"I wrote an IOU on a piece of paper and deposited it into my bank, then I immediately withdrew $300 I didn't have. It no longer works now because ATMs automatically scan checks and cash, but it worked back when we had to put it in envelopes."
by Larry FitzmauriceBuzzFeed Staff
We've all been there: You need to make a living — or just some temporary cash, even — and the options are limited. How do you pull it off?
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U/Dangerous-Data2571 recently asked the people of Reddit, "What’s the most desperate thing you’ve ever done for money?" Hey, keep in mind that this is a judgment-free zone, too:
1. "I joined the military at 17 to stop being homeless."
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2. "I pawned some handmade jewelry that was passed to me by my mom. When I got paid less than two weeks later, my items were 'missing' from the pawn shop. It broke my heart, and I have never gotten over it. It still makes me sad that I never even got to wear her jewelry to something special."
3. "In college, during move-out week I went around the dorms and picked up books in the donate bin and sold them back to the bookstore. Most of them weren't worth anything, but I made a few bucks and put the ones not worth anything back into a donate bin."
—u/2assorted4u
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4. "I was a private in my first year in the Army, and I had already burned through my paycheck for the month. It was the weekend, and I really wanted a meatball sub, so I walked four miles to a local blood bank, donated, then took the $7 they gave me and walked to Subway. Then, I woozily made my way back to barracks and happily passed out."
—u/EasilyKnobby
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5. "I wrote an IOU on a piece of paper and deposited it into my bank, then I immediately withdrew $300 I didn't have. It no longer works now because ATMs automatically scan checks and cash, but it worked back when we had to put it in envelopes."
—u/neophanweb
6. "I sold my vintage comic book collection. It broke my heart, but saved my wallet. Tough times, man."
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7. "I DJ'ed a gang party. It was the '90s. I was a teen who had a small rep as a club DJ. I took a gig for some guys I knew were deep. I told myself it was just a quick $200. Even though I knew the neighborhood it was being held, in was hot and terrifying — nothing but oldies and the worst local gangster rap you could imagine. They were waving guns on the dance floor. I couldn't wait for my set to end and get the f*ck outta there. The was a shooting two blocks away at a different party that night. Never again."
8. "I had a sugar daddy once. He would give me $100 a week to talk to him on the phone for an hour."
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9. "I finished 12 cups of school lunch pineapple for $20. My stomach was messed up for weeks afterwards."
—u/Smuddgee
10. "I sold my bras, panties, socks online. It was actually quite profitable, LOL."
—u/kalieblushx
11. "I bagged wood in 100-degree heat one summer to pay for rent. $0.25 a bag, paid after every 1,000 bags."
—u/misterpizza
12. "My friend was paid a dollar to eat a dollar. No profit."
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13. "I once ate a jar of minced garlic for an $80 bet. I stunk and sweated out garlic for a week."
14. "When I was in college, I lived on $100 a month for groceries — and I went on a date and blew half of it. I didn’t have the heart to admit I was so broke, so the next day, I went asphalt-crawling for change at the nearby car-vacuuming business."
15. "About three years ago, I was in a tough spot and facing eviction. I’d borrowed an amplifier from my dad, and I pawned it for $800. I was definitely not proud of it, and it strained our relationship for a while. Eventually, I got back on my feet and bought a new one for him, and I'm doing much better now financially, and dad and I are right as rain."
16. "I called my mother. She only sent it because it would look bad if her only child was living in their car. Appearances are everything."
17. "I licked a toe for $5 once. I was broke as a joke."
18. "In college, a guy gave me $20 to speak in an Arnold Schwarzenegger voice for the rest of class — about three hours."
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19. "I've done medical trials where they test new pharmacy drugs on healthy patients. The money is great, and I've never had any side effects."
And finally...
20. "I went to a job that I hated."
Got your own stories? See you in the comments!
These entries have been edited for length and clarity.
