Woman Shares the (Allegedly) “Unhinged Ways” She Saved Money During the 2008 Great Recession

A woman shared the money-saving hacks she may or may not have implemented in order to make the most out of her paycheck during the 2008 recession.

Julia (@juliaa120230) posted a viral clip to her social media account delineating a few tips and tricks, being sure to mention that she wasn't "officially" owning up to actually doing any of these things.

Trump's inauguration into the White House has seen consistent drops in grocery prices, specifically eggs, along with fuel. However, following USAID and DOGE inspections into government spending and allocation of funds, there's been inconsistent stock market activity, with sharp plummets and peripatetic valuations of companies.

This has caused numerous folks to wonder whether or not the United States is headed towards another recession.

Which could be what prompted Julia to share some of her anecdotal finance-managing experiences.

Julia begins her video by recording herself sitting in the front seat of a car. She narrates her video by looking directly into the lens of the camera. "During the 2008 recession, I was a brand-new adult, so here are some of the unhinged ways that I may or may not have saved money."

If you recall, the 2008 recession was a global financial crisis, most closely associated with the collapse of the housing market in the United States. It was a focal point of the 2015 film The Big Short, which starred a litany of top talent from Christian Bale to Ryan Gosling and Steve Carell.

Julia, as a "new adult," went on to delineate how she made ends meet and stretched her dollars during "The Great Recession" of this time period.

"I admit to doing none of these things, officially," she said at the onset of her clip, prefacing these *non* revelations. "Find a nearby hotel that offers free breakfast, walk in, go up the elevator to the fifth floor. Go back down to the first floor and go get your breakfast," she stated.

According to her, "nobody's paying that close of attention to who's actually a guest and who is not."

Her next money-saving hack: "get a folder save all your receipts in, especially ones for bigger purchases. And then if that big purchase goes on clearance, at a later date, buy it, and then return it with the old receipt."

This, she says, saves shoppers the hassle of having to ask for a price adjustment.

Furthermore, because you're returning an unopened product (since you just bought the new one) you should probably have an easier time returning the item. This will allow folks to "pocket the difference," Julia says.

Additionally, she says that if you're trying to save some money, you should "create an email address specifically to share with family members for sharing streaming services. Memberships like to Sam's Club, anything like that that costs money on a monthly basis that you can share with your family."

Julia says there's an inherent benefit to taking this approach. "That way there's never any back and forth about can you check your email for the code, I just had it sent to your email, blah, blah, blah you don't have to worry about waiting on other people."

Moreover, she detailed ways folks can get the most out of their dining out experiences. "It's just always gonna be there. Anytime you're out to eat somewhere, grab extra condiments, bring them home, put them in your fridge, forget they're there until you need them later."

She also said that if you're someone who has to wear contact lenses, you can extend the life of these vision correcting devices by only putting one lens in the eye that needs it most, instead of both. "If your eyesight isn't truly terrible only wear one contact lens at a time."

Commenters who replied to Julia's video shot back at one particular money-saving tip she rattled off, particularly when it applied to wearing a single contact lens at a time.

One user on the application shared an alternative: "The contact one is very bad advice. It can make your vision worse and cause migraines. Just get cheap glasses online. Firmoo and Zenni have ones as low as $6."