30 Free Bottles Of Coke

June 9, 2006

2 liter coke I’ve been opening my mail that had been saved for me in the US and among all the junk mail, I found coupons for 30 2-liter bottles of any coke product. These were the result of a game that Coke ran for the winter Olympics where you could get 3 free tries a day with each win worth 5 free bottles.

So the question is, what do I do with all of this? As I wrote earlier, I have given up soda which has saved me over $1000 a year and while the 30 free bottles are tempting, I certainly don’t want to get into the habit of drinking soda again.

This is a classic example on how something that looks like a wonderful deal (free) can end up costing you a lot of money in the long run. This is a trap that is often difficult to see coming and the reason that companies do give away freebies. It would seem perfectly acceptable for me to take the free bottles of Coke and brag on what a wonderful deal I got. If I take the soda up again, however, that’s a potential of me getting hooked into a habit that has cost me a lot in the past - something that I’m not willing to do. In this instance, free has a high long term cost (at least in my case).

So if you had 30 free bottles of coke that you don’t want, what would you do with it?

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Information: June 9th, 2006; 10 Responses

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Categories: Coupons; Food / Groceries; Saving Money

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Reader Comments

Comment Number:: 1
Written by:: Nick
Posted on:: June 9, 2006 at 2:14 pm

I don’t drink soda either, but if I had 30 free bottles I would make it Diet Coke and load up on the Mentos. Check this out if you haven’t already seen it - http://eepybird.com/dcm1.html.

Comment Number:: 2
Written by:: samerwriter
Posted on:: June 9, 2006 at 2:17 pm

If I were you, I’d send the coupons to the first person to post a reply to this blog entry.

Comment Number:: 3
Written by:: jessica
Posted on:: June 9, 2006 at 2:20 pm

i wish i had 30 bottles of soda(a habit i can’t break)lol

a alway there is food pantry’s and other such places

Comment Number:: 4
Written by:: samerwriter
Posted on:: June 9, 2006 at 2:26 pm

Oops, I meant the second responder.

Seriously, though, I agree. And the problem extends beyond free stuff; it’s always tempting to jump on anything that seems like a good deal, without fully thinking through whether or not you really need it. The “deal” sites on the web are terrible for this.

Once in a while I see a deal on something that I really was about to buy, and save a bunch of money. But more often, something that I’ve seen, and thought about buying, becomes irresistable when it’s available with a $40 off coupon. Even though I really didn’t need it in the first place.

Penny-wise pound-foolish, and all that. In the infancy of DVDs (which happened to coincide with the dot-com boom), you could get DVDs for a few dollars each on the web. We bought scores, most of which we’ve never watched. Sure they were cheap, but did we really save money on them if we wouldn’t have bought them otherwise?

Comment Number:: 5
Written by:: Penny Nickel
Posted on:: June 9, 2006 at 3:04 pm

Maybe try to sell them, and let the couple of bucks make you feel better about passing up such a tempting offer? It’s easier to part with something like that by selling it than by tossing it into the trash. Although it seems like you’ve got some strong willpower on this one, which is awesome.

Comment Number:: 6
Written by:: collegesaver
Posted on:: June 10, 2006 at 8:43 am

Get the Coke and donate them to a shelter. Or ask friends and family if they’d like some free soda. This way you don’t let it go to waste, but still keep your Coke-free lifestyle.

Comment Number:: 7
Written by:: makingourway
Posted on:: June 11, 2006 at 8:11 am

I’d donate them to the local food bank.
Maybe you should, too.
You can probably take a tax deduction if you use the coupons and deliver the bottles yourself.
regards,
makingourway

Comment Number:: 8
Written by:: Darren Labnon
Posted on:: June 29, 2006 at 6:36 am

If you want to give the coupon away Ill take it off your hands. Thanks Darren (avid coke drinker).