Found Money: what would you do?

[FI by 2024]

I've found a few wallets in my life, including two in the last year. I always turn them in. I lost one once in a store when I was in high school and it was a terrible feeling. I found it about 30 minutes later on a shelf near where I'd dropped it but somebody had taken the money. It was only maybe $15 but that meant a lot to me back then.

One wallet I found had no contact information inside. I tried searching online for a person in my city with that name, but the only person I found didn't match the picture so I turned it in to the cops a few days later. This was right before Christmas, and if I had to judge a person by their wallet I would guess this person was very grateful to get the ~$30 and a couple other items back. Hopefully the police found her.

The second wallet had contact information but it was a busy area and I was in a big rush so after looking around for about 30 seconds I decided to deal with it later. 200 feet down the road I ran into somebody who looked like she might be the wallet owner. I asked her what her name was and what her wallet looked like to verify if it was hers. She hadn't noticed it was missing yet. She grabbed it, turned around without another word, and walked away. I don't need a reward but a thank you would have been nice.

I also found $60 in a Costco cash register trash can when I was 8. Turned that in even though it was BIG BUCKS to me. I think my parents were simultaneously proud and annoyed. They'd once given my sister and I a ten minute, loud lecture in public for walking by a penny and not picking it up.

[Mdlerth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LOL! I found a wallet once and called the owner who turned out to be a life insurance salesman. He tried to sell me life insurance.

Awesome! More proof that no good deed goes unpunished.

Thank you. I've been chuckling over this all day.

[Sunny]

There are actual laws governing found money / objects and what to do. Every state is different. The one I live in has a threshold of $25, California's I think is $100. According to the laws I've skimmed, if you find an object of that value or greater you are supposed to turn it into the police. After a certain time period, they actually give it back to you if the original owner doesn't come for it.

I'd personally let the nearest check in person (attendant at a gas station, etc.) know I found something of potential value, leave my contact information and/or what police station I was turning it into, and hope the original owner checks in. They could then ID the amount/object/give details and get their property back.

[athena53]

Quote:

Originally Posted by euro Traveling in Switzerland at the moment and just read this story in the local paper: a lady of unknown age had found a SFR 10 Bill (about $10) on the floor in a convenience store. She decided to pocket it. A store employee saw her and turned her into the police. (She first denied but got zapped by the security cam...). Long story short, she ended up with $350 fine and a theft conviction on her record! So, watch out all you "pocketers"! At least when dealing with the Swiss. The Swiss and their money are not soon parted....

I worked for a company with HQ in Zurich. I found it to be lovely and orderly and civilized, but at the cost of some pretty restrictive laws with huge fines for violating them. One coworker was fined the equivalent of hundreds of $US for walking across a train track instead of walking a short distance to use the pedestrian tunnel under the tracks.

Anyway- I've never found anything bigger than a $20 and never in an area where it was likely that the person who lost it could be identified. I'd return any amount, no matter how small, if the owner could be identified. If I ever found anything major, like an envelope full of $100s, I'd turn it into a police station or some other responsible place even knowing there was a possibility someone might pocket the money and tell me the owner had come forward. Their conscience, not mine.

[MOSAT]

A number of years ago when debit cards were still not extremely common, I was out running errands buying the monthly household items, soap, groceries, etc. with cash. I shopped at multiple stores to get the best deals. After about 5 or 6 stops it was home with my purchases, about $50 worth, I opened my wallet to give DW the change, only to discover I had more money than I started off with[emoji53]. Now what? I realized that somewhere in the stores a cashier had given me too much in change. I'm normally very observant and count my change as handed back, but I was in a hurry that day and failed in that task. So, after trying to mentally retrace my steps and agonizing over the poor cashier coming up short it their till I still couldn't find a solution to return the money. We weren't broke, but the extra cash came in handy.

Still feel a bit chagrined to this day about why I didn't count my change, something I normally do religiously. I've returned cash when a cashier has handed me too much and hope my diligence will prevent a similar error.

[cubicleshark]

For almost everyone, it seems situationally dependent. You could probably chart the odds of return....dollar amount on one axis, proximity to people who potentially lost it on another.

[sengsational]

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelover I found a wallet on a city street once. I took it to the police station and turned it in. A few hours later the owner called and accused me of stealing the money that was inside when he lost it. Next time I'll drop any found wallet in a mail box - after I steal the money.

Yesterday morning, I was pretty sure I'd left my wallet in a hotel.

I called the hotel and they said "housekeeping didn't find anything". I went through the calculus for the scenario you've outlined...no good deed goes unpunished.

I would have been glad to give ALL the money in the wallet as a reward, just to keep from the hassle of getting another license, reissuing credit cards, etc. But say you're a minimum wage worker and could really use the $100. If you take the money, you've got to secretly dispose of the rest of the wallet. You're probably not a "criminal", so wouldn't use the credit cards, but just were tempted by the cash. So I thought "maybe I shouldn't carry $100 in my wallet any more".

I kept calling the hotel and finally the desk agent said she'd look where I thought it probably had fallen. She called back after going to the room and reported that she had found it . I said if there happened to be any money in the wallet when I got it, she could expect a reward. I didn't indicate that I knew how much money was in there. When I tried to give her money, she kept refusing. I kept insisting, saying, you can donate it to a charity if you want, and finally she took the reward money.

[sengsational]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cubicleshark For almost everyone, it seems situationally dependent. You could probably chart the odds of return....dollar amount on one axis, proximity to people who potentially lost it on another.

Yep. For me, if a random person could guess what I found (i.e. yeah... right... I think it was a $20), the less likely I'm going to try to find the owner. That, as opposed to "three twenties with a paper clip", I might leave my information with a parking lot attendant. But a lone $100 with nobody around, that's finders-keepers.

There is a case where I would just pretend like I hadn't seen it...if I thought it was money from illegal activity (i.e. a bag of bundled cash, or even a roll of $100's with a rubber band). In that case, I'd probably just drive off. Back to the no good deed goes unpunished, if you were the one to call the cops, they'd probably find a way to convict you, or the drug dealers would have to shut you up since they don't know what you saw, even if it was nothing.

Way too much brain power spent on exploring scenarios like this, lol! They only happen in the movies.

[dixonge]

You people have amazingly sensitive consciences!

For me, it boils down to simplicity. If the owner of said lost money isn't easily identifiable then just pocket it. I'd never lose sleep over that.

[kcowan]

Was working in western Toronto and going to a party at friends' house in Connecticut for the weekend (their anniversary).

Mutual friends were driving us in their SUV. I had a habit of carrying my ID card, a CC and cash in my pocket, keeping my wallet in my briefcase. So I grabbed the wallet from the briefcase and headed for the door. In the SUV, I gave it to DW to stash in her purse.

Sunday I had to fly back for a Board meeting. Sitting by their pool, our host realized I was on the critical path for my flight. So I rushed inside and slipped my slacks on and jumped into his car (because he knew the way to the airport).

I already had my e-ticket. Rushed onto the plane. Somewhere over Albany, I remembered that DW had my passport and wallet in her purse back in CT!

So I got back into Canada with a boarding pass, my Canadian CC and my employee ID card! (This was in the mid-90s.)