“Mark your favorite restaurants/places as ’not friendly for kids’ on Google Maps to ensure people don’t bring kids to ruin the vibe.”

I'm a Senior Staff Writer based in New York City, where I've been covering classic BuzzFeed-style content since 2020.

DISCLAIMER: Some of these tips are shady — they involve lying, cheating, or otherwise breaking what's expected of you in society. Use your best judgment, and obviously do not do anything illegal (i.e., fraud). This is not legal or financial advice; some of these may risk your job, or get you blacklisted by recruiters, for example...so use these tips at your own risk.

"(Don't lie and say that you're actively pregnant, though, if you aren't.)"

"My landlord installed a coin-operated laundry in the house where I rent a room.  I bought a five-pack of keys on Amazon, and now I do my laundry for free.  

I can't access the coin compartment with the keys.   But I can change the dollar amount to zero on the washer.  And I can hit the switch on the dryer that allows one cycle.   I feel like a hacker. It's pretty sweet."

"I found this out because it actually was true in my case. I had a 14-month employment gap after college, so I could care for my grandfather, who was dying from brain cancer. That gap has always hurt me. When I explained it at an interview recently, the interviewer's entire opinion of me changed. In her eyes, that gap initially meant I was lazy and coasted for a year after college, and once I told her I was caring for my grandfather, she realized that her perception of the situation was wrong. After that, I wrote it in my resume like it was a job, and bam, I saw a significant increase in the number of interview callbacks.

It's a perfect lie, no one can verify it, they can't ask you details about it without being a dick, you can be as vague as you want, and no one will press you, and it makes you look like a goddamn selfless hero."

"If it seems to demonstrate a decent ROI, then go and get the degree...or just go for the interview and see what happens."

Similarly: "If you don't want to make a call but may later need to prove that you, in fact, did make a call but they didn't pick up, turn airplane mode on and make a call. It'll make it look like you did make the call, but the other person/entity didn't answer. I used to do this to prove that I had tried calling my tutor, but he didn't pick up, so I couldn't set a time to study with him. (Edit: tried it on my Pixel 2XL and previously my OnePlus 3T. Both worked. Seems iPhones and Samsungs don't wanna play the game.)"

"When we were younger, we used to do this. Work in pairs. First person describes missing sunglasses, and the lost and found brings out the glasses that match the description. The first person says none of the glasses are theirs. Second person then goes to lost and found and describes the exact pair that's in the lost and found, and boom, you have free sunglasses. Some places are not as lax as you described, so you work in pairs."

In case you're confused: "The first person is there to observe the sunglasses and be able to give an accurate description of them to their partner. This is to reduce suspicion as much as possible that they’re stealing one that they’ve never seen before, as they already have a perfect description."

Then they'll say their outfit, and you reply with the other person's outfit. So then they find each other and are super confused!!"

"As someone who once tried to sell a Pokémon card on Facebook Marketplace, spent a really long time negotiating, then never confirmed a time to meet up."

"Ask them where they're located, then offer an extra 50 bucks gas money for them to drive a little out of the way to meet you instead. Something like an hour away, several towns over. You really, really, REALLY need those cards for your kid's birthday."

"I wish I could just tell another woman that I don't want to hold her baby and not have her get offended, but it seems like a reflex on their part. As someone with childhood trauma and who had little bodily autonomy as a child, the thought of passing around my infant to strangers makes my skin crawl."

"I was doing this 15 years ago. Airport parking lots are fair game, too.

The problem is, many hotels check when they do pickups now. I can 100% tell you Marriott and Hilton hotels do. If it's a bus, you have better chances than a van. Your mileage may vary; good luck. I've only had luck with parking lots lately."

You can also try a van to a rental car place: "Just did something similar at PHX, rode the skytrain to the rental car center and booked a ride from there."

"Just don't scan your loyalty card when re-using!. Most coupons are good for at least a few weeks, so enjoy those promotional discounts and stock up!"

I work on self-checkout and can confirm that, in most cases, the machine just has a sensor for 'did coupon go in' that a manager will empty out day by day or shift by shift. And unless there's a large amount of 'faked' coupons, managers will not go hunting for who put the fake in."

White rice….actually, could I get brown rice too? Yes, both.

Black beans….actually, could I get pinto beans too? Yes, both

Everything else. Hot, too, yes please. Yes, ma'am, all of it. No meat.'

If you get good at the timing with the request for double rice and double beans (specifically after they've already added one type), it's no longer a rollable burrito. Shell will bust, requiring an additional tortilla to patch the guacamole dam.

Best to go very close to closing time cause the shift is about to end, and they're trying to clear out what's left

It's like 3000 calories of fresh-ish vegetables for $11."

Though do this at your own risk: "I work for a dental office, and we have two-way texts, not just automated reminders. We have proof of what we sent you."

"I used to work at an auto parts store. We weren't allowed to have rewards accounts, but our family members could. So I set one up in my dad's name and used it when customers didn't have an account."

"This works, but eventually they catch on and may fire you."

"If you really want to take precautions, you could use a fake email, stagger the days that you do this, and use your rewards at a different location if it's a chain."

"I'm on the FTC do-not-call registry, and I have already filed a few complaints with the FTC. But I've still been getting spam calls from different car, health, and life insurance companies, most of which are obvious scams (upwards of five per day). The problem is, they use a robocaller, so it's a different local number every time they call me. Otherwise, I would just block them. Hopefully, if they harass your congressman (bonus points if you hate your congressman), then they will get the company shut down or at least expedite a claim with the FTC."

"Today, I went to a famous water park here in Italy. It actually includes a small spa area with various whirlpools, jacuzzis, a hammam, a Kneipp path, and so on. Right from the start, it was obvious that access was strictly reserved for those who bought an extra ticket. 

I decided to play dumb and just walked right in. Shortly after entering, I was stopped and told that a specific wristband was required, and I could buy it from the shop nearby. I just smiled, nodded, and walked away, and headed to another area of the water park where there were regular whirlpools. There, I spotted a woman just about to enter, wearing a wristband — one of those standard ones I had with me, orange.

That was my cue: I realized the wristband was exactly the same type and color as one of the ones I had brought. I went straight back to my bag, put the wristband on, and walked right back into the spa. This time, I was let right in without a single question. 

The funniest part happened a bit later. A few foreign tourists tried to sneak in too. The guy checking access was struggling to explain to them in very broken English that they couldn't be in that area. Out of nowhere, he actually called me over to help him translate.

I looked at these tourists and, with total confidence, told them, 'Look, to get access here, you need TO GO BUY this wristband at the shop,' pointing to my own wrist as if I had actually bought it myself, while the attendant stood right next to me, nodding along in approval."

"No need for gift cards, add a DVD that hasn't been released yet, it'll pre-order it, and you'll hit the threshold. Then cancel a couple of days later."

"Enter Richard Bestelli. Rich has amazing credentials. He has degrees, years of experience with respected government and corporate institutions, all of the desired certifications, and more. He happens to be local and possibly available as a candidate if the price is right. His resume is filled with ALL the right buzzwords that those lazy recruiters are searching for.

Rich gets multiple emails from recruiters in the industry each week. He engages them while keeping them at arm's length. He wows them by just how PERFECTLY he matches those delicious, bold keywords that management sent to the recruiter. He IS perfect.

He has some technical questions for the hiring manager, and HR happily provides the email address.

Rich is very interested in taking the job, but the pay he requires is out of the ballpark since he is an EXTREMELY qualified candidate, and he has to turn down the position. HR is very disappointed since they were unable to land this whale. 

Now's your chance to move in for the kill.

My name is ___ and I'm a friend of Richard Bestelli. We have worked together on several projects in the past. He mentioned that you were looking for someone who has knowledge of your specific situation, and I definitely fit that bill. On top of that, I'm SO CHEAP. Like, that dude was expensive AF, but I'm actually affordable! What a deal! I'd LOVE to sit down with you and discuss the project you are looking to hire for!' 

Long story short, here I am years later writing government and international policy in the same field.

Sometimes, to get ahead, you have to treat them with the same techniques and respect that they treat you with."

"🔑 KEY POINT: You must wait until another solo passenger is walking up to the concierge and get in line with them at the same time. You need to get in front of them in line, so make sure you're first. Try to find someone who looks like they're traveling for business and isn't too thrilled to be there. Be extremely polite; you could even wave them forward and say, 'Go ahead.' 99% of the time, they'll say. 'No, no, you go ahead.' You thank them and wish them a pleasant journey, with a smile. What you're doing here is building a little relationship.

You walk up to the concierge with ID and boarding pass in hand. They'll greet you and scan your boarding pass to check your eligibility for the lounge. They'll look confused and ask you if you have this or that status, whatever the typical entry requirement is. You say, 'Yes, I have (airline name) reward status.' When you're questioned again, you can express some confusion/disbelief using some body language, nothing over the top. Be cool about it, apologize for your confusion, and turn to leave.

Here's where the person behind you comes in. They will have been watching your interaction with the concierge, and if they liked you during your brief interaction, they'll feel some sympathy/secondhand embarrassment for you and offer to bring you in as a guest.

This exact scenario has played out for me the last two times I've attempted to enter a lounge. So if you're flying solo and look presentable, and act like you belong when you get to the lounge, there's a very good chance the kind stranger behind you will offer to let you in."

"This deal got me a nice number on my recent purchase, and the sales guy walked away with an easy 700 bucks. You can give it to them however you want, just make sure you don't get them in trouble. I did it during the second test drive before he 'convinced' me. Essentially, bribe them. Not saying this is the best method, but it gave me better results than I expected."