Is everything "free" worth taking?

I tend to say "yes" to a lot of things I'm offered, especially when they are free! But, as I'm starting to learn... maybe not everything free is worth taking?!? Gasp, I know! This past weekend, for example, we were offered free tickets to see Shirley MacLaine put on a show. I automatically said "yes!" thinking it would be a fun night out. I'm not even really too sure about what she does in a live show, I just thought it would be a fun, free night out for the hubby and I. I remember watching her over and over in Terms of Endearment when I was a kid. I loved that movie! I figured, whatever she did had to be worth seeing. My husband, on the other hand, had NO INTEREST AT ALL.

We were also given free tickets to a local gem faire and a home and garden show for this past weekend too! Of course, I took all of the free tickets thinking how lucky we were to have received so many free things for one fun-filled weekend. Not really thinking how we aren't really into gems or kinda get depressed when we go to home and garden shows since it reminds us of what we can't really afford right now.

My husband had a very valid point, why spend the gas money to go to something we weren't really interested in, just to be tempted to spend money that we don't really have, on items that we don't really need? Um, yeah, that kinda sums it all up.

So, in the end, although we scored free tickets, we didn't end up using any of them! I felt a bit guilty since I'm sure there are people who would have taken the tickets and found great pleasure in attending the events. It just wasn't us for whatever reason.

Question : Do you find yourself accepting free items (tickets or otherwise) just because it's free and not necessarily because you'll actually use it?

Lesson Learned : Think before accepting something that's free. It may not be my cup of tea and that's okay.