Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Rule #3: Found Money

  • If you find money on the street, don't be ashamed to pick it up!
Many people may find this a bit petty. And will this tactic single-handedly propel you into the stratosphere of enormous wealth? Of course not. But why not just do it? I've heard people say it's not "worth the time" to stop and pick up a dime. Well, what else were you going to be doing with that split second? And do you take the time to clip coupons? (and for that matter, did you spend an hour or two putting Google & Amazon ads on your blog to earn a few pennies?)
I've seen guys in sharp suits stand on subway platforms and toss pennies onto the tracks, as if the weight of them was just too annoying to have in their pockets, or perhaps just to prove that a mere coin couldn't possibly be something they'd need to worry about. If you don't want your pants to hang funny, fine, but at least give it to a homeless person!
Now I am not advocating that we all turn into the weird guy with the metal detector, and I do not recommend staring at the ground all the time to search for money, because A) you'll miss seeing a lot of really interesting things, and B) you'll end up with back problems.
But money is money-- if you see it, why pass it by?

31 comments:

Caitlin said...

I pick up money all the time :) I found a $20 near the grocery store a couple of weeks ago, picked it up, looked around and there wasn't anyone it really could have belonged to so I figured the universe was cutting me some slack...lol.

Dawn said...

Great post! I must have missed this one. I have you on my blog reader to read your updates, just need to go through your archives more thoroughly. Thanks for the comment.

Jose Anes said...

It is the attitude!

You must want to take every opportunit y to make money!

Money and Investing

Andi @ udandi / Lunch It Punch It said...

like Caitlin, I found found 10 bucks at the grocery store and because I absolutely hate doing that chore (but like eating!) I figured it was a tiny reward :)

Anonymous said...

I found $10 while standing in line waiting to pay for groceries, I took out my wallet saw that it was next to my feet and pretending I dropped it, picked it up and pocket $10 bucks. I think any money lying on the ground is worth picking up no matter how much it is think of it this way you just got PAID for bending down.

Anonymous said...

I live in Australia on the Gold Coast. Walking one day a $10 note floated down from who knows where. I looked around to see if I could spot a possible owner to return it. No-one to be seen. Oh well, so I bought a lotto ticket with it. Won $312. Funny how things work sometimes :)

Kevin Surbaugh said...

Reminds me of of a cartoon I seen a few years ago:
Man talking to loan officer.
Loan Officer: Tell me again how you made all your money?
Loan seeker: You know those give a penny or take a penny? I just took.

DebtFree4ever.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

good point!

pick up a dime... it's good for stretching and prologs your life!

do you take the stairs too? i do!

-vodkaSpy-

vodkaspy @gmail.com

========= Post ID 51329760 ;) ;) ;)

Anonymous said...

First time commenter. Your blog is one of my favorites!

I once saved enough pennies to pay for the application fee for an apartment!

Thanks to all who walk over that potential wealth so that I can collect it!

Anonymous said...

If I find money I always like to give half away. It is weird but I usually find even more the next time. One week I found $5, $10 the next week and $20 a few days later (always giving half to a worthy cause!) Good Karma.

Anonymous said...

I pick up any change on the street. It all adds up and I proud to do it! I hve gone to coin counters and got alot of money out of change :)

AndyfromSimi said...

Here's my found money blog:

www.foundmoneyjar.blogspot.com

It does add up!

Anonymous said...

A few years ago I found $110 buried in the dirt when I was picking up some litter. I put $100 of it in my junk bond mutual fund, where it is still helping to rack up nice dividends.

Anonymous said...

Great post! I must have missed this one. I have you on my blog reader to read your updates, just need to go through your archives more thoroughly. Your blog is one of my favorites! Read my blog http://www.bookfinance.com/

Anonymous said...

Found $10 at Macy's, and $20 floating in the Atlantic - it looked warn and had attached baby barnicles and mussles - who knows why it found me, but it did. Just $30 so far.

BUT LATELY, I stop at fountains and look in all directions. Havn't worked up the nerve. Am I alone?

Anonymous said...

When I was in college I picked up any money I found and put it in a jar. At the end of one semester I had over $40, and that's considering that I only found one bill - a dollar.

My Half Of said...

It's hilarious to find some money somewhere, and then watch myself not be able to go by the same place without looking for it again.
I dare you to do that!
I've seen people walk up to a pay phone just to look inside the phone change return slot and check it twice just to make sure they didn't miss it the first time. Very amusing.

Andrew said...

I walk for two hours most mornings and use all the money I pick up to fund my Starbucks habit. Coinstar machines let you take you loose change and apply them to store cards like Barnes and Noble and Starbucks, and they don't charge anything to do this (they do charge a % if you want cash back), so it's a great way to put the change to work and it costs me nothing to do it. I probably get $20.00 a month in pennies, nickels, and dimes just from my walks. Hints: When school is in session, taking your morning stroll through grocery and school parking lots can result in some pavement penny bonanzas! Cheers.

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Font Finder said...

In my opinion, people who throw money on the tracks, let loose change roll away while frantically trying to fish out their Metro card when the F train is coming, and those who can't be bothered to calculate a proper tip and end up leaving something either entirely too big or small... they don't respect money or their own time.

I pick up found money all the time, and my husband and I put all our loose change in a box at the end of every day. At the end of the month I cash it in for 'paper money' for free at Commerce Bank (and no, I don't bank there, but it's still free). We easily end up with $70 and then feel as if we've somehow saved found money.

www.theinnovativetraveler.com

Unknown said...

Aside from back problems, you will walk into poles if you patrol the ground for money all the time. :)

Unknown said...

Have you ever glued a quarter to the sidewalk and observe people who tried to pick it up?

OnlyOnSale said...

i pick up EVERY penny :)

chicaliconin said...

I agree with you. I've just recently started getting into blogging and I think your site is fantastic. It is put together very well. Anyway, I thought I'd share the fact that I agree with you about picking up the money. I do think that you should not touch the credit cards and if you find personal information in the wallet you should use some of the cash to return it to its owner via ups etc. However, I think it is a fair reward to claim the cash.

Rachella said...

I always pick up money off the street.

While it can certainly add up, my impression is the people who don't think it's worth it to pick up pennies probably have the same attitude about letting small change pass through their hands.

Anonymous said...

One day I was driving in the city, close to my office, and this dude pulls up along side my car at a red light. He starts flashing $20 bills at me as he's bouncing to the rap music from his car stereo. He crumpled up a bill and threw it at my car. I thought about getting out, but the light changed. I parked my car, as I was close to work, and as I was crossing the street I noticed the money in the street still crumpled. I pocketed it without question.

Anonymous said...

My husband's father is obsessed with collecting change. He even goes through various drive thru's and goes straight to the window. He doesn't order anything but, opens the door and looks for change. He then proceeds to keep that change in jars in the trunk of his car. My husband starting displaying the same behavior by saving pickle jars and lining them up on the dresser. Not my idea of decor, but it is his small way of saving for a rainy day and I try to respect it. All that change is adding up and if I promise not to touch it, he promises to take me on vacation!! Every little bit counts!

Anonymous said...

Hmm. I pick up change. Rarely find bills. I am know to walk past a single penny at times, at other times I will pick it up.

Thrifty Gal said...

When I am at a pay phone or a vending machine, I always look for change. There aren't many pay phones around anymore, unfortunately, since I have never found change in a cell phone.

Anonymous said...

Don't forget unclaimed.org! If you've ever moved and forgotten to get the deposit from your utilities company back, or forgot to close out a child's savings account, you might have unclaimed money sitting around in your state's finance division.

Anonymous said...

I look for money every day and have for about the last seven years. I have kept track of how much I find and plan someday to create a graph of what denominations I have found each month and year. The last couple of years I have found about $100 each year.

I take an hour long walk every day to stay healthy, and I must say, having a side goal of looking for money helps get me out of the house on even really bad weather days.