The Ultimate List of Somewhat Shady Ways to Save & Make Money

I’m going to need your help on this one. Because I’m a choir boy. Yeah, OK, not really. But my imagination and dark-side only runs so deep.




Personal finance is a game. And its likely we’ve all tried to get a leg up on the competition when it comes to saving and making money at one point or another.

Now, I’m not condoning any illegal behavior here. But I am encouraging all you readers to brainstorm and share your ideas on actions that can be used to save and make money, which are, well… somewhat shady by at least some people’s standards – yet harmless to other human beings.

This doesn’t have to be an admission of guilt (unless you want it to be). Rather, a forum for your creativity.

Maybe you simply have an idea you want to pass along for others to make judgment on the ethics.

Or maybe you want to rip in to people who have been doing something you think is not acceptable.

And then we can all jump in to tell you how brilliant, diabolical, or just plain dumb your idea is.




unethical savings

Here are 10 examples (that I’ve heard of others doing, of course), to get your creative juices flowing:

  1. Splicing cable from a neighbor or jumping on their wi-fi for free, with or without their knowledge.
  2. Charging your neighbors to share your wi-fi or cable.
  3. Borrowing a CD or DVD from the library or a friend and making a copy of it for your personal use.
  4. Taking a few (handfuls) extra condiments from your local fast food venue.
  5. Sneaking a snack or drink in to a bar, sports venue, or theater, when it’s against their rules.
  6. Trying to pass off an expired coupon to a retailer or restaurant.
  7. Sending non-media mail as media-mail with the USPS.
  8. Sneaking past a premium-content website paywall through URL manipulation.
  9. Tethering your smartphone, when it’s against your service provider’s TOS.
  10. Playing “angry customer” just to get a discount (even when you aren’t really angry).

You get the idea… So share, judge, and have a wholesome time.

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