Here's a little secret I found out recently about how to get free Krispy Kreme doughnuts:

When the "hot" sign is on, some Krispy Kreme locations give away one free original glazed doughnut to every person stopping buy.

This is done on a store-by-store basis, so you'll need to ask your local Krispy Kreme if they offer this or not. If they do, and if you drive by their store often, look for the "hot" sign (a big, red, neon sign that's visible from a long ways off and says that hot doughnuts are available -- see the link above and the words "Look for the Hot Light" for a picture of what it looks like). If it's on, pull in and grab your free doughnut.

Our Krispy Kreme store happens to be on the way to the local mall, across the street from Lowe's and on the main intersection in our city leading to all the other main shopping areas. We go by it at least once a week, and we hit the jackpot about once every third time. My kids get so excited at just the thought of getting a doughnut and since it's free, my wife's ok with it (despite the lack of nutritional content). WE hit it this past weekend and it made a great start to our day.

How can Krispy Kreme afford to do this? Well, first, the cost of a doughnut is virtually nothing. It's not that costly to give them away.

Second, they taste GREAT -- especially when they are hot. Even if people don't buy any more on this trip, it's likely that they will on another trip. Who can forget the great taste of a hot, Krispy Kreme doughnut?

Finally, most people do buy something extra. Getting customers into a store is over half the battle in marketing and they become MUCH more likely to buy something if they go into the store (it's pretty hard to buy something if you're not in the store). ;-) And since Krispy Kreme makes such a large margin on their doughnuts, coffee, etc., they easily end up making money by giving away free doughnuts.

A couple of non-finance comments:

1. My favorite doughnuts are the chocolate iced creme filled (last one in top row).

2. The best: a hot, original, glazed doughnut with a scoop (or two!) of Moose Tracks ice cream on it. Or, if you're a huge chocolate fan, go with Extreme Moose Tracks ice cream. Yummmmmmmm! ;-)