If you’re trying to save money, you’ll be happy to know that freebies are everywhere. You’ve just got to know where to look. So, here’s a list, courtesy of CBS News:

• Let’s start with prescription drugs. You need a prescription from your doctor, but believe it or not, you can get a free 14-day supply of many common antibiotics at major grocery chains, like Giant, Meijer, Publix and Wegmans. 30-day refills cost just $4 at Kroger, Target and Walmart. With specials like these, the stores may take a “loss” in the pharmacy, but make up for it with everything else they think you’ll buy while you’re there.
• If you want new e-books for your Kindle or iPad, they usually sell for $9.99, but Gutenberg.org offers free downloads of 33,000 classic books, like “War and Peace,” “Moby Dick” and “Little Women.” If you’d like new audio books for your workday commute, they’re free at Librophile.com and BooksShouldBeFree.com. Don’t forget, there are stacks of books and CDs you can check out for free at any public library.
• Learning shouldn’t cost a fortune. A lot of colleges and universities like Johns Hopkins, Notre Dame and MIT post free lectures and course material on their websites, and iTunes has over 250,000 free lectures available to download from schools like Oxford, Stanford and Yale.
• Finally, if you’re going to Spain or Italy, skip the fancy, expensive language classes and try the free online courses at OpenCulture.com. There are also online classes in over 40 languages from the U.S. Foreign Service Institute. Their site is FSI-language-courses.org.

Want to dramatically increase your nest egg? Buy generic or store brands! If you saved $5 a day for 30 years, and earned 10 percent interest on it, you’d wind up with $342,000! To get you started, here are products that you should always buy generic, to save that $5 a day, according to Yahoo Finance:

• Water. You have several options: Expensive name brands, the store brand, or tap water at home. The cost difference goes from mere pennies for tap to $3 for a name-brand bottle of the same thing! If you’re concerned about taste or contaminants, get a home filtration system or a filter pitcher.
• Buying brand-name milk can run you more than $5 - but the store brand is $2 cheaper, and is produced with the same quality standards as the major brands.
• While you’re in the dairy case, grab the generic margarine. Avoiding a famous brand can save you 60 cents a pop.
• Over-the-counter medication. From cold medicine to eye drops to ibuprofen, most contain the same active ingredients. Name-brand products – like Tylenol - will run you $11, but the store-brand can cost just $7.
• In the cleaning aisle, reach for the bleachwithout the familiar label and you’ll save another 60 cents. One-ingredient products are the same no matter what brand you buy, and off-brand spray bottles of kitchen and bathroom cleaner cost a dollar less than the brand seen on TV.
• If you’re going to make homemade soup, spaghetti sauce or pizza, oregano is probably on your shopping list. Watch out! Name brand spices can cost $4 more than the store brand, which is a mark-up of 342%!

REASONS FAMILY VACATIONS CAN SUCK

In general, vacations are awesome. But, spending vacations with the family can be an adventure.

Not all family vacations are nightmares, but you definitely need to be on guard against potential disasters.

According to Uncoached.com, here are some reasons big family vacations can suck:

• The Psycho Member of the Family -- Every family has one. Maybe it's the crazy uncle. Maybe it's the nutty sister. Pick the wrong relative to vacation with and you're dealing with a serious X-factor.

• Annoying Kids -- Kids are so much work that it's a constant struggle to relax, even when the kids are good. When they're annoying and you're away from home, you're dealing with a code red nightmare.

• Differing Opinions -- When you have a group of 10 people, it's really tough to want to do all the same things at the same time. Things will get awkward. There will be disagreements.

• Money Issues -- Money makes everything weird. Who's paying for what? All the potential fights might cause you to just make it an all inclusive trip so there won't be any money issues.

According to new study from the University of California-Riverside, our personalities stay pretty much the same throughout our lives, from our early childhood years until after we're over the hill.

Researchers found that personality traits observed in children as young as first graders are a strong predictor of adult behavior.

For example ...

• Talkative kids tended to speak fluently, try to control situations and exhibit a high degree of intelligence as adults.

• Impulsive students ended up speaking loudly, displaying a wide range of interests and being talkative as adults.

• Timid children were likely to feel guilty, seek reassurance, say negative things about themselves and express insecurity as adults.

• Poker style #1: You bet on everything, regardless of the cards you have in your hand. As you might guess, betting on every hand increases your risk of losing, because it means you’re blind to obvious danger signs. Risky bettors often turn out to be risky spenders in real life – meaning they’re always late paying bills, or they have out-of-control credit card debt. So, to rein yourself in, start each poker hand by picturing life after you’ve lost everything. That’ll help you avoid making risky mistakes.
• The 2nd poker style: You’re a “shuffler” who constantly rearranges or fumbles with your cards. Our expert says people who “shuffle” tend to lack confidence in financial decision making, because they feel overwhelmed by money. They’re the type who hides all their bills in a drawer, and tries to forget about them. A better plan is to remember that poker dealers never deal all the cards at once; they deal in rounds! So, think of your finances the same way, and come up with a plan to pay off one or two bills at a time. Once you’ve tackled those, you’ll gain the confidence needed to keep paying down your debt.
• Here’s one more poker playing style: You always go with your gut, and lay your cards on the table after one quick glance. Of course, that playing style signals total confidence, and tells everyone at the table that you’re in control of your game. Experts say you can tap into that confidence at home by framing your first paycheck, or your first mortgage statement. That way, you’ll always be reminded of the good decisions you’ve made with your money, and you’ll be less likely to splurge on impulse expenses that’ll blow your budget.

Each year, identity theft affects more than 11 million people in North America. The scary thing is, in the majority of cases, the thief is someone you know. In fact, according to ABC News, a growing number of victims are like Larry Braziel, Jr. When he turned 19, he started getting phone calls from a collection agency, demanding money, all before he’d even applied for a credit card. Larry checked his credit report, and discovered he was more than $100,000 in debt, with half of that tied up in a home mortgage. In Larry’s case, the thief turned out to be his own father! Dad had used his son’s Social Security number to open several lines of credit, and with all that debt, Larry’s credit history was destroyed.

Believe it or not, he’s not alone. Statistics show that in about one-in-20 identity theft cases, parents are stealing their own children’s identities for financial gain! It’s becoming more common in this tough economy, and experts say it’s extremely easy to do, since parents have access to their kids’ most personal information. Linda Foley is co-founder of the Identity Theft Resource Center. She says parents who are desperate enough won’t hesitate to use a child’s Social Security number to take out a loan. Then, depending on a child’s age, that kind of theft can go undetected for years. Foley says the most common red flag is if bills in a child’s name, or pre-approved credit-card offers, start showing up in the mail. She adds that the most heart-breaking thing about child identity theft is that children rarely turn their parents in, even as adults. They may think: “What a horrible child would I be to report my own mother or father to the police?”

No matter who steals your identity, Foley says you must file a police report. That’s the only way you’ll be able to get legal protection from collection agencies. It’s also the only way you’ll be able to begin repairing your bad credit, before you put your entire financial future at risk. For tips to help you do that, contact the Identity Theft Resource Center, at IDTheftCenter.org.