I just celebrated my birthday and even though getting older kind of stinks, I’ve discovered a new benefit of birthdays: free stuff. Occasionally I sign up for newsletters or fill out comment cards and many of them ask for my date of birth. I was never quite sure why and just assumed it was part of their market research. As it turns out, many of these businesses store your birth date and send you free things when your big day rolls around.

For instance, this year I received a free ice cream cone from Maggie Moe’s and a $10 gift card from Victoria’s Secret simply by signing up for their mailing lists. I did a little digging and found lots of other free stuff you can snag on your birthday.

- Dave and Busters- $5 game card
- Hollywood Video- free rental
- Auto Zone- free oil change

And of course there are a bunch of restaurants that give away free meals or desserts to those celebrating their birthday. For more ideas check out this article I found on Smart Money. And Happy Birthday!