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

Tebheag

I_Should_Be_So_Lucky wrote: »

However, when people/stores are chucking out perfectly edible food that has just gone past the sell by date, I don't think there's anything wrong with raiding the bins. If you work in a store/restaurant there's nothing wrong with taking left overs home rather than chucking them in the bin. When I go out for a meal I collect all the uneaten bits of meat etc for the dog.

P.S. I don' t have a dog.

So that will be why when i ask for a doggy bag for my dog at home they wrap it up so nicely one chef even tried to make a foiled wrapped lamb shank into a swan the dog didnt take any notice though:rotfl:

Debbie_A_3

I went round the town methodically checking the change/unused coin return tray in vending machines and pay phones. I still check them now, but I don't go out of my way any more. Can be quite lucrative. I guess it depends on how many others are doing the same thing.

On the subject of pay phones, I once worked at a place with two payphones on a piece of decking (with holes that coins could fall through (!!)). One day I went foraging under the decking. It was dirty, wet, narrow ... but it seemed that nobody had done this for several years.

Tebheag

Tebheag wrote: »

Hi what a thread makes me cringe to think of my worst one !!
But here are a couple of others I was a student teenage mum living with the father of my baby and only money I got was child benefit he would only give me £20 for a weeks shopping for three of us. Never mind nappys milk etc
[/QUOTE
Decided as so many people are being so open and honest to tell you my worst I was 18 lived in the middle of nowwhere did not drive and had a very controlling boyfriend who worked hard and did not part with any money I had no job as was at college during the week and had no one to look after the wee one my mum already paid nursery for me to go to college so could not ask her for more help (she had kicked me out from home when i was 17 and pregnant so would not ask for anything and to move in with bf as nowhere else to go by that point relationship was nearly over) to give you an idea of how low i was i would sneak out of the house and hide in fields to get away and wonder how i could end it but still allow for my baby to born safe !:(
Every friday night my bf would go off to the pub and come back !!!!ed I would sneak some money from his pockets when he was a sleep at other times i would do favours for him for cash !:o
Was only way I kept my son in nappies&milk and kept him clothed (had breast feed but was so hard work as bf did not like it and i would have to hide away upstairs in a room to do it incase anyone saw me he was very jealous)
Thankfully I escaped and I am so happy now got a loving DH who never tells me off for what I spend on food shops or anything got about a months supply of nappies for my wee one and loads of food in cupboard enough to survive a few weeks very well. And got next years clothes already for the wee ones (normally buy in the end of season sales)

quantic

I've just thought of something that maybe qualifies, one xmas me and the OH asked for vouchers as presents from people, then ended up using them to buy presents for other people throughout the year so didn't actually end up getting anything for ourselves. Not as extreme as some of the other posters but felt pretty guilty at the time, but not a lot you can do when you got no money and have friend who make a massive big deal about birthdays etc.

vixx

quantic wrote: »

I've just thought of something that maybe qualifies, one xmas me and the OH asked for vouchers as presents from people, then ended up using them to buy presents for other people throughout the year so didn't actually end up getting anything for ourselves. Not as extreme as some of the other posters but felt pretty guilty at the time, but not a lot you can do when you got no money and have friend who make a massive big deal about birthdays etc.

In a similar vein...

When I lived in a shared student house, my nan gave me about £50 of M&S vouchers for Xmas so I could buy some new clothes. I spent it all on M&S food. I ate very, very well that month!
I had to make up an outfit and describe it to her when she asked what I'd bought!

carpedieme

when I was a single parent of three children I could have written a best seller entitled " How Many Ways With A jacket Potatoe ! "

Hovel_lady

carpedieme wrote: »

when I was a single parent of three children I could have written a best seller entitled " How Many Ways With A jacket Potatoe ! "

Write it now - I'd buy it

flippin36

vixx wrote: »

In a similar vein...

When I lived in a shared student house, my nan gave me about £50 of M&S vouchers for Xmas so I could buy some new clothes. I spent it all on M&S food. I ate very, very well that month!
I had to make up an outfit and describe it to her when she asked what I'd bought!

I've done something similar, but I think your nan would have been happy that you ate well.

I only get money for birthdays and christmas and it always goes on buffering the cost of it all. ie other peoples pressies. My whole family invited themselves round for christmas last year when we were really trying for a frugal one. My mum gave me thirty quid to treat myself but I went straight to morrisons to buy all the food we were going to need to feed them. She kept asking me what I had bought with the money and I just made something up.

My birthday money always goes into the holiday spending money fund for the kids. But I enjoy treating them and it takes the stress out of the holiday when I don't have to be mean all the time.

flippin36

Oh I've just thought of one that makes me feel a bit bad. A lovely lady on freecycle gave me something that turned out to be of 'vintage' value on ebay. At the time we had a huge overdraft that was costing us money every month, so me and OH decided to sell everything we didn't use. I felt bad but I sold the item I was given by this old lady (£50). I know its against the rules and i felt bad everytime I saw her, but we did manage to clear our overdraft, the person who bought it was over the moon and I have made people happy with some things I have given.

PinkKiwi

Don't know how I forgot this. Me and my partner where out of work a few years ago and things were an extreme struggle. We had 2 young children so obviously food and things for them came first. Some days we couldn't afford food for ourselves so we used to go to Morrisons for dinner......not in the cafe.......we used to take one of each of the tasters on cocktail sticks that they have on the deli counter then later that day we would go back again hoping it was a different person serving.

We've also pretended to do a big shop, putting food in the trolley on the way round, but eating sandwiches and giving crisps and snacks to the kids while they were in the trolley, then we left the trolley and walked out that sounds so bad.