JFF - If You Found Money, Would You Turn It In?

Truthfully I think hunger or other desperate situations may change the answer to this scenario. As a child I found $300 and without hesitation I handed it to my mother so we could eat. I knew that money represented the opportunity to eat for weeks and with almost no shame looked forward to not being hungry for a change. Today I wouldn’t keep the money and would make every effort to find the owner. There again I am not in a desperate situation.

I must be crazy too!! (and glad to be a member of the club to be honest...'pun' intended)

I was at wendy's just the other day to get a special lunch treat for me and my girls. I paid at the window...and got change. It wasn't til the parking lot on my way out I realized the cashier had given me $10 too much in change. I swung back through the drive in...and gave it back! He was SHOCKED!

Made MY day! And it will come around I think...

always does!

My son (then 6) found an ATM envelope with $300 in a Walgreens cart. He ran up to me with it in his hand yelling, "Mommy, someone lost their money!" We turned it into the store manager who kept it in the store's safe until the owner of the money came looking for it. I was proud of my son for instinctively knowing that the money wasn't his.

A $5 on the sidewalk? Yeah, I'd keep that. You're never going to find the "rightful owner" unless you hang around there all day and the person happens to come by asking if you found $5. A large amount of money should be turned in to the police station.

It depends. I have done both. I have found money at work and I turned it in to Security. I have found money (small amounts) along a road or path in a park with no way to know where it came from and kept it. I turned in a purse/wallet that was found with money still inside just because it wasn't mine and the owner was evident. I have contacted a bank to let them know I found someone's bank card in a parking lot so they could contact the owner and deactivate.

If I found a wallet, I would send it back to the person. I wouldn't turn it in, because just because I wouldn't take the money in it doesn't mean someone else wouldn't.

If I found a wad of cash, I would keep it and do like someone said - give name and phone in case someone comes looking, and they'd have to be able to describe it. Again, turning money over to someone else doesn't guarantee that it will get to the rightful owner.

If nothing happened, then I'd keep it (only if no wallet/ID involved), but I'd do some due diligence first to get it back to the owner.

I would turn it in. I found $40 at Wal-Mart one day and turned it in but then realized that the best thing to do would've been keep the cash and leave my number for the person who lost it because the guy just stuck it in his pocket when we walked away. :o/
I found an endorsed check for over $1000 in a parking lot once and called the person to return it. He was very thankful!
I'm surprised that that comment got many "likes", I think most people would turn it in!
**ETA** I lost my wedding ring at Wal-Mart one time and went back to ask about it and the lady looked at me like I was nuts. She didn't even check to see if it had been turned in, just said she hadn't seen it. Thankfully, the manager happened to walk back right then and asked what I was looking for and told me that someone had found it in the parking lot and turned it in! She got it out of the safe for me :o) I was SO relieved!

I would and have turned in all sorts of things.

And yes, if you do not trust the company, you could leave your name and number so the person that lost the money or items could call you.. I live on a street were many people run or bike. I have seen signs that say, if you lost money contact me.. We find things and always try to contact those people if their information is there.

I recall a client told me she lost her diamond bracelet at the grocery store ( I am talking DIAMOND bracelet) anyway she and the store employees looked everywhere. Even in the Pumpkin patch they had outside. Nothing. She left her name just in case. She figured it was gone, just hoped whoever found it did not think it was "costume jewelry". Sure enough about a week later some girl from the store called and said someone found the bracelet outside next to the sidewalk by the pumpkins!

Yes I would turn it in, to the mall or store that that parking lot belonged to.
I can imagine a panicked person, hoping so hard, that they can find it at lost and found because someone turned it in.
That is a lot of money to lose.

Of course, if I found money, or a bill of whatever denomination blowing around in the parking lot or street, lost, then I think its up for grabs.
There is no way to know where that money was actually lost or originated from.
Or it could be turned in to a Police Station.

I wouldn't turn it in... but I would leave my name and contact information with the store, so that if someone came looking for it, asking about lost money, they could contact me and identify it. I don't trust the person behind the counter to ensure that it goes in their safe, and if it does... and no one claims it, I don't trust them to contact me to receive it as a finder.

I've found cash in stores, and debit cards in parking lots, and each time, I go to the customer service counter and leave my information and general info that I have found money/card.

Once, I found someone's wallet in the top section of a grocery cart in the parking lot. You know the kind... left in the parking space? So I went to push it inside with me and use it and there was a wallet in the child seat area. I opened it up and it appeared to be an elderly woman's wallet, with cash and IDs and credit cards and SS stuff. I took it straight to the customer service counter, told them where I'd found it and said there was a bank card in the wallet so they could call the bank and ask the bank to contact the woman. I did not find any contact info (address, yes, but not a phone number) to contact her directly myself.
Poor woman probably got home and didn't even know she'd lost her wallet until the next time she went somewhere. :(

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There was a time when I would have turned in a credit/debit card. But not anymore. My husband has left his places before, and once they stick it in the safe it can wipe the magnetic strip and it is no good. And if it doesn't make it to the safe, there are a zillion places a card can be swiped and used without ID. My regular grocery only makes you sign if your credit card is used for a purchase over $25, for Target it's $50, and I don't know about Walmart. And lots of gas stations would work. You'd likely only need the zip code, and being in a small area, that would be easy to guess correctly.

Seeing as how I actually went inside the bank to return $20 when the ATM spit out an extra bill stuck to mine, I wold say yes.

I would turn it in.

I have before ($50 bill) and would again. Found it in a seat cushion at Barnes and Noble years ago and turned it into the manager. Ironically, a couple of weeks later, I won $50 in a contest at work. Karma, ya know?

I just saw an article last night about a guy that found $1000 next to his car at Walmart. He promptly turned it in. He was all over the internet for being a "hero" or "upstanding citizen". It pissed me off because this is how everyone SHOULD act! It's the right thing to do! But in today's world, it's a rarity to find "upstanding citizens", so it's news worthy. I am 36 and have spent my entire life doing the right thing. When I was a starving college student, living on my own away from all family, working to support myself while going to school full time, a bank teller not once, but twice, counted cash back to me and gave me way too much. Both times, I corrected her and left with the correct cash. It is simply not in my bones to walk away from that type of situation and be happy about it. And the thought of what my parents would think...even worse.

If it was somewhere I trusted I would go in and turn it in. If it was at a gas station or whatnot, I would probably go in and leave my name and number.
But....I am not sure about what I would do at the areas that I don't trust. If I lost $300 it would be devestating, so I would do my best to get it back to it's rightful owner.
L.

Money on the ground, no, wouldn't turn it in. Where would you turn it in? The store you came out of, what if they went somewhere else. There is just no way to identify who it belongs to. I wouldn't put three hundred dollars somewhere where it could just fall out in the parking lot, that is a lot of money to lose.

Now I have seen people drop money and I fall all over myself to point it out. If it is bound by anything that would make it identifiable I would either turn it into the closest store if I trusted them, or give them my name and phone number. Sorry but I have seen too many clerks pocket the money to just turn it in.

Okay reading some of the other answers, wouldn't three hundred or a thousand have something identifying it? Even if you had hundred dollar bills there are three of them, something was keeping them together that would make it identifiable. So pretty much I would turn it in but you made it sound like it was just blowing in the wind.

Most definitely.

What goes around comes around.

I picked up a gal's purse on the street one day, rummaged through it, found her number and called her. Gave her my address to pick it up. She came to the door crying, as it was pay day for her and she had been paid in cash. There was over $2000 in her wallet. She insisted on giving me $50, after declining. It still feels good to tell this story. Looking back, I can't imagine how low I'd feel today if I had kept it.

That's a shame that people assumed she would keep the $$. It feels good to do good.

I've kept a $20 I found with no owner in sight and no way to get it back to them (like it was on the subway) but $300 I would turn in. I believe that most places there is a timeframe for someone to claim it and if they don't, it's yours.

The other week, DD and I walked all the way back to the farm store to return a membership card someone dropped. It represented several hundred in membership fees for a family and I'm sure they wanted it back.

FYI, it used to be true anyway that if you put a debit card in an ATM, the machine would eat it after so many minutes of inaction. So if you find an ATM card you don't know how to return, see if there's an ATM around, even better if it's for the same bank.

You are not alone. I can't imagine keeping the money. I know there are those that say "finders keepers, losers weepers" but I could NOT do that.

Like you, we found $20 in December in a parking lot. We went to the security desk and turned it in. They looked at us funky, however, that's not the example I need nor want to set for my children. No one claimed it in March, so we actually got a call stating the item was not claimed, we could get it. We chose to donate it.

I DID find a wallet several years ago and it had $5000 in it!! I didn't even think twice about not returning it. I actually drove right to the house (it had a driver's license in it) - the mom answered the door - turns out it was a young girls' wallet. She had cashed a check from her grandfather or something like that, and while out shopping, set the wallet on top of her car and drove away - that explained why I found it in the mall parking lot. And because she was NOT supposed to be carrying the money around, the mom gave me $1000 for returning it. She wanted to teach her daughter a lesson about not being careless. I tried to refuse the money but she insisted. So, I put $500 in each of my two kids' bank accounts.

As for just loose money found on the ground, the most I've ever found was a $20 bill - no one was around, there was no way to return it to anyone so I kept it.

I figure loose money with no way of knowing who dropped it is finder's keepers!!

I would turn it in. I would feel bad every second of every day if I kept someone else's money.

I've turned in jewelry at the gym, an entire purse left in a grocery shopping cart, a debit card, lipstick...so yeah.

ooh man!! $300?!?!? That might be someone's car payment!! I would turn it in where I found it!

We were shopping at Costco a few years ago, someone left a case of baked beans and Gatorade in their shopping cart. We took the cart in and gave it to the membership services. The people came in while we were shopping and said they had forgotten items. They were SO thankful.

Last week, we found a "Frozen" DVD from Red Box. We took it to the store manager who said they couldn't do anything. We called Red Box. They said they would send me a return label and envelope. They are also giving us a code for a free nights rental.

I don't think you are crazy. I would HOPE that the people commenting on "what you are going to do with it" are being sarcastic OR HOPING she will say "turn it over to the police"....it's NOT **MY** money. It's my duty to turn it in...it's not right to keep it.

When I worked for Hertz Rental car YEARS ago...anything we found in the car was turned into lost and found...if it was NOT claimed in 90 days, we were allowed to take it. I got a pair of Vaurnet sunglasses because they weren't claimed...I did the right thing. I turned them in...no one claimed them...so I got the choice. So, yes. I said YES!! People lost watches, toys and suitcases!! YES! Suitcases!! Several went unclaimed..believe that!??? If the drivers did NOT want what was not claimed, it was turned over to a local charity.

heh. i was watching 'breaking bad' last night, and millions were being strewn around a random neighborhood, so my dh and i were talking about this very thing!
in the BB situation i'd hang onto it and see what came of it. if indeed it was a guilt-wracked drug dealer not wanting his dirty lucre, i'd pour libations of thanks and enjoy the windfall!
but that's not very likely, is it? in your scenario i'd absolutely turn it in.
my husband and i found a wallet while we were hiking on our honeymoon, with almost $300 in cash. we mailed it back to the owner, who turned out to be an 11 year old who had ALL his money in that wallet and sent us the nicest thank you letter.
it's a pity so many people are of the 'finders keepers' mentality.
khairete
S.
ETA a $20 on the ground and no one around to whom to return it, okay, in that case i might roll with it. but even then i'd probably lurk for a while to see if someone obviously looking for it showed up.

Yes I would turn it in.
Many blessings

I would have turned it in. I wouldn't keep a found $20 bill, either, if I could turn it in somewhere. So either you're not crazy or we'll be crazy together.

I figure that if I find a coin or a dollar bill out in a parking lot (or in a field), and there's *no* way to trace it even an inch, then it's all right to pocket it. But if there's another option, the other option is probably the one to take.

Yesterday, in fact, I was in one of those big building stores - and there, in the change pocket of the cash register, were four pennies. Only four cents! I took them out and gave them to the cashier, saying, "Somebody left this for you - so now you're rich!" He laughed at me! But he took the four cents. He put that huge treasure-trove in the cash drawer. Sounds silly, writing about it, but even though those pennies really belonged to a departed customer, they were still more the store's than they were mine.

I can think of a whole lot I could do with $300 right now! I have some bills to pay. But I also prefer to look at myself in the mirror without cringing.

It depends on the amount of money and where found. When I was laid off the last time, I was sort of depressed about whether or not I could afford to get my Hawkeye comic book that week. I found 20 dollars under the tree in my yard. I assumed it must have been God saying everything would be ok, have a comic on me.

On the other hand, I saw an elderly woman drop money in a parking lot once and I chased her down to give it back. I've also turned in money I found cleaning movie theaters when I used to work at one. $300 is a lot of money and I would have turned it in.

I have turned money in before. One time, my neighbor and I found a wallet in the street with $60 in it. The driver's license was in it, so we called.... he lived a block or two behind us, and was very thankful to have it returned.

Another time, while I was working at a local "big box" store, I found $100. I turned it in to Customer Service up front, and shortly after, someone claimed it.

I also found a blank SIGNED check in a grocery store, and turned it into a manager... I didn't want to turn it in to just anyone for fear they would pocket it.

If I lost money, I would want someone to turn it in. It is just the right thing to do.

You are not the crazy one. I have lost my purse or wallet many times, and someone always turned it with with the money intact. Based on that alone, I would pay it forward and turn in the money to the proper authorities.

I think someone needs to send a TV crew out to video what happens when people find money. The ones who keep a $20 bill should be interviewed and asked why they kept it. The ones who turn in the money should be given $200 :-)

That much, someone would come looking for it. I would return it. No question.

$20, depends on where it's found. In a store parking lot, I would turn it in. If it's just in the middle of a sidewalk, I'd keep it. My mom's notorious for buying things and getting 20 back in change then just shoving it into a pocket. The drama that unfolds when she can't find it once she gets home is borderline hilarious. Up ends her purse, empties her wallet, turns the car seats inside out if she's not reminded in time that it's in her pocket. I would hate to think of some other person going through similar looking for a lost $20.

I'm a huge believer in karma....I would definitely turn it in and could never keep it!

I think it's a good idea - to go in where you are and leave your name and number in case someone is looking for "lost money" - that way they can call and specifically say the amount they lost (Never thought of that!) I will do that if that ever happens to me. BUT , this has not happened to me , but if I did find alot of money I honestly don't know if I would go turn it in. Not necessarily because I want to keep the money but I do not trust that anyone inside that establishment would put the money away for someone to come back and claim it. I bet they would keep it! And, like someone else said, if nobody ever comes ??? I am even MORE sure they would not call me to come get the unclaimed money.

I wouldn't keep it either. Karma!

I was in the school parking lot and found $2. I turned it into the office and come to find out, some little girl brought it in to buy something for her mom at the Santa store later that week, and had been so upset she lost it. "It was ALL my money" she said to the principal.

So yes, I would, if not to do the honest thing, then for the chance to be someone's hero for the moment, no matter how great or small the amount I find.

If I found a wallet, I would absolutely turn it in.

If I just found cash, I'm not sure what I would do. I would feel bad that the person lost it, but there is really no way to be certain that whoever claims it was the true owner.

If I found a wallet, I would definitely turn it in no matter how much money was in it. If the money was loose, I would turn it in if it was a large amount (like $300) but not if it was $20. I might wait around for a couple of minutes to see if anyone comes looking for it, but I would keep it otherwise. I'm not sure where I would draw the line between keeping it and turning it in... maybe $50?

Once, I was in Scotland and went to use the ATM and whoever had been there before me hadn't actually taken the money they withdrew! There were 60 pounds (don't know how to type the pound symbol) just sitting there. It was a weekend so the bank was closed and I couldn't go in. My friend and I waited about 10 minutes to see if someone came back to claim it. No one came so I kept it.

ETA... I read the other answers and feel like mine made me sound like a bad person! I would definitely turn in anything else that I found - jewelry, watch, purse, phone, etc. All of those things can be rightfully claimed and I would never even consider keeping them. A small amount of loose cash is different, especially since you said it was in a parking lot. Inside a store, I might be more likely to turn it in.