Top Five Unethical Ways to Save Money
Unethical Money Saving - The Used Return
Mary may not have the money to spend on a fancy dress for that one special occasion, but she does not let that stop her from accepting the invitation. Heading out to the fanciest dress shop in town, she puts a black sequined number on her credit card.
She never has any intention of paying for the dress. She wears it once, has a great time at the party, and then returns the dress the next day. For the cost of dry cleaning, she got a wonderful dress for her party.
Returning used goods, especially clothing, to stores is definitely against the rules. It is unethical to save money in this way.
Unethical Money Saving - Condiments
Many fast food restaurants have instituted rules that deal with this slightly unethical practice that saves money. Asking for or taking thirty packets of ketchup every time you go to McDonald's is an unethical way to amass ketchup stores for home use. In restaurants with condiment bars it is even worse. Packets of ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, salad dressings, salt and pepper, and plastic utensils are shoved into pockets and handbags by the dozens.
Unethical Money Saving - Steaming Stamps
It is against federal law to reuse a stamp that has already been used, even if it has mistakenly not been canceled. That does not stop a lot of people from getting out the teapot or iron and steaming it off the envelope. For the savings of about forty cents, doing this is not really worth the time.
Unethical Money Saving - Rebate Switch
Some people make a true hobby out of getting rebates for items. Those one to ten dollar checks in the mail are a thrill and a way to earn extra money to save. The problem comes when the person begins saving up rebate forms and doctoring receipts in order to get the product. It is easy to smudge out a date or even reprint a whole receipt with the right tools.
Unethical Money Saving - Product Complaints
Many people interested in saving money have found that writing to a company and complaining about their product is a good way to get free samples, coupons, or even a refund of your purchase price. While this is a good idea if you are actually dissatisfied, doing it in order to get the money savings is questionable ethics. The companies rely on people's opinions of the products to figure out what will do well on the market.
While saving money is a great thing, practices such as rebate trickery, used returns, and stamp steaming are unethical. Instead of making a practice of figuring out how much you can get or save, remember that others should not be taken advantage of and rules must be followed.
Published by Melanie L. Marten
Melanie Marten is self-taught and self-employed. Besides freelance writing, she dabbles in website design and owns dozens of websites and blogs. Work is squeezed in between parenting two boys, homeschoolin... View profile
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- Returning used goods, especially clothing, to stores is definitely against the rules.
- It is against federal law to reuse a stamp that has already been used.
- Some people make a true hobby out of getting rebates for items.
9 Comments
Post a CommentNice article! I think those who practice some of what you've mentioned learned how to increase their potential savings. haha. Just kidding. It should be a wake up call to those who do it-- that it is not right. Thanks!
I completely agree. Being able to get away with something does not equate to that thing being right. The result of such practices (especially ones with higher costs for businesses and/or the government) is higher prices for everyone. These people are convincing themselves that the cost of their behavior is borne by the business, and that the business can afford it. In reality however, the business will adjust its prices to account for these cheats.
Great article! I just hope people don't use it as a how to. lol.
It is hard to imagine that some people really do these things. I used to know a girl (casually) that was just breaking into modeling. She would buy all sorts of cool outfits, do her modeling gig and then return them, usually with make-up all over them.
Well thought out article!
Flip
I had a friend that bought jewelry for dates and returned it. I thought it was terrible and my view of her went down. (I came from a small business family so my view of this may be different from others.) Although I always saved the packages of jelly from restaurants because I felt I paid for them.
I can think of a few myself. When I was bartending, the women would steal toilet paper, and other cleaning products from the ladies room.
very well written!
I agree with Carol. These are really bad practices. The one I hate the most is hearing from tax evaders and how they plan on cheating the system.
Sophie
These practices bother me too. I was always taught that such things were unethical when I was a kid.