Were you one of these people?!
Like, when you used to go to work every day back in the Good Days? ;)
I’m wayyyy too Goody Two-Shoes* to even dare try pulling these off (I’d get caught in a heartbeat!), but according to this survey by Procurify.com it’s something apparently a good chunk of people are doing:
“30% of employees have expensed a personal purchase, pretending it was for business”
Naughty!
“30% of employees have exaggerated tip amounts on an expense report”
Sneaky!
“29% of employees have expensed the same item more than once”
Tricky!
“14% of employees have secretly accepted a refund for an already expensed purchase”
Okay now that is both devious AND brilliant, haha…
“8% of employees have made up purchases on an expense report”
WOW!! Big balls to try and pull that one off! Don’t you need receipts as proof, though?
*If you’re wondering where “Goody Two-Shoes” comes from, btw, it’s from a fable similar to the Cinderella story:
“The fable tells of Goody Two-Shoes, the nickname of a poor orphan girl named Margery Meanwell, who goes through life with only one shoe. When a rich gentleman gives her a complete pair, she is so happy that she tells everyone that she has “two shoes”. Later, Margery becomes a teacher and marries a rich widower. This earning of wealth serves as proof that her virtue has been rewarded, a popular theme in children’s literature of the era.” – Wikipedia
In other random news, here are some other things people are willing to do…
“48 million Americans would skip a credit card payment over a vacation” – WalletHub.com
Crazy!! At least pay the bare minimum while traveling in debt!!
“Nearly 9 in 10 people who have tried to get a credit card late fee waived were successful” – WalletHub.com
GOOD NEWS FOR ONCE!! :) And honestly one of the easiest things to pull off. You literally just pick up the phone and ask for the fees to be waived! And if not lucky on the first go, hang up and try again with another person or manager. 1,000% better odds than not even trying at all!
(Though according to that same survey, while women are 18% more likely to have tried to get a fee waived than men, they also tend to be 2% less successful :( )
“62% of student loan borrowers would give up their 2020 vote if it meant their student loan debt was completely forgiven” – LendEdu.com
Oooh great Would You Rather! I would do this in a heartbeat if I was maxed out with debt! A tougher question would be if it meant giving up your right to vote FOREVER (eek!).
Here were some other things people were willing to do as well to clear their loans:
- 68% would give up social media for five years
- 60% would give up all streaming services for life (that would be hard to do in these days!!)
- 52% would give up all payment methods besides cash for life (oooh imagine no more credit cards or venmo or apps??! That would be hard!!)
- 49% would give up being vegan or have to become vegan for life (not happening)
- 30% would enlist to fight in a hypothetical World War 3
- 17% would give up hot showers for the next 25 years (!!!)
And then lastly, “100% of people would save 10x more money if they read Budgets Are Sexy every single day” – Budgets Are Sexy super scientific survey… of one.
;)
As professor Aaron Levenstein once put it,
Statistics are like a bikini. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital.
Haha… So go ahead and ignore this entire post today!
Though still curious if you’d ever do any of those things to wipe away your own debts? Or if you’re one of the people in those expense report stats?!
Be sure to comment anonymously if you are! ;)
Some other fun “Would You’s” over the years:
- Would you… Go to jail for a year for a million dollars?
- Would you… Gain 25 lbs to wipe out ALL your debts?
- Would you… Break up with your significant other for a 10% raise?
- Would you… Politically sell out for $10,000?
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I think the higher you are in an organization, the less scrutiny there is with your expense report. “Gifts” are what us goody two shoes call “bribes.”
And Stephanie in marketing did you spend $1.23 on a bottle of water while traveling when there was a perfectly good water fountain at the airport and it’s your fault that you forgot your company reusable water bottle we gave you at Christmas instead of a bonus. Just think about that Stephanie while you rot in hell!
:-)
Hahaha stop….
This seems very familiar…..
In other news, my employer had a conference call yesterday that included ways to cut expenses; employee food and beverages were on the list. Other than the office coffee, I have no idea what the rest could be.
Oh dang, must be torture after they cut that away from you. Because I LOVE coffee!!
yeah, mess with anything you want BUT NOT OUR COFFEE!!
I’m more the G2S’s type. I’ve got many reasons.
I have been with my company for over 23 years. (rare these days, eh?)
In that time, I have earned about 1.5 million dollars (reasons).
It would be BEYOND stupid to risk that over a few hundred bucks in an expense report.
(and also, ya know, WRONG to steal in the first place!)
Coincidentally, I just had to call to get late fees and interest reversed. I waited to the last hour to pay. They insisted that meant east-coast time, not where I live. They did reverse both charges though.
I love that you know how much you’ve made from them over time!!
Now you gotta do the ol’ Lifetime Ratio Trick and compare it to your net worth so you can see how much of it you actually saved ;)
https://budgetsaresexy.com/total-lifetime-earnings-wealth-ratio/
I already include LWR in my tracking spreadsheet. (which is how I knew how much I made)
And you can see it at the bottom of my guest-post from December here:
https://budgetsaresexy.com/new-millionaire-in-club-plus-monster-retirement-spreadsheet/
I am currently at about 66% LWR (“marry me” territory from your post). Not too shabby. :)
That’s right! Haha…
Shouldn’t have doubted you for a moment.
What?!?! I’ve never committed any of those expense frauds! I’m also a big NO to all the fun “would you…?!” questions as I don’t have any loans (except my mortgage which I don’t this counts and is not worth up giving Netflix during lockdown!).
Stay safe, stay at home! (I’m saving so much money BTW and have lost 10lb by not eating “the healthy option” at take-out cafes: a little silver lining of the horrific pandemic)
Wow – that’s an interesting side effect!!
I’d think it would be easier to GAIN weight being at home and near the kitchen so much, but I guess not! Enjoy the slimming! :)
I cannot imagine padding an expense report. I even buy my own paper clips and pens for home use.
As for the other scenarios, with no gym to go to and food available every second of every day, I seem to be working on that 25-pound weight gain. So, um, who is it that I contact to pay off all my debts?
J$, you and you family stay safe!
Hah! You’re the opposite of Kate up there! :)
We had a senior manager fired for filling up a personal gas can at the company gas pump (he was authorized to put company gasoline in his company car, but he was getting gas for his home lawnmower). This guy lost a six figure job over ten bucks worth of gasoline, he forgot about the security camera right behind him. The disproportionate risk is one reason not to steal, but a much better one is having the personal integrity to do the right thing. We had super liberal expense accounts, no real limit on what you spent on yourself or business partners. But strict rules on integrity and honesty.
Damn!! That’ll stick in your brain for the next time you try cheating the system! And for just a handful of dollars too – wow…
Yeah, being a G2S has its benefits, like getting a good night’s rest and being able to look at myself in the mirror. At my last job, over 20 years ago, someone listed a very expensive bottle of alcohol for an “industry gathering” she organized. To no one’s surprise it led to an audit of ALL her expenses and she lost her job. From that point forward all expense reports were reviewed and questioned with regularity.
(I shouldn’t say it….at least a bazillion people said I told you so! This had been going on for years).
I just like that y’all have shortened it to G2S, haha… Kinda makes us goodies sound more cool! ;)
I knew it would catch on. :)
The quote about the statistics and the bikini just made my day! :)
Was waiting a while to use that one :)
I can’t believe how many people admit to cheating their employer out of money on an expense report! I mean, when you look at how much you get reimbursed back vs. your overall salary and your reputation, is it really worth it? I would definitely give up my vote in the next election to get rid of my student loans, but I don’t know about giving up streaming for life. That’s a bit harsh, and it won’t be long and you’ll only be able to get some media over the Internet. This is a great distraction from the typical news! Thank you!
You’re welcome :) Nice to e-meet you!