Exercise pays (literally)!

[Tri Girl]

Ok, granted it's not a lot, but I'm on a 31 day streak. My DH and I usually find money here and there when we're out running or riding. We decided to keep that money in a jar and count the number of days that we've consecutively found money while out and about exercising (riding or running). So far we're up to 31 days and almost $5.00. I once found a $20 bill in the gutter while running, but that doesn't count. Now it's become a bit of a quest. Yesterday neither of us had found anything, so we went for a purposeful ride to the grocery store (with a drive thru at the car wash because there's a good chance you'll find a penny there) and came home with $.17 (and some much needed groceries- nevermind that they cost much more than the $.17 we found ).
Ok, so maybe we're a little weird (well- we're definitely weird). I'm not some hobo or scrounger, I just look down when I'm stopped at an intersection or light and always find something lying there. I just thought it'd be fun to see how much random money I find when I'm out cycling or running. There's a lot of money just laying around that needs a home! Most of it's really beaten up, and I don't know how the bank machine will read it, but when we cash it in, it'll go to one of our favorite local charities along with some money that we actually earned from working.
Does anyone else pick up money they see lying on the street when out running/riding?

[Bad JuJu]

No money, but I've found some cool things on a bridge that I ride over frequently. So far, a heart-shaped carabiner, someone's wallet (yes, that had some money in it, but I returned it), a handful of bungees, a length of nylon shroud line, a small brass hammer (not even sure why there IS a small brass hammer in the world), and a few days ago, a pair of like-new Snap-on pliers. It's always intriguing to see what I'll find there on my next ride!

[Tuckervill]

Those folks at littlechanges.com who were riding/walking around the country relied on the money they found on the side of the road sometimes.

I found a 5 lb piece of turquoise colored slag glass in someone's trash, on Monday while I was running with my boot camp class. I was so glad no one else saw it, and I snatched it on the way back.

Bungees fall off trucks all the time! I usually only see those on the freeway, though. I've seen/found lots of tools--people who put a tool on the bumper or drive away or something like that.

Karen

[Pax]

My folks always had a "found money" jar. It was a little carafe my mom found at a yard sale, any money they found went into the jar...they'd cash it in once a year to use as spending money on a vacation.

[Grog]

I always pick up lost change, including pennies. I can't believe the number of people who can't be bothered for anything less than a $5 bill! I don't bank them up separately tho'... maybe I should!

[Blueberry]

I pick up change unless I'm (for example) in the middle of a busy intersection. I've found $20 bills before while walking. Haven't found much biking...

CA

[Trek420]

I always pick up lost change, including pennies. I can't believe the number of people who can't be bothered for anything less than a $5 bill! I don't bank them up separately tho'... maybe I should!

Queen, while we're reminiscing on what parents do with lost change my Dad had an economic theory related to that; he thought that when times were good there was not only more lost change but higher denominations because people would feel it was not worth stopping to pick it up unless it was a paper bill, then quarter, dime, nickel then finally only pennies. The worse the economy was than only pennies were left on the street.

Knowing my Dad there is probably a chart somewhere with change picked up in the year vs GNP and National Debt

When I walk Mae around the condo grounds I carry a cell and while I don't pick these things up we snap pictures. So far Mae and I have posted to Craigs Free section and gotten picked up and "re-purposed" things dumped at the condo grounds such as; a 6 piece formal dining room chair set, 3 piece bathroom mirror, wrought iron outdoor furniture, wooden end tables, a couple of excellent rugs, and a Raleigh Sprite 27 which needed a ton of work but a cyclists happily picked up as a project bike.

My Motobecane Mixte dumped on the grounds though, that I kept

[HoosierGiant]

Living and cycling in a rural area, we don't find money. But, we've definitely seen an interesting spectrum of items -- wildlife galore, many a turtle we've removed from the roadway, a Barbie sans left leg, two teddy bears (the apparent victims of a relationship gone wrong), couches and televisions whose previous owners should be ashamed of themselves for littering the countryside, plus the all-too-frequent smaller detritus of human existence. Probably the most curious, although certainly not unusual in and of themselves... forks. The sheer number of forks is mind-boggling! Always metal, never plastic; no spoons, no knives. Go figure!

[shootingstar]

If I have time, I will pick up the lost coin.

Is anyone the sort that tosses in the penny or nickel into the "tips" or whatever jar at store, etc. that you get back in change? I don't. And I can't explain why.

Maybe it goes back to when I worked in retail as a cashier when I was struggling student..I did deal with customers who got picky about getting the exact change back and rightfully keeping it.

I am one of those customers also...I dislike cashiers who keep my extra penny or 2, when clearly the non-tax item was marked $5.99. There's something very presumptuous/rude/almost dishonest when a cashier does that automatically.

As you can tell the ex-cashier mentality butts in...memories of a perfect cash float at the end of my shift.

[Tuckervill]

I don't set aside the money I pick up in parking lots, whatever--it just goes into my pocket.

But I find it in the dryer, it's going in the piggy bank, I don't care whose it is or how much it is! I figure that's my pay for having to swap the laundry when the hubby or son forgot to do it!

Karen

[Running Mommy]

One year when I was running the NYC marathon I found 20.00 around the 23rd mile mark.... I was joking that I was a "money winner" at NYC!

[motochick]

During high school, we would "flick" pennies at each other, so the ground was always littered with them. My senior year, I decided to pick up every coin I found and put it in a jar. I had $82 at the end of the school year. Not bad, eh?

On my way to work one day I was turning to get onto the onramp of the 5 freeway in my VW bus, and thought I saw a paper bill. Turned out it was several paper bills that amounted to $63. I took it easy that day at work!

Since these two experiences, I always pick up every grungy piece of money I see.

Brenda

[Eden]

I was riding along one day when I saw a $20, then another, and another....

then a credit card, a medical card, another credit card, a starbucks card... eventually pretty much the contents on some poor guys wallet. Lucky for him he also had a good stash of his own business cards in there too. I got in contact with his secretary and dropped off all his stuff. He even went back to the spot where it all was and managed to find his drivers license. He'd left the wallet on top of his car after getting gas - never did see the wallet itself, just most of the stuff that was inside.

I found another wallet once before - sadder story there. It had been stolen and tossed out of a car no doubt. I found it and called a phone number that I found inside (turned out to be his daughter's boyfriend) before he even knew that he'd been robbed. At least he got all of his medical cards and stuff back.

Back when I was in college I used to work in the darkrooms (I'm a photographer). If you worked the last shift one of the things you did was turn on all the lights and check all of the rooms for cleanliness and thing that might have been left. I found lots of small change that way - and we did a really good clean down/inventory once a quarter, that would also yield a good change dividend. I seem to remember putting in all in a jar and having about $50 at the end of the year.

[tc1]

Let's see, I've found $20 bills on two separate occasions, one $50, some fives and ones, lots of junk jewelry which I intend to make into art "someday" and more drug paraphernalia than I would expect, since I don't use illegal drugs so aren't tuned into that stuff. Oh, and a small bag of pot. Two pocketknives, one in good condition and one ran over. A zippo lighter, many disposable lighters that still work. Dogtags and leashes. A CD case containing somebody's works,

My best haul was an old lady type wedding band, with many diamonds, which I turned in to a flight attendant immediately. That was somewhere over the Atlantic, going to Europe. I'm good at finding stuff. Unfortunately to have a finding talent you have to have a losing talent, they just go together.

[parity]

The only thing I have found out on a ride was someone's ATM card. I called the number on the back to report it. It had already been reported lost and they asked me to cut it up and throw it out.