20+ Unethical Life Hacks That Might Make Life a Little Easier: 'Save business cards of people you don't like'

Author image for JR Atkinson
JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Nov 11, 2026 10:00 AM EST

When life gets to be a little too much, there's nothing wrong with asking for a little extra help. That's where the life hacks come in. 

Sometimes you need a little bit of a life hack to make life more easy. Life is hard enough as it is. Everything is expensive these days. It feels like you step out of the house and suddenly have spent $60 without even meaning to. It's why a lot of us looks for tips and tricks about how to save money and how to make our lives a little bit easier. Life hacks have been a staple of the internet for at least as long as I've been on the internet. We can pool all of our knowledge and come out the other side a little bit more equipped for the world. I once had a friend tell me about the hack of eating Flamin' Hot Cheetos with chopsticks to keep your hands from getting dirty, and I've done it ever since. Sometimes you just need someone to show you something in a new way and it changes your life forever. Some life hacks are better than others, though. You need them vetted by real people. That's what this list is all about. 

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    A piggy bank wearing glasses looks down at a calculator
    via Sasun Bughdaryan

    Recreated scenario included to enhance reader understanding.  


    A piggy bank wearing glasses looks down at a calculator

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    What are some unethical life hacks that are good to know for these trying times?

    Naive_Lie_9805 Whenever a coworker tries to dump some random task on you, ask them to send you an email with exactly what they need. Half the time they suddenly figure out how to do it themselves. Apparently putting things in writing is harder than making them someone else's problem
    via u/TheRiedlDeal1
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    prdctmngr Start cancelling your subscriptions, even the ones you actually want to keep. A surprising number of services will suddenly offer you 20-50% off just to stop you from leaving.
    via u/TheRiedlDeal1
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    I've found that the best deals are often hidden behind the cancellation button. Apparently being a loyal customer means paying full price, while threatening to leave gets you rewarded. Just don't click through the final cancellation confirmation unless you're actually willing to lose the service.
    via u/TheRiedlDeal1
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    No_Design1670 Block off an hour on your work calendar and call it "Project Review." Nobody asks questions, nobody schedules meetings, and you finally get to eat lunch in peace. Been doing this for ages. Sometimes the project I'm reviewing is a sandwich.
    via u/TheRiedlDeal1
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    Teptolemus Not really unethical, but Planet Fitness, change your address to California and you can cancel your membership in the app without all their BS. Goes for most companies
    via u/TheRiedlDeal1

  • These life hacks think outside of the box. Maybe they're a little bit against the grain, and maybe they flirt with the unethical. But sometimes you have to do what works in order to keep your head above water. You don't care how it happens, you just need it to work. A lot of these are about saving money, which everyone can benefit from these days. A little can go a long way, and if you can save money in your everyday life, why wouldn't you do so? Sometimes it just takes a little luck and ingenuity. There are plenty of loopholes and oversights in the system, you just need someone who knows how to point that out and to thus take advantage of it. There's nothing wrong with spotting a wrinkle in the system and using it to your advantage. And usually, they don't hurt anyone and they only help you. So if you're in need of that right now, then look no further. You're in the right place to enjoy all of these life hacks, financial and otherwise, that just might make your life a little bit easier. Who doesn't need that?

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    EMike93309 Save business cards of people you don't like. When you ding a car in a parking lot, leave their card under the windshield wiper
    via u/TheRiedlDeal1
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    CorncOblin Someone told me you don't have to fully weigh your bulk items such as fruit/veg at the self-aerve checkout, you can just have it half on the scale
    via u/TheRiedlDeal1
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    changchangcha Even to this day, lots of parking garages allow you to take a new ticket by pressing the button at the entrance, often giving you free "30 minute" parking g etc
    via u/TheRiedlDeal1
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    Rosia-Pettingill7 If someone keeps interrupting you, just stop talking and stare at them until they finish. Then say, Anyway, as I was saying... Works even better when other people are watching.
    via u/TheRiedlDeal1
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    YurtlesTurdles Always fight any automatic camera ticket and say you weren't the one driving. It's not your responsibility to tell them who to ticket and you're allowed to lend your cars to others, the burden of proof is on them and it's not easy to prove you were the one driving from a grainy picture.
    via u/TheRiedlDeal1
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    Direct Explorer_7827 The $2 meal steal at McDonalds (only slightly unethical): my go-to in a pinch when I'm starving and just need a cheap, it'll-make-a- option- the McDonalds app always offers some sort of freebies with min purchase,
    via u/TheRiedlDeal1
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    and free fries with a lot of sports promos rn so get a $2 mcchicken (or, like $2- something for a double- cheeseburger), free fry and keep a cup to sneak a free refill.... though many locations are onto this and have removed fountain drink stations, there are still many that do so have scouted them out in my area because I'm just that fn broke these days
    via u/TheRiedlDeal1
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    Adam302 If the person sitting in front of you on a flight reclines their seat all the way back and leaves you with no room, turn on the air con above you to full blast and point it at the top of their head.
    via u/TheRiedlDeal1
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    Ohshithereiamagain You know those chip clips they sell by the chip aisle? Don't buy those. Instead, raid your office supply closet and get binder clips. They work better.
    via u/TheRiedlDeal1
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    Acceptable_Action745 Tell your coworkers you have terrible hearing which personally, partially true, but it's not nearly as bad as i play it up to be and everyone feels comfortable whispering around you.
    via u/TheRiedlDeal1
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    Ophelia RainGalaxy Toilet paper is free if you're willing to get it by filling your pockets in public bathrooms or grabbing handfuls of fast food napkins.
    via u/TheRiedlDeal1
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    YTWise Car dealerships have good snacks. My kids fully exploited this when we were car shopping recently and my 13yo has announced she's going to continue to do so at the busy one based inside a shopping centre we go to. On a Saturday, they're busy and she plans to just wave towards someone in a car if asked who she's with.
    via u/TheRiedlDeal1
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    Hot chocolates, biscuits, cans of softdrink, bags of chips, brownies etc. BYD was the best.
    via u/TheRiedlDeal1
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    erzamuro If you are trying to end your gym membership early, and they're giving you the run around or instructing you to go to your home club in person to cancel, find a city where there are none of those gyms and tell them you are moving there. They'll have no choice but to cancel your membership.
    via u/TheRiedlDeal1
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    inner_realm Back when I was apartment hunting, I used to copy down the info of a new posting and then flag it as spam or violating the terms of the site. That would trigger the post to be taken down for at least 24 hours and give me a day's head start
    via u/TheRiedlDeal1
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    MitochonAir If you don't buy the car rental insurance but you get into a minor scrape on a fender that's gonna show and cost you an increase with your own car insurance, you can look on Facebook marketplace for whatever city your visiting and search "mobile dent and paint repair".
    via u/TheRiedlDeal1
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    Someone can meet you at your rental car and for a couple hundred bucks (more or less), they can quickly repair it well enough to pass the vehicle return inspection, and by the time someone notices it, they can't determine who along the line of renters that repaired it.
    via u/TheRiedlDeal1
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    cosmic_marshmallow79 Never let people know how desperate you are for something. Whether it's a job, a purchase, or a negotiation, keeping your options open gives you more power.
    via u/TheRiedlDeal1

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