In this economy, even treating yourself to a small dessert can feel like a luxury. So it’s no surprise that people are constantly looking for ways to cut costs wherever they can.
But there’s a big difference between being budget-conscious and being downright shameless. When that line is crossed, you might just find yourself featured on the subreddit Choosing Beggars, a corner of the internet dedicated to calling out the most entitled and outrageous attempts to score something for nothing.
Below, we’ve rounded up some of the most audacity-filled requests out there. Scroll through and see which ones made your jaw drop.
#1 He Wanted A $3000 Organ For Free. Oh, And I Was Also Supposed To Cover Shipping Costs
#2 I Was Giving Away A Free Dishwasher On Craigslist And Caught One In The Wild
#3 “TikTok Influencer” Wants Free Expensive Products
There’s a short, one-syllable word that never fails to light up our brains, send sparks flying, and make our inner bargain hunter perk up.
F-r-e-e.
For the promise of something absolutely free—no strings attached—many of us are willing to jump through hoops, even when the item in question is cheap, useless, or requires a surprising amount of spending just to claim it.
Think: “Buy one, get one free” deals, signing up for a newsletter to enter a giveaway, or scrambling for pens and socks at a university fair.
#4 Influencer Wants Personal Song Written Plus One Hour Set At Wedding For Free
#5 Free Editing
#6 Woman Gets Trolled After She Gets Too Choosy
While it makes sense to try and save money where we can, people often place a wildly inflated value on things that cost zero dollars.
Of course, we’re not talking about the kind of “free” that choosing beggars demand, like asking someone to design a logo or bake a cake for nothing, but rather how powerful the idea of zero cost really is.
#7 Please, No Offers Of Something Slightly Less Extraordinary
#8 Give Me Your Free Tickets
#9 Customer Mad About Free Gift
A well-known experiment featured in Dan Ariely’s bestseller Predictably Irrational helps explain this behavior.
Participants were asked to choose between spending 26 cents on a luxury Lindt chocolate truffle or 1 cent on a lower-quality Hershey’s kiss.
The group was split fairly evenly between the two. But when the experimenters lowered both prices by one cent, making the Hershey’s kiss free, the outcome changed dramatically.
Suddenly, the vast majority chose the free chocolate, even though the price difference between the options stayed the same. That’s the power of zero: it changes how we evaluate value altogether.
#10 Military Spouse Demanding To Have Her Next Meal For Free
#11 Give Me A (Basically) Brand New Car- For Free Of Course
#12 Send Me TV Options And Deliver The One I Want To My House
I’m in a few buy nothing groups in my city and this person has posted several times asking for a 54 inch TV (or better) and wants to choose from a selection of free TVs. On top of that, you get to drive it to their place and will probably have to set it up.
So why do we chase free stuff like it’s gold, even when we don’t really want it? Dr. Eva Krockow, associate professor of psychology at the University of Leicester, shed some light on the topic in a piece for Psychology Today.
Different factors can drive our love of freebies, but emotions are a big one, according to Krockow.
“A positive charge is experienced when offered an unexpected gift, and this sensation of joy is likely to impact heavily on the subsequent choice,” she says.
That joy makes the freebie feel like a special little reward, something we want to chase.
#13 Looking For A Dog Sitter, 42 Hours A Week, For Free Or Cheap
Posted in a local town chatter. Looking for a dog sitter for 10 hours and 30 mins a day! Surely this should be free or cheap. Oh, and it must be in your house. I have low money and just now trying to get back on my feet, but I bought an expensive dog and now need free daycare for it. And go!
#14 Wants A Free Roof In Exchange For Reviews
#15 “Free? Not For Me, You Don’t Have What I Want”
There’s also the fact that we tend to lower our standards when we’re not paying.
So we might end up happily accepting a weirdly designed notepad with paper so thin it’s see-through, just because it didn’t cost us a cent.
#16 Remove My Old Bricks And Pay Me To Do So
#17 Actual Beggar Shows Up To R/Choosing Beggars To Ask For Free Art Comission
#18 Interested… For Free Plus Delivery
But, as the saying goes, the only place you’ll find free cheese is in a mousetrap. Most of the time, there’s a catch.
“Many marketing deals, for example, involve a minimum spending condition, which requires customers to purchase other items in order to become eligible for a gift,” says Krockow.
“Other offers, including vouchers for specific supermarkets, are designed to lure you into different stores, expose you to new products and thereby entice you into buying additional items while you’re there,” she adds.
#19 Choosing Beggar Wants A Free Holiday, Emphasis On Completely Free
#20 Lady Saw My Ad For An Xbox One X I Was Selling, Demanded It For Free
#21 Why Won’t Someone Teach My Husband An Instrument For Free?
And even if there’s no money involved, most freebies still ask for something.
It might be an email address, a signature, your time, or participation in something like watching a few ads or joining a contest.
Nothing is ever truly free; there’s almost always some kind of exchange.
#22 This Was On A Post About Giving Free Stuff For People In Need For Christmas
#23 How Dare You Not Have The Most Top Quality Food And Beverage For Me, For Free?
#24 This Was In The Comment Section Of A Mobility Aid For Adult Happy Times. She Has 570 Followers
So the real question is: when do those hidden costs outweigh the actual value of the “free” thing?
Or, in the case of choosing beggars, when does asking for free stuff start costing you your dignity? (That’s not including people who genuinely need help, of course.)
Freebies can be fun. Gifts are great. But a little self-awareness and smart decision-making can help you avoid ending up with something you didn’t want or falling for a scam in the name of a deal.
#25 I Teach His Son How To Play Guitar. He Wants A Free Lesson For No Reason, Then Blocks Me
#26 Gimme Free Stuff
#27 Just Buy Her A House
#28 Male Seeking New Housemates For Free But Makes It Up With “Fun Cool Vibes”
#29 Free Tattoo?
#30 Photographer With 8 Years Of Experience Wanted… To Work For Free
#31 Complain About Free! Tickets
#32 Just Trying To Give Away A Free IKEA Couch
#33 If You Do, You’ll Get Much More Spam
#34 Hey Can You Give Me A Car For Free? Only 2016+ Please
#35 “The Universe”
#36 Wants A Free Photographer And Overpriced Rent
#37 Taking Tinder Dating To A Whole New Level
#38 Whataburger Is Offering Free Breakfast Every Day To Furloughed Workers. They Even Announced They’ll Keep It Going To Help Workers Get Back On Their Feet Despite The Government Reopening
#39 “Your Art Is Mediocre At Best So Please Design Me A Free Tattoo”
#40 This Level Of Delusion
#41 Choosing Beggar Gets Upset That An Artist Charges For Custom Work While Giving Away Free Pre-Made Sketches In A “Buy Nothing” Group
#42 The Television Is Free, My Fuel Is Not
#43 The One I Got For Free Isn’t The Want I Wanted
#44 They Wanted A Free Commission So I Gave Them Something That Took 10-15 Mins To Make And That’s Their Reaction
#45 “Please Give Me Free Stuff, And Deliver It To My Home Because I’m Busy”
#46 5 Weeks Of Dogsitting For Free
#47 Drive Me For Free
#48 Sure, I’ll Just Hand Over My Painstaking Work For Free. Need Help With A Response
#49 “I Post More Pictures Than Others, So I Am Entitled To Free Stuff”
#50 Eb Wants Free Lipstick Because Black People Are Getting M**dered By Police
#51 If I Was That Employee I Would Have Responded With, “Do You Promise?”
#52 Let Me Borrow Your Nice Car For Free And Let Me Smoke In It
#53 The Second I Saw “Someone Who Is Looking Into Babysitting” I Knew She Was Looking For Free Childcare
Yes, watch two very young toddlers for free with gentle guidance. The comments are ripping her to shreds.
#54 I Need A Free 100-Mile Bus Trip For 20 People And Don’t You Dare Offer Me Any Less
#55 The Pup Cups Are Free. Boo, And I Cannot Stress This Enough, Hoo
#56 Barbie App Review: “Give Me All The Stuff Free Or Else I Will Sue”
#57 My Local Buy Nothing
#58 I Hate Market Place
#59 Desperately Need Food, Must Be Delivered
This is a very common thing in my area. I get people needing food due to unforeseen circumstances but 9 times out of 10, they only want food that can be delivered. If you are desperate for food, wouldn’t be willing to go get it? People routinely remind these folks that public transit in our city is currently free – this person is proactively shutting down the “you can use the bus to pickup for free” rhetoric.
#60 Good Luck With All Of That
#61 So This Girl Constantly Ask For Free Stuff To Improve Her “Bad Mood” But Even This Is Too Far
#62 Everyone Named Sheldon Gets A Free Laptop
#63 All These Teens Do Is Play Fortnite! They Should Work For Me For Free
#64 It’s The “You Can Dance For Free!” For Me
#65 Owners Of Expensive SUV Asking For Free Drinks
#66 I Want A Very Specific Laptop. But For Free
#67 Give Me Free Baby Stuff, Oh And I Don’t Drive
#68 “Come Volunteer First For 5 Hours And Then We’ll Talk From There”
#69 On A Facebook Group Where People Give Away Unwanted Items For Free To People Who Need Them
#70 Guy Who Hacked My Ps4 Account Admits It, And Would Like Some More Free Games Pls
#71 “Why Won’t My Friend Work For Free?!”
#72 Personal Attendant = Free Labor
#73 I Need Free Sneakers But Only Top Of The Line Will Do
#74 Whining Because Nurses Got Free Food From McDonalds
#75 Oh, You Won’t Give Me Free Ice Cream Even Though I’m Using My Kid As Leverage?
#76 At Least She Was Asking In A Free Stuff Group
#77 You’ve Already Given Me Free Money, But It’s Not Enough
#78 Wanting 15 Acres Of Land For Free
Found this beautiful posting on my local Craigslist. They want 15 acres of land for free. They also want someone with no heirs, are elderly, and someone who has a “spiritual calling” to help others.
#79 Give Me Free Hair Extensions
#80 Entitled Parent Thinks Having A Ticket For Their Baby Means Their Nanny Should Get In For Free
#81 I Brought Other People In So I Deserve Free Food
#82 Just Remind You Every Two Days To Give Me Free Stuff
#83 Crazy Person Wants A Free Place To Live
Saw this on nextdoor a couple months ago.
#84 Free Stuff Group On Facebook, Guy Really Needs A Coffee
#85 65″ TV? Of Course It’s Free For Your Crotch Goblin
#86 Bride Wants Specific Free Stuff But Only On Her Specific Terms
#87 Influencer Leaves Restaurant Bad Review For Not Getting Free Food Or Drinks After Telling Manager It Was Some Of The Best She’s Ever Had
#88 “Can Someone Come To My House And Give Me A Gel Manicure For Free? Oh And Scrape The Old Gel Off Too?”
#89 Give Me A Free RV, Also I Should Get To Smoke Inside Because This Isn’t Russia
#90 Karen Wants A Free Milkshake
#91 Free Horse Please. Saw This On The Freecycle Emails This Week
