People Are Sharing The Most Desperate Things They've Done For Money, And There's Zero Judgment Here

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?

A person showing they only have a dollar in their wallet
Assoonas / Getty Images

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."

—u/Hobnail-boots

Two women in military garb
Sean Murphy / Getty Images

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."

—u/Throwawaybutterfliez

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

A man holding a large amount of books in a library
Hill Street Studios / Getty Images

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

A meatball sub
Lauripatterson / Getty Images

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."

—u/starringgaveag

A box of vintage comics
Ian Murray / Universal Images Group via Getty Images

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 fuck outta there. The was a shooting two blocks away at a different party that night. Never again."

—u/instant_ramen_chef

8."I had a sugar daddy once. He would give me $100 a week to talk to him on the phone for an hour."

—u/trickytraveler

A man smiling while talking on the phone
10'000 Hours / Getty Images

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."

—u/SaltySuccess1

A man biting a $5 bill
Glowimages / Getty Images/Glowimages RF

13."I once ate a jar of minced garlic for an $80 bet. I stunk and sweated out garlic for a week."

—u/Georgeyboyblue77

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."

—u/MolagMoProblems

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."

—u/PossibilityLost3655

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."

—u/voxetpraetereanihill

17."I licked a toe for $5 once. I was broke as a joke."

—u/DarlingAuthority

18."In college, a guy gave me $20 to speak in an Arnold Schwarzenegger voice for the rest of class — about three hours."

—u/LaughingIsAwesome

Closeup of Arnold Schwarzenegger
Maarten De Boer / via Getty Images

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."

—u/Aromatic-Nebula-1836

And finally...

20."I went to a job that I hated."

—u/GaviFromThePod

Got your own stories? See you in the comments!

These entries have been edited for length and clarity.