Found Money: what would you do?

[Philliefan33]

I'll limit my response to loose money.

Any amount that could be attributed to someone nearby, I'd ask around --"Did you drop money?" If random money, with no way of guessing where it came from, I'd pocket anything up to and including $20. Then I would use at least a portion to perform a random act of kindness-- pay for the person behind me at the sandwich shop, drop it in a tip jar, something like that.

More than $20, I'd make an effort to find the owner or turn it in to lost and found. If not claimed, it goes towards random acts of kindness.

 

[NYEXPAT]

My Wife was trying on pants in a dept store last week and found $40 in the pocket, decided she did not like the pants.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

Just last week (the day before I retired, btw), I found a $5 bill on the sidewalk. First time in many years I stumbled on paper money. I looked up and down the street and saw no-one, so I pocketed it.

Still felt kind of bad about it. No way to find the legitimate owner, though.

 

[LOL!]

I lost my wallet once and somebody found it and called me. I had no money in it, so I got everything back intact.

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.

I found a $20 bill swimming in the ocean. I kept it, but I told everyone around me that I found a $20 bill swimming in the ocean. No one claimed it.

 

[Philliefan33]

A few years ago DH found a $100 bill in our yard. We had just finished with a contractor and suspected it came from him or one of his workers. We called and asked him if he or one of his crew lost some money out of his pocket, but no one claimed it.

I was looking around our wood lot for that Benjamin tree, but never could find it.

 

[Winemaker]

If you find any cash, chips, or rewards in a PA casino, run, do not stop or pass go. You will get ticketed, fined and possibly charged with theft. I have read several accounts in local paper about innocent white and gray hairs picking up money on floor and getting into trouble.

 

[Hermit]

A couple of summers ago, I found a $1 bill in the gutter in Cripple Creek. That was the first time I had been to Cripple Creek since it became a gambling town. I donated it to a one-armed-bandit. It took my $1 and seemed to be happy. That was the only $1 I have lost in Cripple Creek too!

 

[mamadogmamacat]

Found a quarter a week ago on the floor in the pet store. Thought it belonged to one of three kids in the store with their mother. When i asked her, she could have easily claimed it whether it was theirs or not, but she didn't. So, I gave it to the clerk who put it on the counter. I assume it will eventually go into the pocket of one of the employees or perhaps into their coffee club can, etc. Regardless, I feel better about it. Boils down to one's peace of mind. Now if I was in horrible financial condition, pinching every penny, would I have been honest to the point of ridiculousness like that (yes in my childhood i was that poor thanks to parents who were fools in regards finances), probably not. But, then i would not have bothered to join this forum either in that case

 

[tinlizzy]

I found $15 in leaves in the corner of a parking lot - I noticed the peach on the $10. It looked like it had been plowed there over the winter and I kept it. I found $40 in an alley, folded and quartered. It looked like it had been there for awhile and was caked with dirt - kept it.

If I found money in a business or yard or wallet I wouldn't keep it.

 

[flotsamandjetsam]

A few years ago I was driving on a freeway in New Hampshire. A guy on a motorcycle passed me. He was wearing a nylon jacked that was flapping in the wind. As he went by, a bill of undetermined denomination escaped his jacket pocket and fluttered away. Another, then another. He was going really fast! What was I supposed to do? If I chased him down, how was I going to stop him? In the end, I let him go. I doubt he had any money left by the time he got to where he was going.

 

[Sunset]

I've also been standing in line, and the person in front of me pulled their cash out of their pocket to pay and promptly dropped a few bills on the ground.
I waited a second and since they didn't notice, I tapped them on the shoulder and told them "you dropped that" pointing to the cash on the floor.

 

[Rambler]

30 years ago, I happened upon a $50 equivalent bill in Japan, on the side of the road in front of a vacant lot. There was no one around to ask, or to give it to, so I kept it. Fast forward to two and a half months ago, I found another $50 in USD while out on my morning run, in Utah. This was also along the side of the road, again in front of long vacant property, and actually mingled with other detritus. It was still wet from rain and/or snow from a week prior. There was no one to whom it could reasonably be determined that it belonged, so I picked it up and carried it back to the hotel where I was staying. I dried it out, put it in my pocket, and eventually put it in one of the Salvation Army kettles that are in front of every store at Christmas. The difference between the two instances was that in the first, we were stone cold poor, had just moved to Japan, had just started a new job, but was almost a month from payday (one payday a month in Japan). The $50 kept our bellies full for at least a week or 10 days. In the second instance, we are comfortable to the point that we give many multiples of that amount to charity monthly so no need to capitalize on the loss of another, so I just passed it on to those who needed it more than me.

Looked at another way, many years ago the Dear Lord saw our need and sent someone to drop something that may have been breadcrumbs to them, but a lifesaver to us. Now it's our turn to pay it forward. All of that said, if the money had been identifiable, it would have gone back to its rightful owner, in both cases.

 

[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....

 

[jfn111]

4 or 5 times a year I'll find forgotten betting vouchers in the betting machines at the local horse track. People will place their bets and forget to end the session and get a voucher for the remaining balance. I'll always bring the vouchers to the tellers who can trace the owner if they used their MVP card.
Several of these have been over $100 dollars but I figure I'm collecting Karma points.

 

[travelover]

4 or 5 times a year I'll find forgotten betting vouchers in the betting machines at the local horse track.........

When I was a kid I always checked pay phone booths for forgotten change. Once you actually find a dime, it is addictive.

 

[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]

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]

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]

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]

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.)