Free stuff? These apps have you covered

Who doesn't love free stuff?

What would you do with a new flat screen or $500 to your favorite store? You may find out sooner than you think with the help of some apps and online search engines.

Starting with my personal favorite - Shopkick. Available in android or iPhone this app uses your phones GPS to locate stores closest to you. Say you’ve got a day at the mall planned; take Shopkick along for the ride. You walk into a participating retailer - that’s right just walk in-and they give you points - points you can use towards coach purses, free gas, and even a cruise.

But say you're into playing the odds - lemme introduce you to live to win, an app that lets you earn - and we're using that phrase lightly here since many of the earnable activities are things like spinning a wheel, answering a multiple choice opinion question, or simply watching a video - in order to play a sweepstakes game with other users. The prizes are anything from electronics to jewelry with a new winner every day. The more entries, the more chances you have to win. Pick that up for the iPhone and coming soon for android.

Now if you’re like me you appreciate apps that reward you for doing the things you already do, things that require the minimal amount of exertion - enter Viggle - like giggle but with a "v." and you will when you find out how easy it is to earn points towards real life rewards. See Viggle rewards you whenever you watch TV or listen to music - seriously guys it’s that easy. Plus you can connect with others about your favorite show over Facebook. What’s not to love? It’s available for the iPhone or android phone and it’s free.

And lastly, now we've all heard of search engines but these searches just might make it worth your while, starting with Bing - the Microsoft engine gives you points for searching, surfing, and sharing. register, and every day it gives you options to earn points towards gift cards and prizes like an Xbox One and i know i could use one of those...but the surfing doesn’t stop there - Hawaiian airlines recently started their own search tool - download it to your internet task bar - the grey area at the top of the window - and simply search the web for things you would normally. The difference? Every time you search you earn miles toward your Hawaiian frequent flyer account -search your way to a free trip!