Found Money

The other day Logan stopped at the market on his way home from work. On his way out he saw a pile of money outside the car next to him. It was $70, so he waited in his car to see if the person who owned the money came back to the car. After 15 minutes or so he decided this was a waste of time and left a business card on the car saying, "Did you lose something?"

I wonder if the woman who came back to her car actually lost her sense of wonder, or her faith in the world and read Logan's note as a sign from God.

Unfortunately, when she called she said she hadn't lost anything...anything from her purse or pocket anyway.

Logan and I are very sensitive about our karma. Living here for this last year feels like we've used up all our good luck. Also, a couple weeks ago there was a customer error made in our checking account and the resulting fees the bank charged us is paying for some lovely bank executive's kid to get braces. We're really sensitive about money and losing it.

Because losing an amount of money that could have paid for a family trip to visit friends in Texas, a trip we decided not to take to, you know, "save money" hurts a lot.

Honestly if Logan had found $5 or even $20, we'd have spent it on, who even knows where our money goes anymore (besides the bank executive's vacation fund). We wouldn't have thought that much about the karma because I've lost $20 before and it didn't shake my world or ruin many plans. That's karma I can live with.

But $70 wasn't something we could just pocket because if we lost $70 somewhere, we'd be pretty upset.

So Logan told each of the kids they could each give $35 to whatever charity they wanted. Maddie, of course donated her money to the Humane Society, with a note suggesting the money pay for things a DOG would like. Not a CAT. Max sent his money to the Humane Society as well because he didn't really know what else to do.

They both wrote notes about why they were donating this money, leaving out the part where their parents live in fear of their good luck running out.

Comments

[Alisa McCormick]

Hi..I'm a new reader. Love your blog so far. My husband is GF as well (me, sometimes, but not always). That is so sweet what your kids did. I think that will definitely bring you some good karma. :)

[Alisa McCormick]

I am losing my mind. I have been reading alot of Gluten Free blogs and I thought yours was one too. But I do still love your blog. :)

[Heather]

About a year ago my husband found a wallet on the street at 2am with over $200 in it. The guy who dropped it lived in one of the fanciest neighborhoods in Chicago, and dropped his wallet on the street in front of a bar, so my hubby was a little bitter about feeling like he had to return it (our financial situation sounds an awful lot like yours). But he called the guy, who was incredibly relieved and sent him a really sweet thank you note with $50 in it. And then I got a bonus at work the next day. Money karma is real, and I think you did a great job of appeasing it :)

[Kristin]

That is a wonderful example you've set for your kids. I love how Maddie has very SPECIFIC instructions on how hers should be applied...that's awesome.

(My Westie came from the Michigan Humane Society so I'm totally in agreement with her, too...he he he!)

[MrsWaltz]

What a creative solution! And, it's sure to appease the money gnomes (they're activists, you know.) We try hard to teach our kids about how to handle finding money, but apparently we live in the wrong part of the country or something. Once, when my son found a dollar at the Boys & Girls Club and took it up front to turn it in, the desk attendant said "Oh, kids are always losing their money...just keep it." When he told me about it, I made him turn it in AGAIN. I told the [different] desk attendant that we don't keep money that doesn't belong to us, and if my son had lost $1, he'd want to think that someone would turn it in for him to get back, too. No, it's not $70, or $200, but to a bunch of grade-school kids who don't have a lot of money, that $1 was a snack or drink they didn't get to have that day.

[ashley]

That is a really good way to teach your kids an important lesson about charity. Kudos to you!

We actually have some really good karma banked up. Two weeks ago, we stopped at the ATM prior to heading to the water park (Red Oaks) and when we pulled up the machine asked us if "we wanted another transaction". Someone had left their card in the ATM and the PIN was in there just waiting to hand over money to anyone who wanted it. Luckily, we are nice, honest people and we removed the card from the machine.

When we got to the waterpark hubs asked to borrow a phone book and called the person. As it turns out, it was an elderly woman who had a stroke earlier in the year. She didn't even realize she had lost her card. We made arrangements for it to be picked up later that afternoon. I'm just so glad that we found it versus someone who might not have been so honest.

[momzombie]

Such a simple solution to a moral dilemma: What to do with found money after attempts to find the owner are exhausted. I'll remember that one for the future. Cause, you know, I'm always finding cash on the streets. Not.

[Nell]

What a wonderful lesson to teach.

[Why Mom Drinks Rum]

Ack - Ashley that happened to me this morning! The person in the minivan in front of me left their card and I only figured it out after my first 5 attempts at shoving my bank card in failed (OMG...they've figured out a way for me to stop running my account into the ground! HELP!). They were gone by then...so I put it up on the machine and did my stuff. Then I figured that was not a good idea so I backed up and tried to put it in the night deposit drawer (which is locked....who knew?). So I drove around and slipped it into the front door of the bank. I figure they'll know what to do with it as it was the same institution. We are in bad financial trouble right now, but I like that I wasn't even tempted.
That Karma is a real bitch.
Melissa...good for you for letting the kids do that. And GOOD KIDS for picking such an awesome charity! I send money I don't have to WWF and SPCA every month - because I'm sad like that. Crazy cat lady 101.

[Adriane]

I'm always worried about bad karma biting me in the ass later on, well after the deed is done. I think it's great that your children donated the money to the Humane Society. (that's where my sweet kitty boys came from)

[Vanessa]

I love the idea of giving the money to charity, and the Humane Society is a great one. Well done.

Also, money karma totally works! Here's my story from a couple of years ago.

[Jennifer]

One evening a few months ago I was letting my daughter hold my wallet as we left the grocery store. I did not realize until I was home that she had set it on the ground while climbing into our car. I ran back down to look for it and was distraught when I could not find it. I wandered the parking lot, hoping it would appear. In addition to cash, I had credit cards, gift cards, photos, school IDs in it. While I was there looking, a man called my house and told my husband he found the wallet and brought it home. My husband went to his house and ended up having a nice conversation with him, and giving him money to "take his wife out to a nice dinner". I cried out of happiness that this man had found my wallet, that there were "good people around" and I know he had lots of great karma coming his way after that.
I like your idea of donating found money to charity. I will remember that.

[Alyce]

This is a great story and a wonderful example.

As for the people finding cards still in the ATM (not the ones who posted here and did the right thing) - don't be tempted to take advantage. Remember there are cameras in ATMs and you will likely get caught. A coworker left her card in an ATM last year, and the next person stole her money. The thief ended up in jail for 2 months (it wasn't a large amount).

[lousoz]

Money karma is REAL!
After having it bite me in the ass once, I will never ever ever try to spend found money without trying to track down the owner first.

I think it's a great idea to have the kids donate it to charity.

[Megan]

I just wanted to say that I love your blog! This really says so much about you as a person! You have good karma coming your way...just wait!

[Katze]

Isn't it funny how sometimes people make it very hard to do the right thing? We found a credit card laying on the ground one night, with no one else really around on the street. So we took it home and called the 800 number on the back of the card to report that the card had been lost by the owner. The customer service rep on teh other end kept asking me why I had called-- as though this was the first time in the history of Am Ex that someone had found another person's card. She kept putting me on hold and finally transferred me to a supervisor who asked me a whole bunch of suspicious questions until they finally understood that I found a card that didn't belong to me, wasn't sure if the owner realized it was gone, and wanted to make sure that the card was noted as lost immediately-- because I am an honest person who would be very upset if I were the one who lost the card, and I don't want the bad money karma of ignoring something like that.

[seriously]

are you for real? You think you can buy good karma by purposely giving to charity. You give to charity out of the goodness of your heart and soul not because you fear bad things will happen.

I hope your house burns down.

[Deb]

Hey,Seriously.

You're an ass. For one, here are actual dictionary definitions of karma:

1. Hinduism, Buddhism. action, seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad, either in this life or in a reincarnation: in Hinduism one of the means of reaching Brahman. Compare bhakti (def. 1), jnana.
2. Theosophy. the cosmic principle according to which each person is rewarded or punished in one incarnation according to that person's deeds in the previous incarnation.

If you choose to argue that it's dharma, go right ahead, because ultimately. . .

hoping Melissa's house burns down probably won't bring you any kind of good--in any spiritual context.

[seriously]

It's all good. I gave my own hard earned money to charity instead of found money so my Karma bank is full. My deeds are good. You do not know me. You cannot decide to do the right thing for hopeful reward and think that's how karma works. Wrong.

[Jenn @ Juggling Life]

What a great way to handle it.

My husband has quite a knack for finding lost wallets and he has such fun returning them to their owners with the money in them. One time it was a kinda famous NFL player--I think that was his good karma reward.

[melissaS]

"Seriously", I think you misunderstood what I've written.

We give our own money to charity all the time. I thought this was a creative solution to found money that wasn't ours and we didn't have a way to find it's real owner.

At least their loss went to a good cause and we facilitated that. We're hoping to save our karma, not because we gave their money to charity, but because we made something good come out of their loss.

[Jackie]

To Seriously:
I don't get it.... you say your deeds are good, yet you wish Melissa's house burns down only because you don't agree with something she believes or does. Hmmmmm. It seems to me that all the "good deeds" you claim that you do, could never, in a million years make up for the evil mindedness and vitriol you are spewing at someone you don't even know. No, YOU are wrong.

[catnip]

Huh. That's pretty good. I would have spend it on Chinese take-out. ;)

[Heather]

That's a great solution, Melissa!

I found money sitting in an ATM once (a free-standing one in a bar) and felt so guilty I put it back thinking the person who took it out would come back. Then a few minutes later some other drunk came up and acted as if he'd won the lottery...I still kick myself about that one to this day.

[Catalysta]

I love that they donated to the Humane Society. That's adorable and exactly where I'd donate money to as well!!

This is my first time stopping by and I must say I LOVE your blog! Stop by mine sometime! I write about the transition from college to the corporate world. http://catalysta.wordpress.com.

I'd love your thoughts.

[Nancy]

Out of curiosity, I would love to hear what "seriously" would have done with the found money? Can he/she think of a better solution that would have done more good than donating it to charity? And, wishing ill will upon another cannot possibly do anything for your own karma. Might want to rethink that one....

[RubiaLala]

That is such a cute idea. And a great example for your kids - both in honesty about trying to find the owner of the money, and in generosity in giving to a charity. Good parents you are.

[gertie]

When I was six and my parents were very, very broke, they found an envelope of money in a restaurant parking lot. The envelope contained over $300, and there was a budget written on the outside--something like "gas bill $40, groceries $80, babysitter $50" etc. This was obviously somebody's LIFE for the next few weeks.

My parents took the money, but left their contact information with the restaurant, and even went back the next day to post a note on the wall. I remember it as being a huge, stressful ordeal at the time. My parents were really worried about the welfare of whoever lost that envelope.

Needless to say, the owners never called. After a few weeks my parents slowly began using the money, and it lasted them several months. That was 25 years ago, and my parent's financial situation is much better now, but they still get a little choked up when they tell the story--they understand how devastating it must have been.

I've come across three lost wallets in my life, and I've always found the owners and returned them, even when I was a nihilistic, shoplifting teenage punk. Children pay attention to what their parents do.

[Manager Mom]

I like how she designated the donation. It's interesting, the arbitrary limits we place on things sometimes. Like why $70 makes you feel bad but $5 would have been OK. I was at a barbecue yesterday and there was a mom telling her kid she had to eat five bites of hot dog. I had picked four bites of vegetable as my line in the sand. I have no idea why four seemed like such an appropriate amount of vegetables.

[Michelle]

That is a great idea and cause to donate the found money.
I love how she didn't want the money to go to a cat..that cracked me up:)

[Michelle]

You are far more generous than me. I would've used that toward the digital camera I want. Or the house I want. Or my school tuition.

[Alyssa]

I think that's a great solution. I probably would have spent it and then lived in fear of the consequences. I will have to keep this idea in mind for the future.

[Erika]

A week before Christmas when I was 14, my Mom, my little brother and I went to the mall. As we were walking in, we passed a car with the keys hanging out of the trunk. Apparently, the owners put their purchases in the trunk but forgot to take out the keys. My mom took the keys to a department store lost and found. She then wrote a note telling the owner where to find their keys. We didn't have ANY money and their car was MUCH nicer than ours but my mother never considered doing anything but trying to get the keys to the owner. We were so glad that we found those keys. That family's Christmas could have been much less jolly.

[mariah@playful learning]

What a wonderful experience for your children!
Here are some other organizations that allow you to choose where your donation goes:
www.donorschoose.org
www.heifer.org
It’s nice to hear about how other families deal with the issues/opportunities that arise on a daily basis...thanks for sharing.

[janey]

Good for you :) I probably would have kept it but you did the noble thing and taught your kids a great lesson on giving and karma! ;)

[HouseofJules]

Man, what a GREAT example. For all of us!
Jules
House of Jules

[Lindsay Lebresco (Graco)]

Love it. You found the perfect solution. Thanks for sharing your idea as a reminder to all of us.

Oh and don't wait around for "the other shoe to drop." I apply the "secret" and visualization to our money issues and $$ randomly appears - I swear! Just think that you always have enough money and you'll find that you do.