Poll

$170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?

Finders Keepers!
Leave it on the sidewalk... $170 is alot of cash, I'm sure someone will have missed it!
Knock on local doors, ask if someone had lost anything recently, and cough up the dough if they identify it properly.

Author Topic: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?  (Read 14783 times)

arebelspy

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #50 on: October 02, 2016, 05:08:51 AM »
Yes ARebelSpy,

There were some identifiers as well as the dollar amount that they volunteered. It all worked out well in the end, and I think my son got a bit of a lesson on honesty and "money isn't everything". Community and Values matter more, in my opinion.

Definitely!
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LeRainDrop

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #51 on: October 02, 2016, 05:14:37 AM »
That is a great outcome!  Feels good to do the right thing, doesn't it?  :-)

TomTX

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #52 on: October 02, 2016, 11:28:56 AM »
I regularly find money on the ground near where I live. It never happened until I moved here.

Usually $20 or $50 notes. Not long ago I found $200+

Ok so where do you live and when can I come visit?  ;)

Seriously.

pancakes

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #53 on: October 22, 2016, 09:59:48 PM »
I regularly find money on the ground near where I live. It never happened until I moved here.

Usually $20 or $50 notes. Not long ago I found $200+

Ok so where do you live and when can I come visit?  ;)

Seriously.
Perth Australia.

Two days ago I picked up another $20 on the road as I crossed. No one around and nothing to identify who it may have belonged to. This never happened until I moved here.

I had a co-worker tell me recently that they throw all the 5c and 10c coins they get into the bin because they are annoying. Who knows?

Metric Mouse

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #54 on: October 22, 2016, 10:02:45 PM »
I regularly find money on the ground near where I live. It never happened until I moved here.

Usually $20 or $50 notes. Not long ago I found $200+

Ok so where do you live and when can I come visit?  ;)

Seriously.
Perth Australia.

Two days ago I picked up another $20 on the road as I crossed. No one around and nothing to identify who it may have belonged to. This never happened until I moved here.

I had a co-worker tell me recently that they throw all the 5c and 10c coins they get into the bin because they are annoying. Who knows?

Wow... "Australia, where even the garbage men are tipped."

Lanthiriel

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #55 on: October 23, 2016, 12:57:24 AM »
One time we were driving down a crowded downtown street and my husband started yelling "get out and pick up that money!" He basically shoved me out of the car to pick up $45 off the street while we were stopped at a stop sign. I was kind of just in shock about the whole thing, so I picked it up and we drove away, but I felt so bad about it! He totally had the finders keepers mentality, whereas I didn't like that we had no context for what happened and the money could have literally fallen out of someone's pocket 10 seconds before I grabbed it.

Since OP has context, I would definitely try to find the owner first. Seems very likely it belongs to someone related to the nearby houses. Though weirdly my gut response was to pick finders keepers in the poll before reading OP's post and remembering my own experience.

Metric Mouse

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #56 on: October 23, 2016, 09:45:25 PM »
I'd keep it. I will say my ex lost a bank cash envelope with over 1k in it at the mall once, someone actually turned it in, and she got it back.

I can see why they might be your ex...

PatronWizard11

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #57 on: October 23, 2016, 10:40:49 PM »
I found a $100 bill last year in a gas station. I justified keeping it because I legitimately looked around to see if anyone could have dropped it. I saw no prospects and thought about giving it to the guy behind the counter but changed my mind fast since he was the type of person to add a fee to a transaction if using a cc without your consent or telling you (he did this to me a few times before i realized and I told him dude I would have paid cash, no huge deal but still/steal)(they didn't have a sign to say "minimum purchase for CC's). The guy would have pocketed that money so i didn't feel too bad keeping it.

stashgrower

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #58 on: October 24, 2016, 04:11:38 AM »
Good outcome, well done!

Ramblin' Ma'am

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #59 on: October 24, 2016, 02:05:43 PM »
I vote finders' keepers for a situation like this, where you couldn't really identify the owner anyway. I've found cash before--not this much, but I've found $20 a few different times. And I've also lost small amounts of cash, and presumably someone else scooped it up.

DT

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #60 on: October 24, 2016, 03:40:09 PM »
I found $700 by a walkway & handed it into the local police station - if its not claimed within 3 months then the police will return it to the finder. The policemen recognising the bag it was in & tracked down the lady the $ were stolen from. She gave me a dinner voucher as a reward for handing it in. In these situations I think about how I would feel if I had lost cash & someone didn't return on.  It just doesn't seem right to keep it.

Bakari

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #61 on: October 26, 2016, 08:45:04 AM »
So, in summary, I went back to the 2 houses 5-6 total times over the next week looking for the owner of the loose cash. After confirming it was not House A on the 3rd attempt, I finally found the owner on the last attempt...... and was invited for dinner with both families with some wine and brick oven pizza at some later date. Nice older couple, just moved to the neighborhood, and they were pretty appreciative.

That kept me feeling the right way for at least a week or two, and it taught my young son a lesson as well.  Highly recommend this approach.

Thanks for the votes, folks! Great to see inside the minds of this illustrious community.

JGS


5-6 times, now that's dedication to ethics!


Only now, just make sure you don't have $170 worth of wine and pizza! 

Fishfindr

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #62 on: October 26, 2016, 08:55:43 AM »
Stop by your local homeless shelter, church or animal rescue and make a donation.