What's the naughtiest thing you've done at your most skint?

cassidy0111

MSE Official Insert:

Another forum user started this discussion to ask what the naughtiest thing you've done is to save money when at your very lowest ebb and didn't feel you had a choice. It sparked a hugely thought-provoking discussion. As that discussion headed off topic in parts we've collated the on-topic comments into one discussion thread here. Remember, though, MSE is about saving money legally. The comments in this thread aren't necessarily something we advocate doing.

Back to the topic....

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One of my friends at uni regularly attended a prayer group in the local church. He has no belief in God or interest in prayer but said the food on offer was fantastic and the ladies who organised the kitchen always sent him away with enough food to last a few days.

In his defence he was really skint.

tealady

I have rung in sick (2 days) when I was so skint I couldn't afford the petrol or bus fare to work.

Superbiatch

My confession is I've dragged myself into work when infectiously sick due to the cost of staying at home - my heating is all electric and costs me a fortune, in work its free

Needless to say I have an exemplary sickness record

Barneysmom

When I was so poor I was living on cornflakes, I use to steal loo roll from service stations on my way to work.

Not easy as they're on those massive rolls but I'd make myself a little roll, keep winding and winding till I had a few day's supply then put it on my handbag.

I've even showered at service stations to save on heating water, my bathroom was freezing in the winter, I used to wheel the calor gas heater from the bedroom to bathroom and bakc again when I'd finished.

I might have been poor but was never a dirty beggar :rotfl:

adouglasmhor

I stole Turnips from a farmer's trailer that were going to feed cows it was 2 days to giro day.

Not when skint but in the army on an escape and evasion exercise I climbed into a scrap yard and stole fury seat covers to make jumpers out of but it was March in the Saarland and we were in PT vest, cotton combat jacket, lightweight trousers and boots in sub zero temperatures for days.

Luckystepho

When I was a student and really skint, I raided my coin collection, collected up all the foreign coins that were the same size and weight of a British 10p coin (the old, bigger ones!) and fed them all into the vending machine at the train station in return for several bars of chocolate!

I have also walked for miles and miles to save public transport or taxi fares- including around 8 miles across London to my hotel on a recent trip down because I was too tight to pay for the Tube!

catchooky

when i lived abroad with my ex i was on really pants wages and he wasnt bringing anything in, our work provided drinks etc for the clients......
He used to take them home so we had juice etc to drink till payday cos we couldnt afford to buy drinking water.....

jaffacakegal

I have also thought of the loo roll thing as a way for saving money but never felt the need to actually go through with it tho! I did take a soap from work tho!

We now get food provided at work and my plan is to stuff myself silly at dinner then eat cereal for my tea to save some money! But I don't think I could for shame take some of the food home without asking. But saying that I have never been that desperate, so dunno what I would pilfer if I was!

nat21luv

This is funny!

The worst thing I've done/the lowest I've had to stoop is when I was living on my own with my 5yr old son and I had absolutely nothing for him to eat. I was at work and I knew he was going to come home from school to no dinner(that morning he had one dry slice of toast that I picked mould off) so I waited outside until everyone had left and the store was closed and raided the bin for sandwiches. They had been thrown out after the day's trading so they would of been perfect for dinner, they were in a bag that was thrown into a cardboard bin so not too many germs:o

I managed to get a pot of pasta too so heated it up in the microwave for a few seconds! My boy was chuffed he wasnt going to bed cold and hungry!

nat21luv

Thank you, it wasnt that I was in debt, I just couldnt afford to live as a single parent and working full time. I had to handwash clothes with shower gel as I couldnt afford detergent. When times were really tough, I asked my boy's dad to have him for a week; told him I was working overtime stock taking. At least I knew that he was warm, fed and bathed until payday arrived.

How quickly life can change; 2 yrs later and im doing just fine now, lovely car, house, belongings and plenty of food in the cupboards. I still buy everything Value or Basics and have a £20 note hidden-just in case

weedrea

Great thread!

As young and poor newly-weds at uni, we took our dust-gathering, surplus but still boxed wedding presents and sold them at a car boot sale! The biggest hit was the numerous new bales of towels we had been given - now after 15 years of marriage, we still barely have a towel to our name! Made about £80.

Also, I do remember once or twice having a large packet of chicken breasts "smelling off"....coincidentally *hemhem* Safeways had their "refund and replace" policy back then. Very helpful for poor students!