Picking up loose change makes sense
Money might not grow on trees, but apparently it's all over the streets. Sally Herships reports on a New York family that's building a nest egg with small change they find just lying around.
Hand holding coins (iStockphoto)
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TEXT OF STORY
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.
Comments
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From rolla, MO, 01/23/2009
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.
From Chicago, IL, 01/10/2009
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.
From Los Angeles, CA, 01/08/2009
I am incredibly lucky. I find money all the time - even bills! I am saving for a group home for my daughter and other autistic women. I think that is why money materializes on the street in front of me all the time!
From socal, CA, 01/06/2009
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 :]
From WA, 01/06/2009
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.
From enola, PA, 01/06/2009
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.
From Waltham, MA, 01/06/2009
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!
From NYC, NY, 01/05/2009
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
From out there, CA, 01/05/2009
Thi sis great article. I didn't realize loose change added up THAT much. I am adding this to resource to my article on ehow.com for making money today without much effort.
From Frisco, TX, 01/05/2009
I work at a Sonic Drive-in. As you can imagine there is plenty of change to be picked up, my coworkers often ignore, i however pick it up and add it to my tips. Every now and then the owner will bring his millionaire buddies to the store to show them how the business works-little surprise to me before they leave they each have change that they have picked up just walking around the property. The people that have millions are the ones that take advantage of opportunities and save money.
From New York, NY, 01/05/2009
Here's a great blog chronicling the pursuit of change found on the streets of Manhattan.
http://foundmoolah.blogspot.com
From st paul, MN, 01/05/2009
My grandmother used to have what she called her "Found Money" bank account in which she deposited only change that she found on the ground. I remember picking up change for her, so I "got the bug" earily. Something that continues to amaze me is watching people walk over coins on the floor and never noticing them. It happens to me in line at the checkout over and over again. I've got my own found money account now, and over the years it has added up to over a thousand dollars. Not a bad reward for bending over to touch the ground every now and then!
From Canoga Park, CA, 01/04/2009
I too pick up "lucky" pennies and other change. One of the special delights of traveling in Europe, is finding 1 and 2 euros coins-- worth $1.40 and $2.80-- on the ground. (The 5 euro is the smallest bill.)
When I went out for my early morning 7:00 AM walk in Spain, I often found this "spare change"--especially in the plaza near the bars!!
From Garfield, NJ, 01/04/2009
I loved this segment of your show today!
It was nice to be validated that picking up change on the ground is not being cheap but it's free money. The laundromat is an excellent place where I've found change.
Thanks for the service you do the listening public by providing excellent financial information. Your show has motivated me to pay more attention to my finances and has helped me have more of a sense of control over my finances.
From New York, NY, 01/04/2009
I'm glad this well-off family so enjoys gathering loose change. 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? Are they at least considering donating some of this "free money," since they happily admit they don't need it?
From Cincinnati, OH, 01/03/2009
Great story for a money "geek" like me. We have kept track of all our finacnes in Quicken since ~2000. We find about $5.27 in loose change every year (and cannot account for about $8.71 in spending every year). Not bad!
From Portland, IN, 01/03/2009
I really enjoyed this story. I've had a 'knack' for finding dropped coin (and sometimes paper bills) since I was very young. I never kept track of the amount that I found in a given amount of time, but my record is $40 (2 twenties folded together) found on a sidewalk. After my grandfather passed away 2 years ago, we found calendars of years gone by on which he had kept a daily log of the amount of money he'd picked up on neigborhood walks; I guess I come from a line of "change hunters," and frankly I don't feel shame in stopping to pick up a coin. It's FREE money! Thanks for the great story, Michelle
From Indianapolis, IN, 01/02/2009
Hi,
I was so glad to hear this story. I have been picking up change from the streets of Indianapolis since 2003. Unfortunately I have not found thousands of dollars! I walk downtown just about everyday and find about $40 every year. I have kept track over the years of how many quarter, dimes, nickles and pennies I find each month - as well as an occasional dollar bill. Pennies are the most often found, followed by dimes, then nickles and then quarters. It makes every walk I take an adventure.
Love your show,
Ellen
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