There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but for Renée Stroinski, there is such a thing as a free wedding dress.

The 25-year-old New Jersey-based student had conceded to shopping for an evening gown instead of a wedding dress now that mounting school loans had put her dreams out of reach.

But earlier this week on the Today Show, she was given a free wedding dress by a stranger, recently featured in a Huffington Post article, who wanted to "pay it forward" by giving her dress to a deserving bride. Renée fit the bill, and she in kind plans to do the same after her 2014 wedding.

Perhaps the spirit of "paying it forward" will continue to catch on and deserving couples will be able to catch a break when it comes to planning their dream day.

In the meantime, here are a few other wedding freebies available to all willing to invest a little creativity and research.

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Between blow-drying, teasing, flat-ironing, highlighting and lowlighting, there are many ways to change what Mother Nature gave us. But whether you’re regularly straightening curls, lightening darker hair or vice-versa, there may be a price to pay for rebelling.

"Most women don’t think twice about the hair habits they’ve had for years and years," says long time hair care advocate and health scientist Audrey Davis-Sivasothy.

"Lackluster, frazzled, overworked hair—that’s the price we pay for handling our hair like a pair of jeans. Hair is a fragile fiber that needs to be handled more like a silk blouse," says Davis-Sivasothy, author of "Hair Care Rehab," (www.haircarerehab.com). "Oftentimes, the style we feel the most comfortable with reinforces our bad habits. It’s a problem with all the earmarks of an addiction."

• Substances of choice include:
• Toxic chemicals (perms, relaxers & colors)
• Hair OCD (excessive combing, brushing & heat use)
• Environmental lifestyle (too much exposure to sun, surf, bad air and water)
• Nutritional/dietary (fad diets, smoking, low water consumption)

As with a drug addiction, once you’ve kicked your habit, you’ll liberate your bad hair, unlocking new dimensions of hair potential, says Davis-Sivasothy, who has also authored the popular “The Science of Black Hair” (www.blackhairscience.com).

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The premature appearance of all-things Christmas may make you see red and feel green, but it's actually a good reminder to start budgeting for this year's holiday season. The National Retail Federation estimates the average consumer will spend nearly $750 on holiday-related purchases, up slightly from last year's actual spending. This number doesn't factor in the cost of holiday travel or the time away from your day job to connect with family and friends.

Making extra money is the best way to combat this significant seasonal expense. Since you don't want to spend all your free time working, consider the following easy ways to score some extra cash by Christmas.

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Decorating your home for the holidays is an age-old tradition.  As another festive season approaches, it may seem as if many holiday decor ideas are a little tired, so this year, why not come up with a fresh take on some tried-and-true classics?  Sally Morse, Director of Creative Services for Hunter Douglas, the leading name in custom window fashions, and the design expert featured on “Ask Sally & Jen” at hunterdouglas.com, offers the five following tips to expand your concept of seasonal décor:

1.    Updated Natural Elements

Rustic, natural touches make your home feel warmer and more inviting.  Wreaths and poinsettias have been holiday décor staples for generations.  This year, update these basics in your space.  Try making over your wreath by monogramming it.  Add a cardboard stencil letter to the middle of the wreath that can be easily made or found at your nearby craft store.

Hang it from your front door for a personal and festive entrance.  For another innovative approach to a classic, remove poinsettias from the standard foil-lined pots and place them in a turquoise, pink or orange vase for a fresh, colorful look.

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A new study conducted by the New England-based Concord Evaluation Group (CEG) has determined that children who watched episodes of the Curious George PBS KIDS television series or read books based on the Curious George PBS KIDS series were positively impacted in terms of their knowledge about the science and math concepts covered.

The study also found that Curious George TV tie-in books prompted children to use scientific habits of mind, such as making predictions, making observations, asking questions, and hypothesizing. It also indicated that parents who read or watched Curious George with their children reported feeling more confident about exploring science and math with their children and reported they were more motivated to do so.

"Science, math, and engineering sound scary, even to adults," said CEG Senior Researcher Christine Paulsen, PHD. "As preschoolers, it's a very different thing. They're learning how to explore, they're learning how to be curious. Across all platforms, Curious George is an educational winner for kids."

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In honor of Small Business Saturday, I wanted to introduce you to my personal favorite small business, MCM Inventions, Inc.  How did this business come to earn the status as my all-time favorite?  Because this is the business that my husband and I started together three years ago!  Here's a little background on MCM Inventions:

MCM Inventions, Inc. was founded in 2009 by Melissa Cleaver and her husband, Michael.  The couple met while attending Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.  Michael earned a bachelors degree in Agricultural Development and Melissa attained a bachelors degree in Genetics.  They graduated from college in December of 1999 and were married in Houston, Texas seven years later.

The company’s first product line, Toothpaste 2 Go, was invented by Melissa while traveling to the National Science Teacher’s Conference in Boston, MA.  While brushing her teeth that night, she noticed the small airplane icon on her bottle of travel-sized toothpaste and thought back to how much she had paid for that tube.  She remembered that her travel-size toothpaste cost her 30 cents less than a full size tube of toothpaste, but she only got half as much actual toothpaste.  Now, she could travel on an airplane with this smaller sized tube, but why was she paying so much more for so much less?

Necessity truly is the mother of invention, and because of the potential savings for future travel, the Toothpaste 2 Go toothpaste refill system was born.  MCM Inventions, Inc. has many other useful innovations that are currently being patented and developed for future release. The company’s goal is to consistently provide you, their valued customers, with products that will save you both time and money, thus truly "making your everyday easier".