Samantha Christmann: Drop what you’re doing and grab this free money

May 03-- May 3--I like money. You like money. We would all like to have more of it.

Here's how.

Get new quotes on your car insurance. I saved nearly a thousand dollars per year when I last did this. Contact a broker or fill out forms for estimates online. If you're doing it yourself, which is super easy, pull up your current policy and select the same coverages to be sure you're comparing apples to apples.

Don't lie about any recent accidents, traffic tickets or DWIs. You won't get an accurate price and they'll show up once the insurance company runs your DMV report anyway. One exception: don't include moving violations that were plead down to parking tickets. They don't count and won't show up on your report.

You can also ask your current insurer to review your policy. If it's been a while and you've had a clean record, you might be eligible for a lower rate.

Take a defensive driving course. You'll get 10% off your liability, no-fault and collision insurance premiums for three years. It takes about five hours and you can either take the class in a classroom at a local driving school or online as long as the website is approved by the State Department of Motor Vehicles.

Use the Swagbucks search engine. Instead of using Google, use the search engine at Swagbucks.com. Every few searches, you'll be awarded a random number of Swagbucks, which can be redeemed. It can be a slow process (one Swagbuck is worth one penny), but it does add up. And sometimes there are sales on gift cards. For example, while I'm writing this, there's a 12 percent discount on Amazon gift cards, so a $25 card costs just 2,200 points.

What are you gonna do instead? Use a search engine that pays you nothing? As if!

Install the Honey extension on your browser. I love Honey. Whenever I'm checking out an online purchase, a little box pops up to remind me there might be coupons to save me money. With the click of a button, Honey checks plugs in all the available promo codes. If there's more than one, it puts in the one that will score me the best deal.

Use a shopping portal. Both Honey and Swagbucks have them. You could get serious cash back online purchases, which can be redeemed for gift cards to places such as Target, Walmart, even Visa and PayPal. Right now on Swagbucks, you can get 5% cash back on qualifying items at Amazon and up to 11% back at Walmart, 8% back at Expedia and 4% back at Sephora, among dozens of merchants. There are also special deals, where you can earn bucks for downloading an app or ordering a certain product.

Get a Target debit card. If you're a regular Target shopper, get a Target REDcard No, not a Target credit card (my goodness, that would be dangerous for people who lose all self-control once inside), a Target debit card. It will be linked to your bank and withdraw the money directly from your account. When you use the Target debit card, you'll receive a 5 percent discount on every purchase. It's a no-brainer.

Refinance your house. Home prices have risen dramatically in the past 10 years so, if you have a higher interest rate, you could save a good chunk of change refinancing your mortgage. Even if it doesn't save a ton of money over the long run, it could help free up some cash each month. Do the math on closing and other costs, though, and shop around for the best interest rate. Also consider a refinance where your payment stays about the same but you reduce the term of the loan, saving a ton in interest during the life of the loan.

Cut the cord. You're still paying for cable? That's cute. I dropped my landline long ago. Once I dropped cable and went to internet only, I cut my bill in less than half. And I was only subscribed to the basic channels!

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