In her book 'How I Lived a Year on Just a Pound a Day', Kath Kelly describes how she managed to pick up approx. £120 in a year from what she calls 'roadkill money.' She describes picking up a £20 note from a sodden pavement and adding it to two other twenties, a tenner and a £2 coin - all of which she'd found in the space of three months.
My father was great one for picking up bits and pieces - coins, nails, nuts and bolts etc from the pavement or gutter. He once even came across a large coil of thick blue rope which he lugged home all the way from the Costa del Sol - because, you never know, it might just come in useful. (I can't really shout as I once broke a rucksack carting a very heavy complete Trivial Pursuit game back from Spain - it was total bargain in a charity shop in Fuengirola!) But I don't think Dad ever picked up any notes (or if he did he kept mighty quiet about it). In later life, he used to complain that macular degeneration was making him go blind but, as we pointed out, his eyes were still good enough to spot a penny on a brown pavement.
I did know someone years ago who found a £10 note stuffed down the side of a bus seat, apparently the money couldn't have come at a more opportune time as this person was completely broke at the time, and wondering where their next meal was coming from.
So, with all this in mind, and statistics like there may be £26 million of dropped pennies lurking in the streets, I've been keeping a very careful eye open for 'roadkill money.' I thought it might be interesting to keep a tally of what I find on the blog (well, interesting to me anyway!!) So, without further ado, the grand total of 'roadkill money' I've picked up so far in 2009 is - wait for it - 3p. I'm obviously hoping for a bit more as the year goes on and I'll make a note each time I find something. I don't expect to find anything like £120 but a couple of pounds would be good.
What's the most 'roadkill money' you've ever found?
I've found roadkill money but always more than a pound so I've handed it in. I did recently drop a £2 coin, a man saw me drop it, he picked it up and walked away. I was literally about 3 seconds away from picking it up, he looked right at me, then away and hurried out of there. He was very well dressed young business man. I keep trying to think that maybe he needed it more than I did! Still think it was quite bold though!!
Posted by: Frugal Trenches | 01/14/2009 at 04:04 PM
I've twice found $50.00. The first time 2 20s and a 10 were laying in the rain in a parking lot outside a tiny store, and the second time a $50 bill was near the bread display in a grocery store. I did my shopping and as I approached the check stands, I could hear a woman frantically protesting that she had the money while emptying out her purse on the counter. I asked what she lost and she told me a $50 bill and I handed it over. Thinking of the look on her face makes me feel so good, even today, years later.
Posted by: Mary | 01/14/2009 at 04:06 PM
I once found £70.... rightly or wrongly I didn't hand it in.. yikes, does that make me bad?
:-(
Posted by: apieceofwood | 01/14/2009 at 04:25 PM
I've found quite a bit of money.
£10 in M&S in Taunton, handed it in and was able to have it when it went unclaimed.
A purse in a phone box ... managed to reunite it with owner.
A wage packet in IKEA full of notes ... managed to reunite it with owner again.
A wallet in a swimming pool changing room ... handed in.
A handbag at an outdoor concert ... handed in to police to delight of owner.
So, out of that lot, I guess it's £10!
Posted by: Sandie | 01/14/2009 at 05:16 PM
50 years ago on thw way to mass I found a 50 pound note and put it into the offertory. My brother never forgave me for it. "Think of the sweets we could have bought!"
Back in the terrible 80s I found a sodden five pound note in a gutter. It was a godsend at the time.
A couple of weeks ago I found a $20 note in my front garden but that was probably mine anyway!
Posted by: Maureen | 01/14/2009 at 05:38 PM
DH and once found 100 pound on the street in London.We were over on holiday from Canada visiting my parents and had gone to London for the day.It paid for our day out, dinner that night and plenty left over.That was about 28 years ago though,doubt we would have any left over these days.There was nothing to identify who it might belong to. On our last trip we found the grand total of 14 pence.
Posted by: Sue | 01/14/2009 at 10:23 PM
I think the most we found at Uni was £20 - someone had dumped their coats on ours in the student union. When we went to retrieve ours at the end of the night, money had fallen out of their pocket and was laid on top of our coats. It was badly needed at the time as I was broke (nothing new really) and paid for food for us both for a week! There was a programme on ITV recently looking at living with no money for 2 weeks, and had an elderly couple who had donated their roadkill money to charity and had raised thousands. I'd be interested in your running total!
Posted by: Claire | 01/15/2009 at 12:02 AM
Several times I've found £5 notes in the street. Unless you can see someone nearby who has obviously just dropped it then I think it's ok to keep - how could you possibly identify who it belongs to? Once in a service station my husband found several £20 notes folded up and lying on the floor (a Burger King I think it was!) And yes, he kept them, for the same reason.
Posted by: Rachel L | 01/15/2009 at 09:38 AM