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As a graduate student, writer, and instructor, I wear a lot of hats. One of my favorite parts is teaching students about technology. While it may sound trite, I learn a great deal from the students I interact with, and enjoy the opportunities for instruction. After teaching technology courses for a little while now and being a total geek all my life, I figured it was time to feature 4 free apps that help get me through my work day – fast.

1. Dropbox

Remember when you had to carry around a flash drive everywhere you went? Say goodbye to those days – the future is in the cloud. Dropbox is the leading cloud storage provider in the world. The company uses incredibly secure technology to keep my essays and research, private and safe. More importantly, when I’m working on shared research projects and/or presentations, Dropbox is my key collaborative tool. Now, people can edit, revise, and leave comments on documents that are synced in real-time, and accessible to me – instantly! It works like magic. If I were ever to lose my computer, I feel comfortable knowing that my stuff would still be available to me. Between the collaborative opportunities and storage backup, Dropbox is an easy choice. Plus, if you refer your friends, you get bonus storage for free!

2. Google Calendar

This is where my day begins. What am I going to have to do? Google Calendar is the always aware, always synced option that saves me a boatload of time and hassle. I know where I need to be and when – all the time. By opening up my iPhone calendar or navigating to Google.com/calendar, I can easily see what my week looks like. By utilizing this service, I save on paper, time, lost items, and much more. Google Calendar keeps me running.

3. LibreOffice

I’m a HUGE fan of open source technologies. Not only do I believe they can save you lots of money in the long run, but they also propagate a philosophy that’s about being inclusive and sharing. LibreOffice is a free platform that aims to compete with Microsoft Office’s suite of applications. If you are about to plop $100 or more on the Microsoft suite of applications, think again – there’s another way. Just download LibreOffice and try it out – you have nothing to lose. Moreover, I prefer the design options within LibreOffice and there are terrific opportunities for tech support all over the web.

4. TextEdit/Notepad

Are you stuck taking notes with a paper notepad? It’s time to upgrade to a stupid simple option that’s available on every computer (Mac, Windows, and Linux). Just open up the system’s pre-installed note taking app. For Mac users, it’s called TextEdit. I use this semi-religiously as my go-to app for quick notes and ideas. These applications start up faster than LibreOffice or Microsoft Office, and they are perfect for the busy student. Now, save and sync your notes to Dropbox, and you’ll be able to access them in the cloud and back them up

My Mom always says, “Nothing in life is free.” In a way, she was correct. Even the laudable Google products – often considered free – are heavily ad-supported. For the price of free, Google’s algorithms decode our behaviors, messages, and actions to better sell others’ products.

The loss of information privacy has led to a data-based growth in marketing. Fair or not, by exchanging personal information with companies, prices decrease – sometimes they become free.

Fortunately, “free” isn’t limited to the digital world. Every couple weeks I receive yet another freebie from a company looking to promote a new food or magazine. Last week, I opened my mailbox to find Rolling Stone and Wired Magazine. Today, I received a six-pack sampler of instant coffee. All three were free.

There are ways…to snag loads of samples, perks, swag, and other promotional goodies at no cost—and with little or no risk (Time).

I’ve been receiving these samples and subscriptions for years now. There’s no magic secret or private list that requires special membership payments. All you have to do is find the right sites and be quick to grab the free offer. I recommend checking out these three sites.

3 Best Sites For Freebies

1. Reddit (r/freebies+efreebies)

Reddit is the “front page of the internet.” It is the catch-all website that has thousands of different categories – subreddits – and topics to choose from. Reddit is the 119th highest trafficked website. Because of this incredible audience and user base, the site is a hub for freebies and ways to save. The crowdsourced nature of Reddit allows regular users to post new content and ideas. The freebies+efreebies is the first place I look for updated offers. This combined subreddit includes both digital and physical freebies. New products are being offered every day – check back regularly.

Link: http://www.reddit.com/r/freebies+efreebies

2. Hey! It’s Free (HIF)

Hey! It’s Free (HIF) prides themselves on deals that require no credit card or donation to acquire. The site has been an active site for freebies for the last 6 six years. Through HIF, I’ve found numerous deals for free magazines: Rolling Stone, ESPN Magazine, and Wired. The quality of these freebies tends to be strong and the effort is minimal.

Link: http://www.heyitsfree.net

3. Hunt 4 Freebies

Similar to HIF, Hunt 4 Freebies writers are scouring the net for freebies. Once they find some good ones, they post them directly to their site. By the time I check out this one, there’s usually quite a bit of overlap. But, sometimes there’s a hidden gem. Yesterday, I applied for a free bottle of lens cleaner and contact case. It wasn’t featured on either of the other two. Using a diverse group of sites helps to make sure you find all the freebies you can.

Link: http://hunt4freebies.com