Money from water fountains - Mustachianism at it's worst?

[Vilx-]

Inspiration from this post on NotAlwaysRight. What do you think - is collecting (stealing?) money from water fountains/ponds/etc a commendable/ethical practice? Personally I'm speechless, but, you know, I'm not very high on the Mustachianism scale...

[matchewed]

Not sure what post you were trying to link to. Your link and question don't match up.

[matchewed]

Ah you're under the assumption the couple is stealing coins from wishing wells/fountains. Um I wouldn't even put that under Mustachianism. Unless you find joy in wading around in public park fountains, I'm not sure if you're optimizing your happiness that way. This is more related to miserliness which would be related to excessive stinginess. We're talking about finding happiness in a frugal manner.

[Vilx-]

Yes, as I said - the post was only for inspiration. There's no evidence that they actually did so. I just found the idea... fascinating beyond belief and wanted to share it, and hear other people's opinions.

[swick]

I had to pop in and see what this thread was about.

One of my very first business ventures was realizing there was all this money that was being "thrown away" which in my 5 year old mind made no sense to me...so I decided it was my duty  to "save" the money.

As I was trying to fish it out with my hands, I had other kids asking me what I was doing...sensing a good opportunity to be more efficient, I explained we needed to save the coins and then we could spend them.

Asking if they could help I said sure, you fish out the coins and bring them to me and I'll sit over there and divy them all up for us.

We were quite successful - by supper time the days work was done and the other kids had all gone and spent their earnings on penny candy. I, being a budding mustachian and so proud of my new stach, took it home and put it in my piggy bank...at that point my mom walked in and asked what I was up to and I got busted...and had to return all my hard earned coin to the fountain. To this day I still don't understand why you would trow money away - and I had no idea my little business was considered "stealing" - from that point on I stuck to collecting tin cans...but it was never as profitable :)

[olivia]

Wow, that's incredibly rude of those people.  I don't think there's anything wrong with paying in change, but they could at least count it out themselves.  People never cease to amaze me!

[Jamesqf]

To this day I still don't understand why you would trow money away...

Me either.

[Vilx-]

True, I don't understand this tradition either (a variation of the wishing well maybe?), and I have never done it myself, but I do respect people who do it and have never attempted to "fish out the money". :P

[ketchup]

Wow, that's incredibly rude of those people.  I don't think there's anything wrong with paying in change, but they could at least count it out themselves.  People never cease to amaze me!

I've worked in food service.  I once had a couple throw a bag of change at me and say "There should be about eight bucks in there."

[MrsPete]

The article says that the cashier only guesses that they might be stealing from fountains.  No evidence that this is true.   

I have a friend who owns vending machines, and he makes TONS of money.  So much that I've considered that this might be a viable retirement income choice.  I wouldn't want to do as many machines as he does -- it's a full time job for him.  But, back to the point, I suspect my friend always has loads of change. 

If the couple in question really takes money from fountains, they're definitely doing wrong,  it's not their money.  It might even be against the law.

[olivia]

Wow, that's incredibly rude of those people.  I don't think there's anything wrong with paying in change, but they could at least count it out themselves.  People never cease to amaze me!

I've worked in food service.  I once had a couple throw a bag of change at me and say "There should be about eight bucks in there."

WOW, people really never cease to amaze me!  And I worked retail for years, so I shouldn't be surprised!  I've actually encountered multiple parents who let their kids pee on the floor because they were too busy trying on clothes to take them to the bathroom, and of course they didn't clean it up either-they just ran out of the store.  Then there was a grown woman who peed on the floor of the dressing room at a store I worked at.  She told the employee working the fitting rooms that she had to go use the restroom multiple times, but kept trying on clothes, and then bolted out of there. 

[Hotstreak]

As a kid I used to get quarters out of the fountain near a local restaurant.  They had a small arcade inside, and I used the quarters to play the games while we were waiting to be seated.  I never considered it stealing.. to me it was the same as picking up a quarter off the ground.  The value is so small and people intentionally leave them around without picking them up.  Can you imagine calling someone a thief for picking up half smoked cigarettes?

[olivia]

As a kid I used to get quarters out of the fountain near a local restaurant.  They had a small arcade inside, and I used the quarters to play the games while we were waiting to be seated.  I never considered it stealing.. to me it was the same as picking up a quarter off the ground.  The value is so small and people intentionally leave them around without picking them up.  Can you imagine calling someone a thief for picking up half smoked cigarettes?

Yeah I don't see it as stealing, especially if it's a kid.  Someone's going to take it eventually!

[Jamesqf]

If the couple in question really takes money from fountains, they're definitely doing wrong,  it's not their money.  It might even be against the law.

Why are they doing wrong?  In general, I mean.  It'd be different if there was e.g. a sign saying "This money goes to charity X". but otherwise, it's just like picking up money laying on the ground.

[Cecil]

An interesting tangent... In Canada, retailers are legally allowed to refuse to take large amounts of change. According to the Currency Act, you can only pay up to $25 in dollar coins, $10 in dimes/quarters, and $5 in nickels. (And 25 cents in pennies before we discontinued it).

[JellyBean]

Sign or no sign, I look at it as it's not my money to take. Someone shouldn't have to post a sign on why they are leaving money to prevent you from taking whats isn't yours.

[Jamesqf]

Why?  That reasoning makes no sense to me at all.  The people who threw the money in the fountain chose to throw it away, so it's obviously not theirs any longer.  Whose is it?  Does the fountain owner own it?  In that case, if someone tosses their unwanted change on the sidewalk (hard as that is for me to understand), does it belong to the city, or the property owner whose sidewalk it is?

[hybrid]

Why?  That reasoning makes no sense to me at all.  The people who threw the money in the fountain chose to throw it away, so it's obviously not theirs any longer.  Whose is it?  Does the fountain owner own it?  In that case, if someone tosses their unwanted change on the sidewalk (hard as that is for me to understand), does it belong to the city, or the property owner whose sidewalk it is?

Maybe it's different in different parts of the world, but where I live the fountain money always went to some charity.  But the fountains were usually in shopping malls and the like.

I think for folks like me it's implied that the money is going to some charity, and so I look at all fountains that way.  But that's just me.  Still, a sign would make sense.

[Sparky]

Funny, its my city the OP of the article was talking about....

You can't theorize where these people are getting the coins from. Maybe they own a small retail business? My best guess though is they are like me and collect the shopping carts with the quarters/loonies inside..

[StetsTerhune]

Do banks in Canada not process coins for you?

It would take this couple 3 minutes to walk into their bank, fill out a deposit slip, hand the teller their change and walk out. I guess that's assuming they have a bank account.  Check cashing stores' existence is equally baffling to me.