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54 Tiny Life Hacks You’ll Probably Wish You’d Discovered Earlier, Shared By Netizens
Life has a funny way of making simple things unnecessarily complicated. You can spend years doing something one way, only to discover someone else has a much easier method and you’re left wondering why nobody bothered to give you a heads-up.
That’s the fun of these little life “cheat codes.” Over on r/AskTeddit, one user asked people to share the real-life shortcuts they swear by, and the responses turned into a goldmine of things that make you wonder how you’ve gone this long without knowing about them. We’ve rounded up some of the best ones, so get comfortable, Pandas. You might find a few tricks worth stealing.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Being nice.
little acts of kindness can make a big difference in your life and life of others.
RELATED:
#2
Being genuinely polite to customer service employees.
#3
If a lot of flights are suddenly cancelled and you still need to get somewhere relatively nearby, don't go to a car rental place, they will be full of people trying to rent. Find a nearby U-Haul rental. The price will likely be nearly the same, and they expect one-way rentals.
Adulting is a never-ending game of discovering things five minutes after you need to know them. Nobody hands you a proper manual when you turn 18. You gradually pick things up, usually after paying too much for something, making a completely avoidable mistake, or watching a 12-minute YouTube tutorial at 1 a.m. The good news is that plenty of useful information is already out there. You just have to know where to look.
That’s what makes this particular list such a little gem. These netizens have already done some of the digging for us, sharing the shortcuts they’ve picked up through experience, trial and error, or knowing a clever trick most people overlook.
#4
Lots and lots of repair jobs (home, bikes, appliances, computers, etc etc) really don't need an expensive professional. YouTube is a goldmine of tutorials. Very doable for most people with a little time, patience, maybe extra tools. Maybe.
Obviously doesn't apply to electrical installations.
Bored Jellyfish 4 hours ago
YouTube tutorials are indeed a goldmine! I fixed my car, my dryer, my cat…
#5
Having enough. My favourite example is my grandfather who taught me this. He was a small business owner almost all his professional life. In the 70ies and 80ies when a lot of his older competitors retired he was offered a few times to expand his business, he never did. When he turned 57 he started to prep for retirement. At 60 after 45 years in the workforce and nearly 40 years as a businessowner he closed his workshop and retired. Didn’t try to sell to anyone or anything. One day he was open. Next day closed. Just like that. He was healthy, in good shape, business had been going well. Me being young at the time, I asked him, why he doesn’t continue working. He simply said:“ I’ve made enough money, I don’t need more. I have a house I like, a car that gets me from a to b without trouble and I go on vacation 5 weeks a year. I’ve worked hard for it and I don’t need anything else.“ Roughly 30 years later the man still enjoys his retirement. He is who I aspire to be!
#6
2 ears, 1 mouth. Listen twice as much as you talk. It’s stupid how far that has gotten me in social situations.
WindySwede 2 hours ago
I believe this was the reason I got a new Linoleum flooring in last apartment. I said it was old, etc and then waited, sort of. Not like a psychopath though.. 😸
Take money, for example. A surprisingly effective “cheat code” is knowing where your money is going before it disappears into the financial abyss. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission recommends starting with the basics like writing down your income, tracking your expenses, and seeing what’s actually left at the end of the month.
It sounds painfully obvious, which is probably why so many of us ignore it. Yet even a basic budget can reveal those tiny recurring expenses that quietly nibble away at your paycheck until payday starts feeling like an emergency rescue mission.
#7
True patience.
It will win you every battle or conflict in life. It will earn you friends and respect. If you are truly patient and don't just say you are, it wins life.
Don't mistake patience for hesitation.
#8
Compound interest in safe investments like mutual funds. Aggressively saving in your twenties and thirties will will make the rest of your life so much easier. This does mean living below your means slightly but boy does it pay off.
Banks know this and try to get you in debt because then they reap the benefits of that compound interest.
Also finance isn't hard. Look at the interest rates. If you have an interest rate on a debt that's higher than the interest/income rate of your investments, pay the debt. If your debt is less than what you are making in investments, let it ride.
#9
Moving hacks:
A full service interstate relocation can cost four to five figures. If it’s not paid for by your company, saving money starts to look more appealing.
Instead of paying a moving company $25 for a wardrobe box, gather bunches of clothes in bundles (still on their hangers) and wrap them in 13 gallon kitchen trash bags with the hanger hooks sticking out. This protects the clothes from bugs / dust and saves space.
Get to know cashiers at large liquor stores. They can tell you if they break down the emptied liquor boxes after stocking shelves or keep them intact, and direct you to nice piles of strong, divided boxes made to carry heavy bottles. Korbel cartons are perfect for moving tumblers and wine glasses.
Rather than labeling boxes by room, another way to categorize them is to carry a clipboard when packing. Start by writing “1.” Document the contents of your first box as you pack, then also write “1” on the box. Do the same with the second box, etc. At the end, you’ll have a portable index of everything and be able to find specific items in a stack of 500 boxes.
If you use Pods or similar to relocate, put an Airtag inside a box on each unit. Watching your earthly possessions travel to your new home in real time provides reassurance that they have gotten there safely. If for some reason a Pod gets misrouted, you’d be able to track it down. Mine never got lost, but took a detour to a truck stop in South Carolina before getting back on track, which was interesting.
Then there are the things that feel like they should have been covered in school. Knowing how to sew on a button, unclog a drain, change a filter, reset a router, or handle a minor repair can save you from calling someone every time your house makes a strange noise.
This Old House notes that learning basic DIY skills can save money on labor and make everyday home maintenance a lot less intimidating. Honestly, YouTube has turned an enormous amount of previously mysterious household knowledge into something you can learn while standing in front of the broken thing.
#10
That pot/pan probably doesn't need to soak. You are just delaying work. Take care of it now and you won't feel overwhelmed by a sink full later.
#11
If you borrow an ebook from your local library on the Libby app, download to your Kindle, and then turn your Kindle on airplane mode, it won’t automatically remove the ebook when the ebook itself is “returned” automatically to the library’s digital collection. It doesn’t negatively impact the library and their ability to continue renting out the ebook to others, but it does let you finish the book on your own time till you turn airplane mode back off & sync your Kindle again.
#12
Anger opens the mouth and closes the mind.
When somebody upsets you take a breath, keep your mind working. Keep the anger shut down.
Of course, there’s a difference between learning how to fix something and deciding you’re suddenly a licensed electrician because you watched three videos. Some jobs really do belong to professionals. The useful skill is knowing which is which.
That’s one reason we suggest that you should learn from people who already have experience. If you’re getting into a hobby that requires expensive equipment, joining a club or community first can save you from buying the shiny, overpriced thing that everyone with experience immediately tells you to avoid. Sometimes the smartest purchase is the one you don’t make.
#13
DMV clerks have the authority to remove back fees and penalties, just be nice and say you had no idea. I bought a truck off a customer, it had 970.00 in back fees and penalties, the clerk asked if I knew about them, I was nice and said no, she removed them.
#14
My all time favorite is Unordered Merchandise. Repeat it with me - Unordered Merchandise! 📢
If any company sends you a product that you did not order, that is considered a GIFT 🎁 to you that you are legally entitled to and you can do whatever your heart desires with it. Use it, sell it, give it away, return it (but never pay to return it), eat it, lock it up - do whatever you please.
Why? Because the FTC says that by law, it is illegal for any company to send you something you did not order and demand payment for it! 🏆
Don’t let any company tell you otherwise. I’ve known a few people who were told a product they were sent without them ordering it needed to be returned. One person paid to return it (wished they had told me beforehand) and one knew they didn’t have to return it.
I have personally benefitted from this law.
Scroll to the section “**Your Rights When You Get Unordered Merchandise”** and read.
https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-do-if-youre-billed-things-you-never-got-or-you-get-unordered-products.
Lyone Fein 3 hours ago
This summer I purchased a small electric ice cream maker. For some reason I received two identical machines. I actually did try to contact customer service in order to return the extra. But I could never get through to a person, and the chat bot didn’t have an option for returning unordered merchandise. So now my bestie also has an ice cream machine!
Another life hack is remembering that your time has a price tag too. We’re usually focused on how much something costs in dollars, but the cheaper option isn’t always the better deal if it eats up half your Saturday or leaves you ready to throw the thing out the window.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau defines this idea as “opportunity cost,” meaning the value of the next-best use of your money or time when you choose one option over another. So before spending three hours trying to save $10, it’s worth asking whether those three hours could have been put to better use.
#16
As a gay man I feel like I have an internal cheat code when talking to some women (obviously not all). I see some of the things some straight men do and say and I just feel like they are missing a crucial part of their brain or something. It feels like cheating when I can just talk to a woman without it becoming a disaster in 5 minutes.
#17
Getting the right amount of sleep.
#18
If you are confident in your decision, don't give excuses. For most people "excuses are the opening of negotiations". Like its fine to just say "no" with various levels of politeness. Obviously there are some exceptions - you should probably give some context behind declining that marriage proposal... but most of the time "Thank you for thinking of me, but no thank you." is pretty much all you need to say. People can press "why not!" (they want to open negotiations and get their way)... but its fine to say "I'd rather not discuss it further".
Sleep belongs in this conversation too, even though it hardly feels like a cheat code. It’s more like the boring piece of advice that keeps turning out to be annoyingly correct. The CDC recommends that adults ages 18 to 60 get at least seven hours of sleep a night, and its latest data show that 30.5% of U.S. adults reported getting less than seven hours in 2024.
Staying up late might be less of a productivity strategy and more of a very questionable business plan.
#19
I feel like I hacked working full time. Before I had an Office job 5 days a week, but now I work 24 hour shifts as a caretaker, so I only work 7 times a month and half of the time is just me sleeping or chilling. I get to have energy for my hobbies, time to clean and cook without stress, see my friends, only have my kids in daycare part time and I make more money than before. Oh, and I also had time to write a childrensbook during all my breaks at work. Now i’m working on developing my illustration skills so I can illustrate it myself. I really feel like I somehow hacked the time you get as an adult with small children.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 2 hours ago
Being a caregiver isn't really a "life hack" as it can be very, very demanding in unexpected ways and you can't always just "sleep or chill". It can also be physically demanding if the patient needs to be transferred or pulled up in bed repeatedly. It can be a very rewarding job too, I just wouldn't call it automatically a "life cheat code" XD
#20
Learn how to do simple alterations on your clothes. It is not difficult- find a YouTube video. Clothes that fit properly make a big impact. Hem you skirts, pants- shorten or lengthen your coat/blazer cuffs.
Lyone Fein 3 hours ago
Sewing, cooking, cleaning, first aid….. These are basic life skills that you should actively learn if noone taught them to you during your childhood.
#21
Libraries aren't just for books. Many have free access to expensive databases, language apps, museum passes, 3D printers, workshops, or/and even tools you can borrow. Most people never find out because they stop at the entrance.
Lyone Fein 3 hours ago
Also: daily internet access, free CD and DVD borrowing, meeting rooms, children’s books and play area, art for loan, summer seed banks, etc.
Knowing when to stop doing things yourself can be just as useful as knowing how to do them. That applies to money, repairs, work, and even learning. If someone has already spent years becoming good at something you want to learn, there’s no particular prize for struggling alone out of pride.
A coach, mentor, experienced friend, or knowledgeable community can sometimes save you months of trial and error. The netizen who called this the biggest life cheat code had a point. Paying for expertise can feel expensive until you compare it with the cost of repeatedly making the wrong decisions.
#22
Reheat leftover pizza in a frying pan. Little oil to prevent sticking, a splash of water, cover with the lid. Medium to medium-low heat for a few minutes. Crust gets crispy and cheese is evenly melted. Good as new.
Bored Jellyfish 4 hours ago
I do this and the crust does come out nicely crisped. I don’t know of any kind of pizza that would require oil to be added to the pan. Or water, for that matter.
#23
I’m a nurse. I kick a*s at what I do. I started thanking my patients for letting me take care of them. Now it’s morphed into me telling people that “serve” me, I make eye contact and tell them thx for taking care of me. It’s nice to see the smiles.
#24
Being dressed well (aim to be best dressed) and taking care of yourself get you 80% of the way, professionally.
UnclePanda 5 hours ago
You better have something to back those looks up. Otherwise, you can be replaced by a coat hanger.
Not every “life hack” floating around online deserves a permanent spot in your personal rulebook. Some are outdated, some only work under oddly specific conditions, and others are basically internet folklore wearing a lab coat.
Steal the good ideas, but maybe don’t hand your life over to the first clever online comment you see. A quick check can save you from turning a promising shortcut into a very confusing afternoon. The best cheat codes are the ones that actually work, and preferably don’t come with a surprise catch hiding in the fine print.
#25
If you buy something online, look up the small print on return and sales policies, some places will do rebate refunds up to a week, which means if the item was on sale and you purchase it but then it becomes even more on sale the next day, call them for a price adjustment on sale to get the lowest price available.
There’s a few places I shop at online for the holidays, I pass my order before the sales and call up for a price adjustment during the sale so that way I don’t have to wait a longer time for my package and I still get it for the lowest price.
Reading sales fine prints you will find a bunch of little loopy treasures like that.
#26
A lot of clothing retail stores have hella coupons online. Probably not the expensive stores, but places like Old Navy and Kohl's always have some sort of deal going on, whether that's coupons on their website that you can stack or cheaper online prices that you can price match in store. If they don't have your size in store, ask the cashier if they can order it online for you, and usually the shipping fee is waived. The clearance section is also a gem. I've bought a winter sweater for $3 in the summer when it was $40 during winter. This is probably common sense for a lot of people, but in case you didn't know, now ya know!
#27
Actually telling people how you feel in a situation or moment. Good or bad. So many moments of resentment will be avoided. This is more important if youre a young person or a couple.
Bored Retsuko 2 hours ago
Nah, this is outdated advice imho. People are so selfish now. If you tell them "I feel...", they'll go "not my problem". You need to tell them what they did wrong.
A good life cheat code saves you a ridiculous amount of hassle the next time the same problem comes knocking, simply because now you know better. And when you have enough of those little tricks tucked away, everyday life starts feeling a whole lot more manageable.
So, Pandas, which of these tricks are you stealing? And what’s the best life cheat code you’ve discovered that deserves a spot on the list?
#28
If a cell phone company is pissing you off somehow, you might be able to report them to the FCC and force them to do something about it.
I had a problem with AT&T; I am not a customer, but I would get calls and texts from them about my account. Eventually, I started getting daily calls about my delinquent account. I contacted customer service and was told that my number was linked to an account that was created around the time I started getting these calls. They were able to tell me his first name and last initial, and I could verify that it was nobody I knew. I asked them to remove my number from his account, and they told me it was impossible because they need the account holder's permission to make changes. I talked to multiple people and got the same answer each time.
Then I reported them to the FCC for "unwanted calls/texts". Within a week, I got a phone call from someone at the AT&T Office of the President assuring me that suddenly they COULD remove my number from this stranger's account and that I shouldn't be getting any more calls or texts.
Here's the link: [https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/](https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/).
#29
Using free and open source software.
Rick Murray 13 minutes ago
Ditched Windows, using Linux Mint now. It's faster and more capable on hardware that was starting to struggle with Win10.
#30
When you know you only have $100 or so in your account and you know you got auto pay bills coming, withdraw all the cash so at least you have survival money till payday. Let the bills go negative.
#31
Anything you want to be better at, no matter your age, hire a coach/mentor/trainer. It is the biggest cheat code to life and usually not prohibitively expensive.
#32
Recently discovered I can upload a PDF to ChatGPT that’s almost 1000 pages and have it give me information from it instead of having to manually look through the physical copy.
#33
If you're going to rent a car in the US, check prices using VPN set to another country. The price difference can be massive. Especially if you want to deliver the car in another state.
Ace 3 hours ago (edited)
You can see any price differences on international rental agencies just by changing your country and currency options, no need to use a VPN. Need to be aware of your card issuers currency conversion charge policy though. And IME, barring massive sudden economic changes they pretty much cancel each other out.
#34
If you’re taking a 2 leg flight and the majority of the trip is on the 1st leg and the 2nd leg gets cancelled- decline getting rebooked for the 2nd leg.
We did this recently on a trip from Tokyo to Newark via Toronto. They have to refund you for the entire return trip. I got almost $3000 back and then used $300 of it to rent a car and drive home from Toronto. It was rough but well worth the savings.
Fire Singer 2 minutes ago
For other airlines this could be true, but for the airline I worked for that's not how this would work. At most they would refund you for that portion of the flight since every leg of a flight is technically billed separately (we had an old system that would sometimes not price things correctly and we'd have to manually insert the price codes so I know it billed each leg), but most often they'll offer you flight credits or miles. Again, this was my experience with one airline and others might be different, but don't take this as gospel and just assume you can get basically a free flight.
#35
If you forgot to empty your water bottle before a flight and they try to confescate it, say you need that for taking medicine, they legally can't take it and just have to swab the outside of the bottle to check for explosive residue.
This is how it works in Nova Scotia at least, I worked at the airport for over a year.
It works 99% of the time, however please say its for your medicine to take n not blame it on your 6 month old baby saying you're gonna give him a blue Gatorade to swallow his medicine down with.
Bored Jellyfish 2 hours ago
Won’t work in the US. They have water bottle filling stations in the terminals anyway.
#36
If you are ever at LAX and need an Uber, don’t use the shuttle that takes you to the ride sharing location (LAX-it) as those shuttles are crazy packed and sometimes take forever to come around. Get a shuttle to a car rental service (they come around more often) like Avis or Enterprise and request an Uber from there.
#37
I taught myself (watched tutorials) how to mail merge in Outlook and it’s a game changer!!! Easy and so efficient!
#38
When doing a 3 minute plank, if you rotate up on 1 arm after a minute then hold. Rotate to the next arm at 2 minutes then hold, you can get through 3 minutes like it's 1 min.
#39
Don't marry an irresponsible person, even if you live them.
(Even if it's just 1 thing, money, driving, kids...).
#40
You can just say no to anything you don’t want to go to. I used to feel so obligated to go to every thing my family or friends invited me to and I’ve gotten a lot better at just saying no when I don’t feel like it. Ten years ago I would have had an anxiety attack thinking about the blowback from saying no.
#41
If you have a hotel reservation and you need to cancel and you’re outside the cancellation “window” log in, change your arrival to a week or two out - then cancel in a few days.
#42
If someone is wearing a name tag, call them by name a couple of times during the conversation in a nice way. You're more likely to get what you want.
Bored Jellyfish 4 hours ago (edited)
Having worn a name tag as a service worker when I was a teen and in my very early twenties, I honestly found it kind of creepy. Mostly older men would do this.
#43
Just go talk to men, women. Move your eyes around and look for the quiet ones observing, but not in a creepy way. They’re the ones you want to talk to. If they get scared off, good.
#45
Select Spanish language option, those agents at customer service speak English but calls are routed quicker.
Bored Jellyfish 4 hours ago (edited)
I don’t know about this one. There’s probably less Spanish-speaking agents, so you could be bottling them up for people who really need someone who speaks Spanish. It’s kind of like taking the handicap stall in a restroom. Yeah, it’s available, but if a person who is handicapped comes in, they have to wait for it to be vacated because it’s the only one they can use.
#46
Surround yourself with successful, motivated, happy people.
I mean I have a lot of issues, and I have a lot of friends who have a lot of issues, and I wouldn't trade them for the world, but you really do start to emulate the people around you, so whoever you want to be, find people like that to spend time with, too.
#47
Car insurance no-claim discount.
Two cars insured with the same company and one has an accident. Got it fixed and then canceled its insurance.
A couple of days later, re-insure and because you have a car with the no-claim discount, it gets applied to the “newly” insured car.
Ace 2 hours ago (edited)
Not sure how it is in the US, but in most places NCD is dependent on continuous policy cover, so it will only apply on one policy. (It's different here, I have two cars on a single policy, with swappable reg plates, so only one can be used at a time. But also here (which is CH, BTW) you get penalised if you d have a claim, you don't also get a discount if you don't. When I lived back in the UK both would apply, so a string of accident claims within a given time frame (4 years sounds about right) they would both remove your discount _and_ apply potentially huge markups.
#49
If you have an Adobe CC subscription that you need to cancel, but it's outside of the window to do so without being charged their exorbitant cancellation fee, downgrade or change your subscription to a different app (you can do this without fees) and then cancel the subscription. When you change the subscription, it seems to register in Adobe's system as "new," and you can avoid the fee.
#52
Local burger joint/bar near me does 20.99 prime rib special every Friday night. It's like 3/4 inch thick cut 16 to 18 oz slice of prime rib with takes a whole a*s plate comes with 2 sides. Wife and i can both order get few drinks and still be under 70 bucks. And it's a good prime rib as well.
#53
The very far right lane on the Richmond Bridge from the East Bay through the toll booth. Always works, always saves time.
#54
On a zipper merge, you can drive on the closing lane until the very end and skip the huge line of cars.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 2 hours ago (edited)
And you're absolutely a flaming ásshole if you do this. I hate when I see people in my rearview mirror, flying up the closeout lane just so they can "skip the cars lined up" - those ássholes always try to merge in at the very last second when their lane disappears, and they always cut you off. Yes, people say that's how you're "supposed" to do a zipper merge, but no one does it properly - they just fly down the closing lane in order to skip the wait and then force themselves in front of someone at the last second.
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