a couple things

If you aren't a member already, join your local freecycle. A lot of good things to be had for free. Also a good way to get rid of unwanted items. Just search freecycle.org to find your local group. Your local craigslist also has some freebies or good deals.

Check out your credit report here. You are allowed one free from each reporting agency once every 12 months. You will need to pay to see your credit score. The charge ranges from $5.95 to $8.95, more if you add more services to it. If you only want to check your report to make sure it is on the up and up and there are no reportings that you don't know about, it is free but if you are like me and want to know what your score is, that will cost you. I check 1 agency every 4 months so I know and can monitor our credit.