I found a disturbing Canada Personal Finance Reddit thread about unethical ways people have saved money.
Highlights included some bizarre stuff, like using another country’s VPN to sign up for a lower rate on Netflix (seriously?!) to using Iranian change (about two cents a pop) that vending machines will mistake for the Canadian $2 coin.
One person who used to work downtown apparently cut and pasted numbers from old parking receipts to change the date on other receipts that (s)he would then place on the dash. Apparently, this saved $100 a week for months.
Other more common ones were:
- Using a student discount long after graduation
- Pirating content
- Bringing home snacks or tea from work
- Ordering household supplies through work stock-ups orders then bringing them home
- Buying one, more expensive bulk item but ringing in another (organic vs non-organic, cashews vs peanuts, etc.)
Then there were some less common ones:
- Selling churned sign-up bonus travel points on the black market to travel agents
- Claiming printer ink as a home office expense on taxes but using it for non-business purposes
- Lying about a kid’s age to get discounted admission
- Stuffing paper towels up a vending machine’s change chute, then taking it out at the end of the day and getting all of the change from that day’s transactions.
- Swiping 50% off stickers from older produce bags and affixing them to newer ones
- Using vision benefits to get nice (non-prescription) sunglasses
- Working a side job, forwarding calls to the main job and getting paid by two companies for the same hours
- Using food banks when not poor
- Getting flowers from cemetaries
- Filling a gas container for personal use while filling up the company car or using the company gas card to fill up your own car
- Grabbing a LARGE stack of napkins or paper towels from restaurants and about 1/8 of a roll of toilet paper in wads. The same person also took gauze and such from doctors’ offices.
- Getting lock picks and stealing restaurants’ toilet paper
- Parking in lots (rather than at meters) and ignoring any “tickets” since they’re rarely enforced
- Ordering from beauty stores from the free samples, returning the actual products
- Using a corporate discount for hotel rooms — when you don’t work for the company in question
- Buying things for a one-time use (tools, etc.) then returning them
- Buying a new product, putting the old one in the new one’s packaging then returning the box for a full refund
- Low or no tipping
- Lying about how many miles you drive for company reimbursement on a personal vehicle
- And this one people might argue is fine: Claiming the full per diem dining reimbursement without using it all (even when working in town and eating at home)
Whew, that’s a lot of crappy behavior!
It always creeps me out when people go to extreme lengths — to the point of dishonesty — to pinch pennies. I understand if you’re broke. Sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
But somehow I don’t think people buying nuts or organic produce are really all that poor.
I’ve been trying to think about dishonest stuff I’ve done personally. I’m not coming up with much. Maybe I have too active a guilt complex?
I have watched some pirated or otherwise illegally streamed stuff two or three times when a friend brought it over.
And when I was super broke in Seattle, I had a friend report his bus pass (unlimited rides each quarter) as lost, then gave him the $27 to replace it. I did that a few times.
Oh, and the same friend supplied me with a pirated code for Windows because I couldn’t afford to buy it myself.
And there was once — back when we were still buying Tim’s skin stuff from The Body Shop — that there was a glitch that I took advantage of. A one-time-use, $20 reward (for buying a certain amount of product) kept being applied even after the first use. So I placed as many orders as I could. I think it was four or five before the error resolved itself.
Oh, And then there’s the ShopRunner thing. I signed up for a one-year ShopRunner free trial probably seven years ago. I cancelled or took my credit card information off the account or otherwise did something so I wouldn’t be charged. But the subscription still works to this day.
And no, it’s not a Mastercard cardholder benefit. It’s just some sort of error. I save at least $25 a year with it because I send Mom pears each year from Harry & David, and ShopRunner gets me both free regular shipping and waives the Alaska-shipping surcharge.
Also, I let Tim still use my Netflix and Hulu sign-ons. That said, I pay for the multiple screens Netflix option, so I don’t really consider that cheating. Maybe the Hulu one is dishonest, though.
And… Yeah, I think that’s about it. I just don’t think most savings are worth being dishonest, especially if money isn’t tight.
What are some unethical ways you or someone you know has saved money?
I definitely do not think it is frugal to save money at the expense of some one else-that’s cheap, and in many of these examples, criminal. I find it hard to believe people do not know that, and simply just do not care. I know people who are always the first in line or first with their hand out for a freebie, and I might call them tight, or opportunistic (which also sometimes bugs me when they always seem to get the perks and don’t leave anything behind for someone else and I’m thinking a a certain family member who just happens to always be in the right place at the right time ), but they aren’t criminals at least.
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Yeah, I think putting in the time/effort to go after freebies or stand in line for ages… That’s more frugal than cheap. Unless they’re taking said freebie/opportunity away from people who really need it. Even when I was using the food bank — as someone with a disability, I got to go in ahead of other people — I’d try to abstain from stuff like chocolate milk and similar offerings because, as appealing as they were, I knew how lovely it would be for parents to be able to offer their kids a treat like that and I wanted to make sure there was enough to go around.
And yeah, I really don’t understand how people take “savings” to such an extreme as to be unethical. Whether that’s stealing office supplies or not tipping waitstaff. Ugh!
Some of these are definitely very very whack. Canadians ain’t sh!t loool, and I am one. I definitely watch most of my tv illegally, but I pay for cable, netflix too (just not everything is on those two options) – plus I haven’t paid for my winter tires, due to an error on the store’s end and I have yet to clear it up (I tried when they called but the manager did not seem to understand what I said to him) – it’s been over a year :/
The changing price stickers, using company funds :s :s :s – I am sure they justify it because it is a big company and who would notice??
Using a food bank when you are able to afford groceries, is disgusting though. Those resources are for truly needy people, ugh!!
Yep using food banks is definitely disgusting. As for big companies… I guess that’s their rationale but even putting morals aside, why risk your job? If you’re caught ordering personal supplies with company funds I imagine it’s a fireable offense.
I agree! I order for my office, and although my boss has never questioned the bills I have never ordered something for myself. I did order a little holder for pens/pencils etc that I liked, but I enjoy seeing it all organized in one place. I would never risk my job for any of that stuff – it is not worth it at all.
Yeah I really don’t get risking your job for cleaning supplies if you can afford them on your own. Even if you don’t get fired, it’d probably hurt your chances for that next promotion or pay raise or whatever. Sheesh!
Ummm, I keep a stack of napkins in my car from restaurants but I will say that’s when I order some fast food and just ask for extra napkins. I don’t see anything wrong with that one. I’ve taken home some supplies from work def. things like notepads, pencils, pens, post it notes that’s about it though. I must say the working two jobs and forwarding the phone to one job is genius! LOL until you get caught and lose one or both of your sources of income than what do you do? And stuffing paper towels into vending machine I mean that’s someone’s livelihood and would never do something like that. Just like ringing up the wrong price I’m always paranoid about getting stop when I leave the store. I don’t know if I have a complex because I’m black but I don’t like to feed into the non-tipper stereotype or shoplifting stereotype so I don’t do those types of things at all. Isn’t worth it me. One of my good friends was a notorious non tipper and I called her out on it and slowed down going out to eat with her. Especially when our kids were younger her kid would make a huge mess how dare you leave no tip! She’s also the one who will return things to the store even if it’s used.
Yeah, it’s fine to ask for extra napkins and it’s good to make sure they get used if they’re left over after a meal. But apparently the woman in question (the commenter’s mom) took LARGE stacks of napkins from dispensers. And like I said, gauze and such from doctor’s offices. So weird.
The thing about the vending machines isn’t affecting the owner of the machine. It’s stopping any change from coming down the chute. People just figure the machine ate their change and leave. So at the end of the day, the person can take the towel out, and all of the day’s change would come out. Although yeah I guess if I knew a vending machine was faulty and didn’t give change I guess maybe I’d avoid using it if I could. So maybe it IS messing with someone’s livelihood.
I can definitely understand being sensitive about stereotypes. I can’t imagine how it is for a black person, but I know that as a teenager I’d get followed around the store pretty closely because, statistically, I was one of the customers most likely to steal. So to deal with that your whole life… Eesh.
Glad you called your friend out on her bad tipping behavior. Servers have a hard job — at least on the knees and back and brain (remembering orders). They deserve a good tip if they earn it.
Oh, wow! Yeah, most of the list is unethical and some of it’s def illegal.
I have to admit that some of this stuff falls into a gray area for me. Taking more than a couple of napkins or paper towels when you’ve paid full price for a meal isn’t that bad but picking the paper towel dispenser lock so you can steal the supply? Unethical as all get out. (BTW, why?!?) Also, these days I’ll take low tips over no tips. If everyone tipped low, that would more than make up for people who don’t tip at all. I say this as a restaurant cashier.
Many moons ago, I lived in a building that had a tiny laundry room – two washers, one dryer. The second time I used the dryer, I accidentally stumbled on a way to get multiple cycles with only one payment. Yes, I took advantage of this for several years and even told a couple of other tenants about the trick. (don’t know if they used it) After the dryer was repaired, I couldn’t manipulate it any more. Would I do it again? As tight as my money is, yes. I need the quarters more now than I did then.
The longer I work, the more I understand why employees steal from their employers. They are most likely being mistreated and screwed out of raises, perks, promotions, etc. I know of at least one co-worker who is blatantly stealing food and re-selling it (cameras are recording him and he’s doing this in the presence of co-workers.) I don’t know how the Gen. Mgr. doesn’t know about it, so apparently, he doesn’t care. (He doesn’t seem to care about much, period.) Then again, the thief is a good employee otherwise and has been there for years, so maybe the GM thinks it’s a small price to pay? Like I said, shades of gray.
Yeah, I don’t think it’s a big deal to take a few extra napkins. But the commenter (it was her mother’s behavior she was describing) said that this was more like a large stack of napkins. And if the woman is willing to ball up about 1/8 of a toilet paper roll from a public restroom and put it in her purse for later use, I have to assume that a “stack” means a STACK.
I think given your financial situation, it’s understandable to get extra dryer loads. Even if you weren’t strapped for cash at the time, it’s at best a gray area, I think.
I guess you have a point about low tippers. But several of the commenters said they just don’t leave a tip at all. But I guess you’re all too familiar with this given your job.
And yeah, it sounds like GM probably just doesn’t care, so he just pretends not to notice. Especially if, as you said, the employee is a good worker otherwise.
At my last job, I remember going to see the controller before I took my first work-related trip. He said to claim the full per diem (unless a meal was covered by the conference of course). I said – I usually don’t spend it all, I can save receipts. He said – please don’t. It costs more for the human capital to calculate receipts than paying on the full per diem. It was really hard for me to do that from an ethical standpoint, so I used whatever “overage” to fund my “baking for my coworkers” habit. 🙂 I figured it was one way to give back. And now my current employer, who has the same policy about per diems, doesn’t use the federal rate for the city I’m in, just the flat rate of where we are, so I don’t feel as bad with any “overage” because some meals I end up spending more than the reimbursement. (But I still bake for my staff!)
At a former place of employment, I once was ordered to resubmit 6 wks . worth of meal expenses using the full per diem rate, and given 2 days to do it. Failure to do so would have resulted in termination. Of course, I did not get the message that Annapolis, MD and New York were higher rate reimbursement areas that required receipts to get the full reimbursement rates. I think I came out even.
Yikes!!! That’s some badly managed crap right there (on the company’s part, not yours).
Yeah, I can see where the full per diem would make sense for ease — at a large company anyway — I’m a tad iffy about claiming a per diem if you eat at home. But hey if the company doesn’t specifically rule against it… Meh.
And it’s awesome that you bake for your staff! Let alone that you put the extra money into that selfless endeavor!
I think it’s the reason they hired me!!! Of course, I had to mention it during my campus meet & greet 😉 hahaaa
If I baked for people, it’d be on my resume!
I am guilty of just one of the offenses listed in the original post – Allowing my kids to get the children’s discount after they aged out. I didn’t tell them to lie, but just not disclose their age unless asked….
The grey area for me is when I receive goods I didn’t purchase. For example I ordered six china bowls and four mugs. I was surprised when Amazon sent me six CASES of bowls and four CASES of mugs. I had a pallet of china in my driveway. They charged me for individual pieces not cases. I had visions of reselling on ebay. I did contact Amazon and had them send a truck to pick up the china that I did not order.
I mean, savings through misunderstandings aren’t the best, but I think there’s at least a bit of a difference between letting someone assume something and flat-out lying. Which is what the Reddit guy did.
I’m amazed you got all that china in the house! I can see being tempted to sell it on eBay, so good for you for making sure it got straightened out instead.
Years ago I ordered something from Amazon and got the wrong stuff. When I offered via phone to send it back, they told me to keep it and they’d send the right things along.
The customer service rep did, however, take pains to tell me this was a one-time thing. Apparently they know people are trying to take advantage.
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Yeah, I’m guessing people get a lot of “one-time” things because the cost to ship stuff back would outweigh the benefit of putting it back in stock for sale. But it behooves a company to tell customers it’s a one-time thing so they don’t think they can get away with abusing the system. I’m sure some still attempt it, so hopefully Amazon makes notes on customers’ accounts.
Interesting topic. Definitely lots of cringey stuff there. We do take some large napkin stacks from restaurants when on the road, but we also order a lot of food and actually need a million napkins each meal for our kids. But it’s not like we’re using them instead of purchasing napkins for our home. Lord knows we buy enough of those!
I feel like the napkins thing is totally normal, and especially on the road!! I truly never know how messy road food is going to be until I’m eating it, so I always over grab napkins. I make sure to use them all up though (and it’s not like I’m taking the entire box haha).
I think taking a bunch of napkins that you’re going to use for food from restaurants is perfectly acceptable. And if you end up having some leftover for personal use, well that’s just how it goes. I think the weird thing here would be getting a ton of napkins when you only need one or two just so you didn’t have to buy napkins for your house. But really even that isn’t as big a deal as taking like 1/8 of a roll of TP from the bathroom in wads in your purse. Eesh.
I have had things sent that I didn’t order and wasn’t charged for too. I usually give the merchant a chance to fix the issue without making me go out of my way, and if they don’t, I walk away. I am not paying return shipping for their mistake or shlepping something to the post office on Saturday morning. Almost every single merchant will say – keep it and sorry for the mistake. I even keep things that I tried to return due to a defect that I was told to toss, donate or reuse when I initiate a return. I won’t pay full price for something that is broken but I might use it or pass it on if they tell me to keep it. I also take home pens and post its from work sometimes. I get good use from them and I jot things down for work a lot. I wouldn’t take something that I wasn’t using for their benefit though. That said, I refuse to go back to Walmart if I’m undercharged or something isn’t rung up. I am NOT waiting in line for 20 minutes for that. I’ve been overcharged and I wouldn’t wait in line for that either so I figure it evens out. Their lines are awful.
Yep, I definitely wouldn’t pay return shipping for a store’s mistake. Or go too far out of my way to mail something back. Maybe it’s the fatigue, maybe just laziness. I dunno. And yeah I don’t think I could handle Walmart’s waits either. No matter how good my intentions were.
I have stacks of fast food napkins at home and some in the car right now. The dispenser at the fast food place is not designed properly, and to get a napkin you must take several. I have been told they cannot reuse the unused ones from customers. For those that chose not to take them home, they stack them on top of the trash container for those who need extras. Some of us use the extras as paper towels in the bathrooms instead of using the hot air blowers.
Yep, sometimes it’s unavoidable. I think intent is kind of the issue in these types of cases. If you mean to take them because your kids are messy eaters on the road but you take too many, or if the dispenser gives you too many? Meh, just make sure they get put to good use. If you’re consistently taking large amounts that you don’t need just to use at home it’s a little iffier.
I don’t think it is bad to do unethical things to save money, if you don’t harm the environment, an individual or small business.
I think many, many people feel their actions are justified because the Powers-that-be are screwing others all the time – embezzlement or misspending of tax dollars, price gouging by pharmaceutical companies, cable monopolies before advent of streamings, outrageous bank amd credit card fees, hidden charges on products & services, etc. Many businesses will do anything for the bottom line if they can get away with it.
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That’s definitely a rationale there. But on the other hand, since business ARE all about the bottom line, arguably these little dishonest things people are doing result in companies raising prices. Which often hurts people who can’t afford the price raises. So you could argue that these things don’t hurt the company, no. They just hurt everyone else, especially the most financially vulnerable.
Sure that is part of the problem. But I noticed that companies always say they *have* to raise prices when minimum wage goes up or due to shoplifting etc.. Yet CEOs and top management compensation never seems to be a factor.
Yep, because it’s all about keeping profits high to keep shareholders happy. Sigh.
Maybe it’s my active Catholic guilt complex (although I’m very lapsed now haha), but wow, most of these made me cringe! Of course, did I use Napster when I was a teen? Yes. Have I used other people’s Netflixes? (Yes – but TBF, at their house when I was watching their pets! Haha)
Have we all made mistakes or accidents? Yeah! I’ve grabbed some napkins, didn’t use them, absent-mindedly took them with. I’ve gotten the wrong change back from the dispenser, didn’t count it, but it was in my favor (that I didn’t notice until later). I’ve received two snacks from a vending machine when I only ordered one. Those were fine (although even now I’m like, could I have returned those??)
I just think most of the above if you know what you are doing and you are doing it to ‘save a few bucks’ because you’re a cheapskate (NOT poor) is stealing. It’s theft. I don’t know if it’s all illegal but it makes me feel bad, so I wouldn’t do it.
Maybe this is why I’ll never be rich 😉
I have Catholic guilt too!! Some of these definitely made me cringe as well but I agree with you. It is one thing to do it because you are cheap, vs being poor. I would never go to the foodbank or use my employer’s $$$ to buy stuff for myself. But most of my TV is watched via non paid avenues. I do pay for my music though.
You and I are pretty much on the same page here — and I didn’t even grow up with religious guilt. Maybe it’s just anxiety?
Glad my readers are all so honest!
It is definitely anxiety, but also if you are Catholic – SMH, droning on and on about sinning etc. If God was fed up of me he could strike me down anytime.
Yeah, but I feel like if any deity is as strict as the religious texts make them out to be (Jesus not withstanding) then most of us would be smoldering piles of ash by now.
I agree with you, Melissa.
Some of this stuff is pretty wild. Some of the stuff, we still do. Like I take a lot of extra napkins from Chipotle because, well, Baby AF is messy AF when we try to get him to eat a burrito bowl at home. If there a few left over, they’ll for sure be used in the next couple days.
But the ethical thing to do would be to buy napkins at Target or whatever.
Food for thought here this week, friend, for sure.
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I mean, the napkins are there for customers to use to avoid making messes (and arguably messes would make employees’ jobs harder too). And if you take a few too many, it’s totally understandable. But knowing that you’ll use one or two and taking a large stack… That’s where it seems a little iffy. Definitely on the low end of the spectrum though compared to a lot of the other stuff on here. Because… Yikes!
These things annoy me. I know at least one person who is often cheap to the point of stealing and I get so angry when I see it. My thinking is that being frugal is fine, but being cheap, especially when you can afford it, is not acceptable. I’m a bit more okay with people being cheap if they are in fact poor and barely scraping by. My theory is if you have to say “technically” in front of it, then you’re being cheap. For example, “Technically, the napkins are free”.
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Yeah I think “technically” is a good barometer for how screwed up something is when it comes to these types of things.