impact shots and a fair bit of pain ... well only if you died that is. Sensing this four of us hid upstairs, in another moment of slight cowardice, but someone had to defend the second level right? Either way it felt good to be shooting the kids from the same position they had so badly bruised us only one round ago. Which was going great, until the combination of heavy breathing, gung-ho shouting, rubbish anti-fog spray and a cold day caused our visors to steam up. Unable to leave the building, or take our masks off, our upstairs team stumbled about only really saved by the good work of our downstairs team. It was a victory, if a blurry, disorienting one. Kids 2 Us 1

Switching to attack, and with clean visors again, we returned to the building to retrieve the flag. We had unlimited lives, so those high impact shots, were going to be hitting us more than one time. After the last few games, we had developed a sense of teamwork, and mainly stuck to a strategy of "If he can get over there without getting shot, so can I, I'd better follow him". For the other team it meant "Look there's three of them behind that tiny box over there" BANG BANG BANG dead, dead, dead. Not that they quite understood the concept of dead, as I raised my arms to confirm I'd been shot and was going back to the start I got shot twice in the hand and three times in the arm. Where is the honor?

As time slowly ticked against us we made a mad dash towards the building, with many of our team darting through windows. The flag was guarded by a central stairwell, at which they had two guards and we used a suppressing fire to pin them down. Looking at Leu and Mike's guns I soon realised they were only shooting air, likewise I had but a mere few paintballs left for the game. As we tried to think of a way around this, a loud bang was heard which ricocheted around the building. For a £3 flash bang it sure pakced a wallop. Coming to our senses, we saw our team mate Glen darting out of the building, flag in hand, taking bullets to the head and arms like no tomorrow. None of us were really sure what happened but back at the base, bruises and all, we confirmed he hadn't been shot in any critical places and won the game, Kids 2 Us 2.

Game 3:Order restored we went on to a game of launch the missile. This time running from behind the building to a missile and attempting to shoot it. Our attacking didn't hold water and the kids held back a point and on defense we likewise did the same. The setup was almost identical to storm the bus, but in the opposite direction and with more cover for the missile itself. Another good game, and more of the same. Kids 2 Us 2.

Game 4: We finished the day with Speed Ball, a close combat race to grab a ball and get it back to your goal. A bit like football but with added headshots. Our teams were divided as many of the kids had gone home (hopefully stung by the pain of a draw - and paintballs to the legs) so we split up. No buildings to storm this time, just a really fast paced game where a good angle could see you shooting the entire enemy team without them even seeing you. Our team won both rounds but by this stage we were having such a good time we didn't really care.

Game 5: With paintballs still to spare from our initial 600 we were asked to go in to the forest, shoot each other and not return until we'd used them all up. This was the most fun any of us had all day, and with the ability to shoot anyone on our team, several work colleagues were happy to shoot each other all day long, and the new team ethos we had formed on the day was quickly turned on its head in a sea of paint.

All in all, a fantastic morning was had by all, and I have to applaud Rednal Paintball Arena for being so generous. Likewise full credit goes to Gasp Design to arranging such an excellent day and inviting me along for the ride, some of them I knew before, some I didn't but none of that mattered when we got out on the field and carnage was had by all.... so why can I still taste paint?