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25 Morally Grey Survival Hacks From the Recession That Turned Millennials Into Financial Moguls
Sooner or later, we all learn that money doesn’t grow on trees. More times than not, it happens when we’re left to our own devices to care for—as well as pay for—ourselves and/or others. That’s when we also learn just how expensive some things can get, and just how important saving money is. (A penny saved is a penny earned, after all!)
One woman, a TikToker going by the name of ‘juliaa120230’, has recently gone viral for her tips and tricks regarding money saving, some of which might be considered rather…unconventional. Or even unethical or unhinged.
But if you want to learn more about Julia’s—as well as other netizens’—money-saving hacks, scroll down to find them on the list below. And if you feel like sharing the best tricks up your own sleeve, feel free to do that in the comment section.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Sometimes when I email compliments to companies they send coupons for freebies or discounts.
Babs McGurk 3 weeks ago
This also works if you have a legitimate complain about a product. A few years ago I purchased some microwave popcorn, and one of the bags was rancid. I emailed the company to let them know so they could pull that batch, and they sent me several coupons as well as 4 boxes of various microwave popcorn flavors. I don't see this as a 'morally gray' area at all.
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#2
College move out days have the best free dumpster stuff.
LooseSeal's $10 Banana 3 weeks ago
I worked in the maintenance department as an undergrad and the stuff I'd find in the dorms was crazy. Sure you had your condoms and dildos and s*x stuff, but kids left TVs, designer clothes, unopened cleaning supplies and toiletries, half full cases of beer. Some we'd take, some we'd donate, and some we'd trash. Spent two solid weeks going through dorms.
#3
Goodwill and thrift in the rich areas. They say it gets distributed but it does not.
Cindy Brick 3 weeks ago
This isn't "morally grey" -- it's just true! One of the best thrifts in Colorado is in Douglas County, one of the wealthiest counties in the U.S. (Treasures in the Park)
#4
I took all the textbooks out of donation bins at move out and sold them. The signs said they wouldn’t accept the books so I figured better in my pocket than the trash. Also dumpster diving veteran
Sapna Sarfare 3 weeks ago
another way for me is i get books from resale sales (second hand book sales). i have got some amazing books for dirt cheap rates. some i keep while others i sell to another such second hand book sale and make some money.. i can even buy books if i want. of course these sales dont have new books. but with money saved, i can buy new books
#5
ALSO call your phone company or internet and say you want to cancel, if they try to get you to stay, say ok if you lower it to $x a month, be strict though!!
#6
Instead of paying to go out, go to art gallery shows and drink free wine and eat free snacks
#7
Lots of tools have lifetime warranties like Craftsman, Dewalt, um, and I think rigid is another good one. But they have lifetime warranties so you can just take them right back to Home Depot and exchange them right then in there.
Bananaramamama 3 weeks ago
This will often work with certain car maintenance items like brake pads, calipers, batteries and filters. If you are trying to keep your beater car alive (which there is zero shame in) and doing your own maintenance/minor repairs it's a good idea to ask about the warranty.
#8
In the winter, after you cook something in the oven, leave the oven door wide open and it's like Free heat
#9
Getting chickens to save money on eggs. I cannot emphasize this enough. Chickens are expensive. Their feed is expensive. If you don't have a big yard where they can forage and Take care of themselves. Chickens are going to cost you so much more money long term than paying for eggs at their inflated price.
Bananaramamama 3 weeks ago
I literally did the math on this out of pure curiosity when egg prices went up. It is definitely not cheaper lol. Also, not all hens will lay consistently and they do eventually stop laying as they age. So you still have the expense of care long after that
#10
I know a lot of people who turn off their HVAC system when they leave to go to work for the day because they don't wanna heat their house or cool their house when it's empty. Your HVAC system is going to have to work so hard to come back up or down to temp when you get home. Doing that is going to cost you way more money long term. Same exact thing goes for the water heater. Do not turn it off just because you don't need it.
iseefractals 3 weeks ago (edited)
This is nonsense. And exceedingly wasteful. 1) heating an area and cooling an area are NOT equal asks. It's easier and cheaper to heat a space that is cold, than it is to cool a space that is hot. 2) Aside from numerous stringent scientific studies, all concluding that you will always, always, always save money (and the planet) by not running your appliance when you are NOT THERE TO ENJOY THE BENEFIT. 3) Electricity prices fluctuate in many, many, many area's....based upon the demand being placed on the grid of that particular area. Energy prices are cheapest between 8pm and 6am, prices shoot up between 6 am and 5pm.....and skyrocket further between 5 and 8pm. The best thing you can do in terms of cooling, is to drop your thermostat to 60 at night. Aside from the fact that it literally help you sleep better, it's easier on the system as their is less heat to overcome, and it's cheaper. Invest in blackout curtains, and provided you have decent home insulation and insulated windows...
#11
1) dumpster diving furniture 2) get a serving job and eat leftover food 3) get a library card
Becky Samuel 3 weeks ago
Be very, very careful with dumpster furniture. Bedbugs are on the rise in a big way, and once they've infested your home you're in big trouble.
#12
Create an email address specifically to share with family members for sharing streaming services memberships like to Sam's Club, anything like that that cost money on a monthly basis that you can share with your family. That way there's never any back and forth about can you check your email for the code? I just had it sent to your email. Blah blah blah. You don't have to worry about waiting on other people. It's just always gonna be there.
#13
Find out when the rich neighborhoods have their trash day and then drive through the night before to pick up everything that the rich people have decided is junk but can actually be resold for a lot of money. Or just keep it for yourself. Of course that was the mid 2000, so adjusting for today's standards. Infiltrate their Facebook groups, find the neighborhood Facebook groups, and keep alerts on for when somebody posts curb alert. Because usually it's gonna be something nice.
#14
If you get an email about buy three bathing suits, get one free but you've already got 10 bathing suits, you aren't saving money by getting a free bathing suit. You are spending money on 3 4 bathing suits that you didn't need in the first place. It's a waste of money.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 3 weeks ago
Who the holy hell has 10 bathing suits? Who can afford to buy THREE bathing suits at once?! I have TWO that I've owned for probably the last 15 years XD (Though to be fair, I don't go into the pool often, as I live in SoCal and will die in the sun.) But still, who needs to own THAT MANY bathing suits, even if you swim/go to the beach often?!
#15
Hand washing your dishes instead of using the dishwasher. The dishwasher is going to save you more money long term because it's going to take far less water and it's going to take far less energy to heat up the water.
keyboardtek 3 weeks ago
The Bosch dishwasher we recently bought uses only one gallon of water!
#16
Anytime you're out to eat somewhere, grab extra condiments, bring them home, put them in your fridge. Forget they're there until you need them later.
Brian Droste 3 weeks ago
I would still forget them and use the regular containers of condiments. Then they would eventually go bad.
#17
I was in college. I went to as many free events as possible. Food was ALWAYS provided.
BookFanatic 3 weeks ago
Same. College kids are always hungry and always appreciative of free food.
#18
switch car insurances every 6 months (actually call an agent though) because they have “competition” price deals and you could keep getting cheaper and cheaper car ins everytime
#20
Cut your sponges in half.
Green Tree 3 weeks ago
Or better yet forget sponges, a source of microplastics, all together and use cloth wash rags
#21
when you are bored make sure the offers on the app for fast food/ restaurants are a better deal than coupons you get in the mail or a promotion they are running.
#22
get a part time job at a fast place. when they toss food, workers can get it. i worked at panera and quiznos and when food exspired, employees slpit the left overs.
#23
Thrifting during Feb-March, when the most elderly people pass away. 😩🙃
Michael Largey 3 weeks ago
This aasumes that the heirs clean out the house right away. Doesn't usually happen so fast.
#24
if ur a college student join a club, or start a club and ask for funding. we’ve been buying dinners for all our friends for weeks and writing them off as “marketing meetings”
#25
Find a nearby hotel that offers free breakfast. Walk in, go up the elevator to the fifth floor, go back down to the first floor and go get your breakfast. Nobody's paying that close of attention to who's actually a guest and who's not.
Note: this post originally had 27 images. It’s been shortened to the top 25 images based on user votes.
What do you think ?
Mike F 3 weeks ago
Hey, our governments do it so turnabout is fair play! 😂
Load More Replies... Mike F 3 weeks ago
Hey, our governments do it so turnabout is fair play! 😂
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