Find a penny, pick it up...

moggins

HOLsale wrote:

we once found a pram that had broken wedged into a hedge. it had a buggy board (also broken) on it

we actually went to inspect it to see if either were salvagable, neither were but we found 2 £20 notes stuck in the bottomside of the buggy board! :eek:

we took that money and walked away fast :rotfl: it was truly abandoned out in the middle of nowhere but we were so desperate for money at the time

i truly believe that if you are generous even when things are tight if you really need money the universe will provide... it certainly did then

Holsale that is so true! I always used to give a pound to a guy begging in a regular spot even when it was virtually all I had and ex-dh and I were always finding money when we were down to our last penny.

Current DH really disapproves of beggars and I don't often give money now, I rarely find it either.

Although 3 christmas's ago I was so worried about where I would find the money to buy presents for my children that I went out into the garden, stared at the sky and asked whatever powers that provide to please send me something for my children, I didn't want anything for myself, just anything to avoid disappointing them on christmas day.

3 days later I came home to a huge box of toys hidden behind my bin, I had won a competition with the favourite toys that christmas. I'll never forget that moment and how thankful I felt.

meadowcat

apprentice_tycoon wrote:

Speaking of picking things up - I was just driving into town through a nice leafy ahem er, posh part of town when I saw a wicker conservatory rocking chair on the grass verge, I did a quick u-turn to have a closer look, there was a cardboard sign attached saying 'help yourself' so I did.

This is common practice in the US. Apparently you just leave things outside for anyone who wants it. I suppose if we did it here we would be fly dumping.

Yorkielass

I'm always picking up coppers etc off the ground - work at a university so do quite well - students seem to drop their coppers all over the place - if only they knew how much you could get with them. When in our third year at uni OH saved up all our 1p,2p,5p,10p and 20p (including ones found on the ground ) and raided both parents houses too and saved over £100. (I'd done this for years and had just put it into savings) but we saved it up and used it on our holiday - paid for all our meals, snacks (with the help of £5 off brewers fayre vouchers etc) and admissions into places. Was good as we paid the coins into a bank account over the year then got the notes out before we went so it meant we had a central pot and weren't argueing over who would spend their money on what.

We're still saving up (wedding next year) and manage to do quite well out of money on the pavement etc

Caterina

apprentice_tycoon wrote:

I bet he is mighty pleased with himself!

Speaking of picking things up - I was just driving into town through a nice leafy ahem er, posh part of town when I saw a wicker conservatory rocking chair on the grass verge, I did a quick u-turn to have a closer look, there was a cardboard sign attached saying 'help yourself' so I did. Luckily it's an estate car, and I had ropes to tie the tailgate down so I'm a bit chuffed too!

I confess that I did look round for Jeremy Beadle though first - my 18 year old who was with me cringed and told me that others mothers don't pick things up from the roadside - more fool them!

Hi apprentice tycoon,

Don't worry, my teenage twins (16) are the same, when I pass a skip I cannot help myself and have to scavenge, if either of them is with me they hate it and get very embarrassed, and run ahead of me pretending not to know me!

Well done on your great find!

Caterina

Rave

I'm sometimes a bit too embarrased to pick up pennies if I'm running in a busy area and would have to turn around and go back for them....but I always pick them up otherwise. I love it when you find a few pence, then go and buy something and find you have exactly the right amount of change in your pocket, which saves breaking a note or using your card etc:D.

When I'm raiding charity shop bins I always check the pockets of coats, trousers, purses, wallets etc. even if I'm not going to take them. I've often found a bit of small change- but one time I found a tenner! It would have just gone into landfill or the incinerator had I not found it....

Sweet_Pea_2

My DD2 has eagle eyes and almost every day she swoops down and plucks a coin out of a muddy puddle! (Just wish she'd remember to take her mittens off first though!)
I had an aunt just like this who died not long before DD2 was born, Im sure she passed down a few genes. Same aunt also used to say that you should share your luck, and pass any good fortune on to others as you would always receive it back when you needed it.
Another aunt worked in a secondary school as a cook, and the kids would buy their lunch and say to the dinner ladies "keep the change" (My aunt always used to think that this was hilarious as some were only 11 or 12yo!) but they would put all the pennies and tuppences in a jar and donate it to charity at Christmas, usually raised a couple of hundred quid this way!

HOLsale

moggins wrote:

Holsale that is so true! I always used to give a pound to a guy begging in a regular spot even when it was virtually all I had and ex-dh and I were always finding money when we were down to our last penny.

Current DH really disapproves of beggars and I don't often give money now, I rarely find it either.

Although 3 christmas's ago I was so worried about where I would find the money to buy presents for my children that I went out into the garden, stared at the sky and asked whatever powers that provide to please send me something for my children, I didn't want anything for myself, just anything to avoid disappointing them on christmas day.

3 days later I came home to a huge box of toys hidden behind my bin, I had won a competition with the favourite toys that christmas. I'll never forget that moment and how thankful I felt.

yep that's what i'm talking about! it's such an amazing and humbling feeling too isn't it? i've got goosebumps just thinking of it!

i've always encouraged my 4 year old to give money to charities and homeless people. i give her money and then she'll hand it to the person and i make sure she looks them in the eyes (they're still human!) when she hands it to them. that look of surprise and hope in their eyes is something i want her to know all her life. i want her to know that helping someone regardless of who they are or what they look like is one of the most important contributions she will ever make in life...

she's now started taking pennies out of her own purse to give out which brings tears of joy to my eyes and makes my heart swell with pride...

i pray we'll never be in their position but i've lived to close to the financial edge my entire life not to appreciate what i have and to close to be able to distance myself from their plight...

((feeling a tiny tim moment here)) divinity bless us, every one

HOLsale

meadowcat wrote:

This is common practice in the US. Apparently you just leave things outside for anyone who wants it. I suppose if we did it here we would be fly dumping.

we always did that when i still lived in the states

the common etiquette is to place it near the bin but not in it

i was once on my way to a boot sale with my truck loaded up. there had been 4 dining room chairs sitting by the bin (this was an apartment complex) so i put them in the truck and took them with. a trader homed in on them as soon as i got there and bought them off of me for $10. i was happy with that as it paid for my pitch and i was only doing the boot sale because we really needed the money...

HOLsale

Rave wrote:

I'm sometimes a bit too embarrased to pick up pennies if I'm running in a busy area and would have to turn around and go back for them....but I always pick them up otherwise. I love it when you find a few pence, then go and buy something and find you have exactly the right amount of change in your pocket, which saves breaking a note or using your card etc:D.

When I'm raiding charity shop bins I always check the pockets of coats, trousers, purses, wallets etc. even if I'm not going to take them. I've often found a bit of small change- but one time I found a tenner! It would have just gone into landfill or the incinerator had I not found it....

isn't it amazing what the charity shops throw away? i've not yet raided their bins (though i know some people that have) but i'm always seeing some decent looking things in them... i realise they only have so much space but why not offer their items to other larger charity shops?

HOLsale

Sweet_Pea wrote:

My DD2 has eagle eyes and almost every day she swoops down and plucks a coin out of a muddy puddle! (Just wish she'd remember to take her mittens off first though!)
I!

i'm like that with irn bru empty bottles... i'll grab them no matter where they are (i pick up all money too) i mean, if you saw 20pence sitting on a wall somewhere would you just leave it there? i find that anywhere that school kids hang out in front of is a great place to find loose change. i have seen 10 year old boys often times skipping tuppences rather than rocks and throwing money at each other then leaving it there! what a waste :eek: