Donna Freedman's post for MSN Money poses an interesting question: do you have a problem keeping money you've found on the ground?
Readers' comments basically fall into two camps: keep it all, regardless of how much -- or if there's a chance you can find the owner (because it's a large amount, or in a bag or wallet), then make the effort. (And keep the cash if no one comes forward.)
Bargain Babe started the idea, by finding $5 that no one picked up, an hour after she'd spotted it. She felt so guilty about picking it up that she spent it on a bag of locally-grown almonds.
I just don't get this. Why in the world would you feel guilty about finding money? You didn't drop it. Whoever did either doesn't need it (they would have come back looking) -- or they're too far away to come back for it. Or they never missed it, in the first place.
I haven't had this happen much, darn it. A few pennies here, a dime there. The Mama found a $5 bill in the hallway on our recent cruise. My brother is the champ -- he finds money a lot, all in small amounts. Daughter #1 follows his lead; she's found everything from change to a $10 bill. (She refuses to pick up pennies, a fact her mother finds incomprehensible.)
I did notice a wallet once while leaning over to pick up a parking chit from the machine at the airport. That case was open-and-shut; I knew whose money it was, and she needed it back! And she was really grateful; I even got a restaurant gift card from her. That was thoughtful, but unneeded; at least once, I've lost something that someone took the trouble to return. It just seemed like payback time.
Many of the respondents put the money back into the local economy, spent it on souvenirs or gave it to the poor. I tend to take any money found, and put it in a metal bus bank that sits above the washing machine. (Any change or bills found while doing wash also goes there.) You'd be surprised at how much collects annually -- even with a buck or two extracted for emergencies or pizza, it's usually in the $30 range!
At Christmas time, the money's used to buy a gift card or presents for an "angel" gift. The recipient doesn't know who we are...but God does.
3 comments:
Thanks for the link.
I counted up a little early this year because I am spending the month of December away from home. Total was $19.79; I rounded it up to $30 and sent a check to a social services agency that runs, among other things, a food bank.
(Wrote about it on MSN Money Smart Spending, if you care: "Hunger knows no season.")
If there's a way to identify the owner, of course I would do that. Last week in the grocery store a guy pulled his change out of the self-checkout machine but left a dollar there. I called out and he came back and got it.
A friend of mine looked down at the grocery store recently and saw a $50 bill. He picked it up and asked if the person in front of him had dropped it. Naive, isn't he? But the person in front of him said "No, it's not mine." Moments later a frantic young couple came running back in saying, "Did anyone find some money?" Both my friend and the other guy said, "Yes!" The couple said, "Was it a $50 bill?" Bingo!
My friend probably would have donated it to the homeless shelter although he, like me, delights in finding change.
I found 26 cents the day after I counted up my 2010 totals. So I'm off to a good start for 2011. :-)
I checked the bank I keep money in, Donna...I'm behind you, only about $10. But it will go toward a grocery gift card for a woman Husband works with -- she's been working a second job every weekend to pay the bills, as well as her full-time job during the week.
But she won't know who did it! And that is a very satisfying feeling.
Thanks so much for writing.
Hey, I only refuse to pick up pennies that're tails-side up! (Call me quirky, but I still hold on to a few strange superstitions.) I put all change I find (on the ground, the bottom of my purse, or even in my pockets) into a beautiful handpainted porcelain piggy bank (which fittingly, I bought using change at a thrift store), and it acts as my own little gift to myself, or as a welcome emergency fund, every couple of months. The last time I cashed it in, there was a full $50 in change inside-- after only 3 months!
-Daughter #1
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