Comments on: I could have kept that $20. Would you have? [Ethical Quandry]

By: Digger Derrick Trucks

Digger Derrick Trucks — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:32:13 +0000

If I found $ and saw who it belonged to I would give it to them, just as you did. But if I happened to see a five dollar bill sitting on the sidewalk all lonely, I’d grab it. You don’t know who it belongs to so who do you give it to?

By: Clever Dude

Clever Dude — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:09:19 +0000

@Archie, good job for sticking around. If you’re feeling guilty, try donating it all (and not using it as a tax deduction). Perhaps that will ease the mental pain you’re experiencing

By: Archie

Archie — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:05:10 +0000

What do you do if you just find cash ($200) and it’s at a rest area and you have no clue how long ago it was dropped??

I found this. We’d gone to pick up a quick breakfast. I saw the money, thinking it’s a buck. Yeah, it’s 200. I am not broke. In any case – it’s a LOOOTTTTTT of money, for chrissakes.

I waited and waited, hoping someone would come back, realizing they might have dropped it. After almost 30 minutes, we didn’t see anybody frantically looking and didn’t really feel like handing it over to some attendant who’d probably pocket it.

I kept it, but I still feel guilty. I tried to tell myself that my intentions were good and that I really did try to return the money and genuinely wanted to … but it still made me feel weird. Someone lost $200. I didn’t even close to need that money. Maybe they did (why then, might they have been that careless) – but then again, maybe they weren’t careless. I mean – I’ve had bad days when things have gone wrong for no reason.

All this rambling – sorry. I tried ….

By: fathersez

fathersez — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 02:01:43 +0000

I would not have. You did the absolutely right thing. I am sure the laws of karma will give you the $20 many fold.

Cheers

By: Jenn

Jenn — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:25:00 +0000

I do believe in karma, if only because (like Poe’s “Telltale Heart”), YOU know that you have something that you shouldn’t have. And it is (nearly) silently eating at your conscience until you have some misfortune (because of the mental distraction??) and then you sum it up and decide, “That’s my bad karma for keeping that money that I found in the ATM”.

I have lost $20 cash at the ballpark, and then found $24 in an envelope in a dark parking lot several months later. Karma works both ways, if you wait long enough.

By: Donna Freedman

Donna Freedman — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 07:11:43 +0000

At one of my lowest points financially — single mom in Philly, no child support, no food stamps, no rent assistance — I went to the bank to deposit my paycheck and also to transfer $40 from savings to checking so I could pay my rent and bills. (This was years ago, before ATMs and online banking.) The teller was friendly and we were chatting while she did the transactions. At the end she handed me my two receipts and also $40 in cash.
That was a *lot* of money to me back then — almost a week’s worth of child care! But it wasn’t mine. I said, “You’ve made a mistake. I was *transferring* $40, not withdrawing it.”
She freaked out, and thanked me over and over, saying she would have gotten in trouble and had to make up the difference out of her own pocket. I went to pick up my daughter and we went home to our supper of homemade navy bean soup. I could not have lived comfortably with myself if I had kept someone else’s money.
As for what to do with found money whose provenance is unknown: I like some of the ideas here, like leaving a bigger tip than usual. Personally, I save up found money (usually coins) all year long and at the end of the year donate it to a charity. This year it will be a local social service agency that runs a food bank and also gives rent and utility assistance.
Bless all of you who are both honest and kind. We need more like you in the world!

By: Debt Reduction

Debt Reduction — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 21:08:01 +0000

Great job. I will use your example to help teach my daughter. Thanks.

By: eh438

eh438 — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:02:51 +0000

It was 1958. Our family of five had just emigrated from England to Montreal. We didn’t have two cents to rub together. One summer day Mum found the money to take the three of us kids on a bus across town and “up the mountain” (Montreal means Royal Mount). We walked halfway up, got tired, took a break on a bench — and saw a blue $5 bill “RADIATING, GLOWING, BECKONING” near the bench. (All paper money denominations are different in Canada.) Such prospective wealth! Mum said we had to wait for five minutes, watch for an alarmed person looking for something and, if no one came, then and only then could we think about keeping the money. Those five minutes felt like five hours! No one showed up. Oh, the joy, the luxury! We all had ice cream, “crisps” (potato chips), and pop (soda) – PLUS a ride on the amusement train up and down the mountain. What a truly unforgettable, wondrous day. Thanks, Mum!

By: mapgirl

mapgirl — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:08:37 +0000

You did a double good deed by returning the money (which is a ‘must’ in my opinion, or at least the good faith effort of chasing them down) and you taught them how to use the machine.

Good for you!

It will come back to you. Kind of like that couple that found the really expensive engagement ring in the parking garage. Remember that story?

By: The Happy Rock

The Happy Rock — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:43:00 +0000

Cleverdude,

The world needs more of that. Honesty about being ethical. It is a struggle and it is a choice and you made a great one.

Taking your own time and effort to return and help the other couple is awesome. Just love it.

I don’t believe in karma per see, but decisions like that will make you more rich both monetarily, emotionally, and spiritually.