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Picking up loose change makes sense
Hand holding coins
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Tess Vigeland: This is Marketplace Money from American Public Media. I'm Tess Vigeland. See a penny, pick it up, all the day you'll have good luck. But, think about it -- you'll also have more money! In tough times, does every penny really count? Literal penny pinchers keep their eyes peeled for every coin that hits the pavement, and now they post what they find on the internet. From New York City, Sally Herships has more on a group of bloggers obsessed with small change.
Sally Herships: How much loose change do you think you've passed on the street? A few cents? A penny here, a penny there? And who stops for a penny, anyway? The Humphrey family does. Barbara and Scott Humphrey live with their two daughters in New York City. They've been collecting loose change from the street for a few years now.
Barbara Humphrey: This is it. This is our fiscal year 2008 change pot jar.
And even they're surprised by how much they've found.
Herships: What is your grand total so far?
Brianna Humphrey: I know!
Daughter No. 1, Brianna.
Brianna Humphrey: It's at $1,013 and something cents. I can't remember the change.
Just to be clear this is money they've found -- on the ground. It's sort of a hobby. They take a lot of long walks.
Barbara Humphrey: We're all looking around. You know, we have our glasses; we have our Purell bottles; we have our little change purses.
The family has a blog called ChangePot, where Barbara keeps a running tally of their findings.
Barbara Humphrey: 'Cause I figured it would be a nice way at the end of the day, kind of like a Doogie Howser thing. You know, at the end of the day how he'd write down things. We basically keep track of it that way.
It all started about three years ago, when Barbara was at college and saw some money on the ground.
Barbara Humphrey: In my school people -- they'd complain about not having any money. But meanwhile, there's seven cents on the floor, nobody would pick it up.
So she did. But there were some odd looks. Even from Scott.
Scott Humphrey: I thought she needed help. 'Cause, I mean, why are you picking up change? I mean I make a decent salary. What is this? And three years later, it's added up kind of nice.
And now the whole family contributes.
Karen Humphrey: Even if you find a broken penny in the street.
Even 6-year-old Karen knows to look for beaten up coins. Banks will give you clean new shiny ones in exchange. But not all change seekers are in the Humphrey's league.
Scott Caulfield: Currently, as of right now, I've found $268.11. But I did find a dime and two pennies on the way over here.
Scott Caulfield lives in St. Louis. He also chronicles his finds on a blog called ChangeRace. And he seems to share a certain outlook on life with the Humphreys.
Caulfield: I'm the kind of guy I'd much rather drive around for five or 10 minutes and find a free spot or a metered spot, than pay seven or eight bucks. It's kind of just a different way of thinking. I don't look at it as cheap. I just look at it as smart.
He's a totally dedicated change hunter. Even on the most important day of his life.
Caulfield: I found one penny on the dance floor during my wedding.
Scott sees the value in small change.
Caulfield: It's interesting how people just walk away. You know, they'll drop a quarter, they'll drop a nickel, they'll drop a dime and they'll just, they'll walk away.
Barbara Humphrey: I mean, people see change as just that, nothing worthwhile or significant. My daughter on the other hand, when she sees a penny, she says 99 more make a dollar. And I'm very proud of her for that. Very proud.
Neither the Humphreys nor Scott Caulfield have specific plans for their savings. But, I know what I'm going to do. Follow some advice I got from Scott: Keep my head down and look for silver.
I'm Sally Herships for Marketplace.
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They're not the only ones! Penny Chase started her mission a few months earlier rescuing what she calls, "Homeless Pennies". I love reading her blog - very entertaining about what and where she finds it!
Date : 1/13/2009 4:44:22 PM
I am unsure on which show I heard the story of someone who put all of his found money an an account and now has about $1100. I have a similar tale about avidly finding money but, except for an eight-year period, never bothered to keep track of it. The news story came after I found $2.72 1/2 (a penny cut in half and only two quarters) and my fifth $20 bill (to go with 2 $10 bills and countless $5s and $1s). Just thought that I would let you know there are other obsessive-compulsives keeping the money in circulation.
To JL: "Do they realize that there are plenty of homeless people on the street in NYC who would also happily pick up a dropped quarter or penny?"
There is always money by the registers in pharmacies. There are usually "homeless"** people outside the same store begging for money. They are unwilling to pick up change, so I have no guilt over doing it instead of them.
I put about a dollar a day into my household budget.
** Yes, I purposely indicated "homeless" as many in Chicago are folks with substance abuse issues and homes. I do volunteer work for homeless aid organizations, so I do know this for a fact.
I am Pennyman. For 20 years I would take about $30 in pennys and throw them a handful at a time on Fremont Street in Vegas on New Years Eve. I quit 3 years ago but you would not believe how much fun it was to watch people scurry around picking up the pennies. Some years I would spray them silver to look like dimes. I would also skip old Pesos down the street they sounded like Dollars :]
What fun! So glad this is a common hobby. I learned at the millionaire mind seminar several years ago that if I don't value the penny on the street, then I don't deserve the dollar. I will receive more income only when I value the income that I already have. I had been an occasional change picker before then, but after that I became diligent. Not a week goes by that I don't find money, and usually it's several days in a row. I have also found money in other countries and foreign currencies here (most recently Japanese and Israeli) In November, I found my first bill, a $20. As for JL in New York's comment: Last weekend I found several coins just a few feet away from a group of panhandlers in front of a McDonalds. Bright shiny coins they didn't see, or didn't want to see?
I just deposited those coins and the rest of the jar at the bank yesterday, because compounding interest doesn't care where the principal came from.
My friend does this all the time. She finds lots of money. A good place to look is Sat. or Sun. morning at a popular bar parking lot. Better yet, look for bills after a windy night. Look along fences or weeds. Walmart lots are a good place for change but you have to get there very very early in the a.m.
We recently moved and emptied our change jar (where found money, as well as change from my husband's pockets gets deposited). Even though all the quarters had been removed to do laundry, we had over $200 in pennies, nickels, and dimes. Not bad for money people often ignore!
Two years ago, I made a point of picking up every penny I could, I ended up with about $5.00 but was out of the country working on the Travel Channel's 5 Takes Latin America for a few months, so I'm sure I would've found more...
I blogged about it, giving a running tally - I also truly believed I was luckier in 2007, I was a host on a Travel Channel show, for crying out loud - than I was in 2008 when I ignored the pennies in front of me.
I've decided to seek out the forgotten coins in earnest in 2009 - you can read all about it and more at www.vinniecosta.com/blog
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