The big fat free list

Shows
While the IU Auditorium headliners aren’t free, plenty of student and community shows are. To see a list of free events, visit the Auditorium’s website. If you just have to see a headliner or traveling Broadway act, volunteer as an usher to see it for free.

Breakfast
Union Board traditionally serves a breakfast of sausage, bacon, eggs, pastries, and breakfast potatoes in the Indiana Memorial Union the Sunday evening before finals week.

Comedy
Student comedy troupes — Full Frontal Comedy, Awkward Silence Comedy, HoosOnFirst Improv, All Sorts of Trouble for the Boy in the Bubble, and University tWits — perform improv and sketches at the IMU.

Your resume
Get a little help with the job search and resume writing at the Career Development Center. Visit the website for tips and examples or drop in between 12:30 and 4 p.m. at 625 N. Jordan Ave.

Art
Opening receptions for exhibits at the School of Fine Arts are free to the public and include finger foods like cheese and crackers. Check out the Bachelor of Fine Arts Painting Exhibition, at 6 p.m. on March 25.

Software
Visit the UITS website to download free versions of popular and usually pricey software such as the Adobe Creative Suite and Microsoft Office.

DVDs
The IU libraries house approximately 20,500 DVDs. To search for titles and find out where the item is located, visit iucat.iu.edu.

News
All student publications are offered free on campus, as well as the New York Times and USA Today. You can also stop by the Kelley School of Business for a free copy of the Wall Street Journal.

Movies
Each Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night, the IMU shows a recently released film. Show times begin at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. unless otherwise noted.

More films
Almost every movie in the new IU Cinema is free. Snag up to four tickets at the IU Auditorium box office before the show. If it’s “sold out,” there are usually extra seats if you show up before the movie starts.

Health
The Health Center offers a free session with a dietician, free sessions to kick the smoking habit, and best of all, free condoms.

Workouts
If you’re bored of the treadmill, check out free Zumba and kickboxing sessions, just a couple of the many free workout sessions at the SRSC.

Showers
This one’s just for the ladies, but the HPER’s sauna in the downstairs women’s locker room is the best way to get through winter. And the hot, high-pressure showers help us all save cash on water.

Convenience
You paid for it with your student fees, but we think of the bus system and print quota as free luxuries. Read more about student fees on page 24.

Festivals
Dorm fairs are a great place for food. Collinsfest will give away burgers, cotton candy, snow cones, and an obscenely long banana split on April 9.

Music
The IU Jacobs School of Music presents about 1,100 performances each year, most of which are free. This is a great way to impress a date for nothing.

Free food on your birthday (check to see if you need to register online first, you need to for most offers)

Cold Stone Creamery: free small or medium creation
Buffalo Wild Wings: free dessert or drink
TGI Fridays: free dessert
Outback Steakhouse: free dessert
Cracker Barrel: free dessert
Denny’s: free Grand Slam
Arby’s: birthday discount
Applebee’s: free dessert
Chili’s: free dessert
Texas Roadhouse: discount
Sephora: free beauty item
Noodles & Company: free meal when you register
Starbucks: free drink when you register your gift card online
Campus Candy: free frozen yogurt
Aveda: free full-sized product

Tips from Lia Saunders

The Kroger near College Mall has a Mediterranean bar with little cups for sampling.
Career fairs are goldmines. Most booths have piles of promotional swag, so you’re doing a company a favor by using its labeled water bottles, bags, pens, and highlighters.

You can find free pens at almost every departmental office on campus. That may sound boring, but when you no longer have to shell out $3 every couple of months for BICs, you’ll thank us.

There are free postcards at the entrance to the School of Fine Arts Gallery in the Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts. The postcards are typically prints of the art pieces on display.

Look for the Aver’s Pizza van parked on campus. (Listen for the blaring music.) Snag a free slice of pizza and sometimes a free cup and T-shirt.

On the web

Follow Baked! of Bloomington on Facebook and get discounts for mentioning wall posts.

Check out the Scotty’s Brewhouse website for weekly coupons and free specials.
Visit btownmenus.com for exclusive online ordering deals. Amol India offers free naan with orders more than $15.

You already knew Craigslist was amazing, but check out the “free stuff” section on the Bloomington page. We saw a free treadmill, printer, and desk last time we looked.