We all love saving money—whether it’s trading in your old TV for a discount on a new one, using coupons, or holding out for a big sale. But sometimes, people go a step further, sharing clever but slightly shady life hacks that definitely toe the ethical line.
If you’re curious about these kinds of tips, one Redditor recently asked: “What are some of your favorite life hacks that teeter the line of unethical?” The responses were full of those questionable tricks that feel just a little wrong, yet don’t break any laws. You might not want to try them yourself, but they’re certainly entertaining to read—and might even make you think twice about what counts as “playing fair.”
#1
Extended warranties.
They aren’t always worth it, but many of those extended warranties on electronics and office chairs and stuff will give you back the full, undepreciated value of what you bought if anything goes wrong with it. Usually as store credit. That usually only applies for lower value items that aren’t worth repairing – and that’s where those warranties shine.
Mark on your calendar a month or two before the warranty ends. Then find something wrong with it that requires using that warranty. I don’t think I’ve ever had to actually lie – for example my now 2 year old office chair loses an inch or two of height a day from the gas cylinder leaking. Guess what, that’s covered under warranty – full replacement value back. And they don’t care about taking the “defective” chair away either.
Just be sure you read the terms of what the warranty does and doesn’t cover.
Image source: Justsomedudeonthenet, Pixabay / pexels (not the actual photo)
#2
Before Reddit was a thing, I would register with tech support message boards when I needed some technical help with my computer or other things. However, I would make my username super feminine like “Stacybabe” or “Heather.” When I asked the question; it would never fail that I would get a flood of replies from helpful guys that thought they could hook up with me.
Image source: -CoachMcGuirk-, Djordje Petrovic / pexels (not the actual photo)
#3
If you have a discount code for a website for example: discount10 for 10 percent off. Try : discount20. Works sometimes.
Image source: chafemagic, Ruca Souza / pexels (not the actual photo)
#4
I use multiple email addresses to continuously take advantage of free trials.. extending use of paid services..
Image source: laceyrup, Solen Feyissa / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#5
Go to a buffet 10 minutes before they change the food and cost from lunch to dinner. The food quality goes up. The new food is fresh and hasn’t been sitting out for hours. And you pay the lower cost.
A guy who works for me taught us this trick.
We aren’t really a buffet type family in terms of what we eat. But if I take the work crew out or have a group of people visiting from out of town and I’m gonna pay for their dinner…the buffet trip is fun. .
Image source: FoxBeach
#6
You can usually get away with things just by asking confidently, as if the request you are making is obviously normal. You will still get a lot of nos, but a huge percentage of people simply do not know how to react when asked for something directly and as though you actually expect to get it.
Discounts, passage into places you shouldn’t be allowed to go, free stuff.
The key is you have to ask with 100% confidence. You cannot give any indication whatsoever that there is any chance they will say no.
This works better if you are attractive, and a woman, but contrary to what incels will tell you, neither is required. Just positive, confident, direct.
Image source: Spunge14, energepic.com / pexels (not the actual photo)
#7
Credit reporting agencies aren’t staffed enough to handle all of the error reports they get from people. They by law have to either look into it or drop the item from your report. You can get things removed by just repeatedly reporting things as errors until you end up in the “drop it” stack. I haven’t needed this but I’ll use it if I ever do.
Image source: MrAudacious817, Glenn Carstens-Peters / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#8
Book all your dental and doctors appointments for Fridays or Mondays to guarantee a 3 day weekend.
Image source: -CuriousityBot-, Quang Tri NGUYEN / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#9
I buy the protection plan for low quality but nice looking outdoor furniture knowing that it will almost certainly break within 1-2 years and I can get replacements for free (or money back) over and over again.
Image source: apost8n8
#10
Geo arbitrage- sign up for a service via another country where it’s cheaper.
Image source: that-guy-in-YYZ, Marek Levak / pexels (not the actual photo)
#11
When there are two lanes on a roundabout, and everybody is sitting in traffic only in the straight ahead / turn off immediately lane. I just go in the completely free lane, do a full lap of the roundabout and skip ahead. Totally legal and safe driving, but just feels a bit icky skipping the queue.
Image source: captain_todger
#12
In the Morrisons cafe they don’t care if you refill your coffee cup multiple times. I’ve literally heard a staff member saying just do it. So I do.
Image source: Carlseye
#13
Signing up for free trials with multiple email addresses… the art of never paying for a subscription.
Image source: SuperAngelofdeath69, Taryn Elliott / pexels (not the actual photo)
#14
I had multiple microsoft rewards accounts and got a lot of free gift card with it.
Image source: NotInsured
#15
Used skip tracing to figure out the address and name of the person that stole my identity. I was indicted for the felony crime he committed against me before hand. It took me 48 hours all because of a small flaw in the way he stole my mail and skip-tracing worked like a charm. Sadly, since perjury was used to indict me, he walks free. I harass the criminal and his wife on a regular basis.
Image source: SubpoenaSender, Obi Onyeador / pexels (not the actual photo)
#16
My wife and I just got back from our honeymoon. We let places know everywhere we went and got all kinds of special deals and bells and whistles. Hotels upgraded us to nicer rooms at no additional cost. Nobody once fact checked us lol. Makes us want to lie about this on future vacations!
Image source: Foresight_2020, Ash Dhakne / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#17
If you take your kids to Disney World get them a first visit or birthday button whether it’s true or not. It’s mostly minor things but my daughter got quite a few freebies when we took her for her birthday.
Image source: molten_dragon, Craig Adderley / pexels (not the actual photo)
#18
If you have your own cup, ice water is free in nearly every convenience store everywhere. Many stores explicitly allow you to fill your own cup with ice water for free, and in the others the staff is generally too busy or doesn’t get paid enough to care. This also works in hotels (for just the ice) and fast-food restaurants, but many restaurants are getting rid of self-serve drink dispensers.
Image source: xkulp8
#19
I used multiple emails to get $30 of free stuff on Uber Eats. I just logged into an account, waited a few days, and ordered my free food.
Image source: Thedoglover1234, cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo)
#20
Lose your sunglasses? Go to a hotel and say you left them in your room and can you see the lost and found, please.
Image source: VaguelyFamiliarVoice, Annie Williams / unsplash (not the actual photo)
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