Frugal living is almost always associated with cutting back and scaling down. However, thanks to the joy of the internet, savvy savers now have a way to get their hands on (almost) everything they ever needed. From food to furniture, take a look at these fantastic sites that offer all the freebies you could ever want. 

• Craigslist Perhaps the most famous inclusion on our list is feared and adored in equal measure. The irreplaceable Craigslist can be found across the world and is essentially a free ads site serving your local area. Here you’ll find the weird and the wonderful in their “Free Stuff” section and some have even attempted to take advantage of the varied offers as an eccentric lifestyle choice.
• Freecycle A site completely dedicated to the cashless exchange of goods that works something like the honour system. Essentially, everything advertised on the site is free to take away with the suggestion that you return the love by advertising some of your own items. It’s great for free furniture and other household items.
• Foodsharing Something of a new concept in the world of web based money saving, food sharing sites are beginning to pop up the world over. Whether it’s free meals with a host or merely a few unwanted carrots that would otherwise go to waste, the underlying concept is to stop filling your dumpsters and start filling your bellies – for free.
• Couch Surfing Just because you’re climbing a mountain of debt doesn’t mean you can’t go and climb a real mountain. Couch Surfing offers registered users the opportunity to take advantage of people’s inherent hospitality with offers of free accommodation. Again, the concept follows an honour system where you offer your couch to frugal travellers in return. The real beauty of the site is not so much the free accommodation but the opportunity to meet like-minded individuals.
• Coursera If you’re from either the US or the UK then you’ll know just how expensive a decent education can be. The same goes for many countries throughout the world, however, thanks to Coursera, regardless of whether you are in China, Chile or Chester, you can access high quality courses from some of the best universities in the world.

Of course, once you’re living in the lap of cost less luxury you’ll be able to clear that crippling American Express bill and, with all that money you’ll be saving, why not think of the future and take a dip into the stock market. Take a look at the American Express stock price as a very sound investment for your future solvency and make that evil piece of plastic work for you for a change.