In this economic climate, everyone is trying to stretch a dollar as far as it will go. But what if you don’t have to spend anything at all to get the things you’d buy anyway? The following is a list of websites and services that can connect you to free items:

5. PaperBackSwap.com is the perfect solution for avid readers on tight budgets. Once you sign up with the website, you can post paperbacks, hardcovers, textbooks and audio books that you own and are willing to part with. When someone claims one of your books, you mail it off (you do need to pay for shipping), and earn a credit for any book available on the site for free. Other than the cost to ship the book to the requesting member—and with the post office’s low media mailing rate, this is a very low fee—this service is completely free.