Six Free Services Every Young Person Should Know About

The best things in life are free.

Life doesn’t have to cost money all the time. In fact, there are organisations out there that are giving stuff away for free just because they can.

Thanks to them, you have a chance to learn a new skill, entertain yourself or get fed on someone else’s dime.

Below we’ve created a list of six free service every young person should be using to get the most out of life.

1. Public libraries.

You might be surprised by this, but your local library is an awesome free service to take advantage of.

To start with, they have books (duh). This is not just great news for the avid readers among us, but also for those who are studying. Sure, the internet is good, but libraries are a goldmine of information for you next assignment.

Plus, it’s not just books they offer. Libraries have free Wi-Fi and computer access if you find yourself without one. Not to mention they have printing services too if you need to hand in a hard copy (this will cost you a small fee though).

2. Online streaming.

Let’s face it: Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+ all add up to be quite expensive each month.

Keen to cut back on your spending but still want to be entertained? Check out some of the free streaming services out there.

Kanopy is free for anyone with a library membership (told you they were important). The streaming service offers films that focus on “thoughtful entertainment”, including films like Lion and Boy Erased.

If you’re a sucker for a B-grade movie, Tubi might be for you. They have a couple of hidden gems like Hunt for the Wilderpeople and all of Yu-Gi-Oh! but a majority of the selection will be somewhat unknown movies, like Titanic 2.

SBS OnDemand offers a great selection of indie darling and foreign language films and series. If you don’t want that, they’ve got great movies like Molly’s Game available as well as some awesome TV series like Fargo, Fear the Walking Dead and New Girl.

ABC iView is a great place for your Aussie film and TV. If you’re looking to sharpen up on national issues, new episodes of QandA are uploaded every Thursday. 

Beyond all these, be sure to check out 7plus, Nine Now and Ten Play for all your Aussie network soap operas, gameshows and reality TV like MAFS.

when you stream a movie on kanopy instead of netflix pic.twitter.com/xbcq4jp5wi

— 𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝟰𝟮𝟬𝟲𝟵 (@iplaycello42069) March 21, 2021

3. Local courses and events.

If you’re looking to learn a new skill or just network among like-minded people, then there are heaps of free courses and events near your city.

Eventbrite is a great place to see all the free events happening around town. With a quick search, you’ll find they offer a range of great stuff like art classes, public lectures at unis and budgeting courses.

Give it a try. You’re never poorer for learning something new and you could meet new friends while you do it.

It’s a win-win!

4. Mental health help.

There are a number of fantastic organisations out there to help young people who need some extra support for free. 

Beyond Blue and Kids Helpline are awesome hubs for young people to learn about ways to boost their mental well-being, as well as offering expert advice on self-care and work/life balance.

ReachOut is a dedicated website for young people and mental health. They cover a range of topics contributing to mental health like bullying, racism, relationships and sexuality and will help equip you with how to best navigate these.

Likewise, Headspace offer a suite of information on mental health with a great range of articles on dealing with grief, trauma and anger, as well as educating their readers on the relationship between consumption of drugs and alcohol and mental health.

If you'd like to chat to someone about your mental health, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14. Their trained Crisis Supporters will sit with you and listen in your time of need and help you through it.

5. Language apps.

There are some serious advantages to learning a language. It’s proven to improve your memory, keep you ‘with it’ when you hit old age, and apparently grow your brain. Who doesn’t want a big, fat, juicy brain?

Learning a language doesn’t have to cost anything either. Check out Duolingo, they have heaps of languages to learn like Spanish, Arabic and even Latin. Best of all, it’s totally free of charge.

There are plenty of language learning apps out there if Duolingo isn’t for you. Some others we like are Memrise, Busuu and Beelinguapp.

Me, after I pass a Duolingo lesson with no mistakes: pic.twitter.com/lB1vSIcFX9

— wizard kelly (@bigdave203) March 26, 2021

6. Free food on your birthday.

Okay, we know this isn’t technically a ‘service’, but it’s free food so we couldn’t possibly not include it on this list.

Your birthday only comes around once a year, so if you’re not milking it for all it’s worth, what are you doing?

Hundreds of places will give you a free feed on your birthday, so be sure to take advantage of that. Noodlebox, Subway, Nandos, Boost Juice and Baskin Robbins all want to reward you with free food just for getting older. What’s not to love about that?

You might need to take the day off to get to all of them though, just sayin’.

There you go fam, six free services for you to get around and get the most out of life.

Header Image: Jeff Greenberg / Contributor via Getty Images