I love free stuff. Few things in life compare with the thrill of getting something for nothing. That's why I'm always on the lookout for giveaways, freebies and the like.

Today, I found three. Take a look:
Free Amazon Instant Video Credit

Netflix and iTunes get all the press, but Amazon's Instant Video service offers a huge selection of movies and TV shows you can rent or buy. And if you're a Twitter user, you can score a download or two absolutely free.

For a limited time, Amazon is offering a $5 Instant Video credit when you follow them on Twitter.

And what will $5 buy you? Well, for $4 you can rent the remake of "True Grit," one of my favorite movies of 2010. You can buy and own "Groundhog Day" or "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan." Or why not rent a couple episodes of "Breaking Bad" ($1.99 each), one of the best TV shows ever?

You can watch your Instant Video rentals/purchases on your PC, a Roku box, a TiVo, a Logitech Revue and various other devices. Heck, some TVs have built-in support for Amazon Instant Video streaming.

By the way, if you were already following Amazon on Twitter, you can still take advantage of the offer by revoking Amazon's access (an option found in Twitter's settings), then re-linking your accounts.

Free 8x10 Photo Canvas

You know what I hate spending money on? Picture frames. That's why I'm partial to photo canvases, which have a kind of built-in frame.

If you want to try one of these for yourself, a service called Canvas People is offering a free 8x10 photo canvas. The only catch: You have to pay for shipping which runs $14.95.

Even then, that's a pretty low price for a photo canvas. All you do is upload the photo, choose any upgrades you might want (unsurprisingly, the service tries to sell you a number of them--but they're all optional), then place your order.

I haven't tried this service myself--yet. If you have, leave a comment letting me (and your fellow freebie lovers) know what you think of it.

Free Scanning App for iPhone

Your iPhone camera is good for more than just snapshots and video. It can also pull scanner duty, capturing documents, whiteboards, receipts, notes, and the like.

Genius Scan+ is one of the better iPhone scanner-apps, and for limited time it's absolutely free. (It normally sells for $2.99, which is still an incredible bargain.)

With Genius Scan+, you just point your iPhone's camera at whatever you want to scan. After capturing the image, the app can convert it to JPEG or PDF, then share it via e-mail, Dropbox, Evernote, Facebook, Google Docs, or even Twitter. You can also beam them straight to your computer (via Wi-Fi).

This is one of those apps that can quickly prove indispensable. And now that it's free, what have you got to lose? (Genius Scan+ is also compatible with the iPad 2 and fourth-gen iPod Touch.)

Self-proclaimed cheapskate Rick Broida has been a technology writer for over 20 years. He has authored over a dozen books, including, most recently, "How to Do Everything: Palm Pre." Currently he writes the Cheapskate blog.