Adventures / Fun Times

Finding Cold, Hard Cash…

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This is a totally random post, but I have had some random thoughts cross my mind lately! The first time I remember finding money on the ground, I was 10 years old – I looked just like Shaun Cassidy – haha. We took a family road trip from Arizona to Florida in our 1970 something blue station wagon. My dad was a smoker and made us drive with the windows up – why, I have no idea (Health benefits? Great smell?). I remember cracking the window gasping for fresh air without much success. UGH!

  • ME!
  • THE Shaun Cassidy
  • Thanks for the memory Pinterest

Once we got there, we made our way to the local grocery store and it was there, in the parking lot, I found a 1,000 Mexican peso note. I thought I was RICH! I quickly learned about foreign currency exchange after my aunt took me to the bank and it was really worth 2 bucks or something like that. That was a crushing blow.

The second time, I had just come back from 10 days at summer camp and was running to my friend’s house to tell her all about it. About 2 blocks from her house, I found a $5 bill. That was in 1977 and five bucks could buy a lot of junk. It’s a Christmas miracle I have all of my teeth with the amount of sugar consumed in the 70’s.

Since then, I find money ALL the time – so much so – it is a running joke….$100 outside the dentist office after a traumatic dental procedure; $100 in New Orleans, LA; $20 on a street corner in Portland, OR; $20 in a parking lot in Jerome, AZ; $5 jammed against a curb in Boulder, CO; $40 in Norway. It goes on and on.

Many times, the dollars are found in 3’s meaning, I will often find 3 one dollar bills together – examples: in the parking lot outside of my Orange Theory class, in the grass outside my Drs office, on a street in Minneapolis. If I happen to see a homeless person at the time of my good fortune, I pay it forward with hopes I fill my karma bank with a bunch of credits for use later. Sometimes I stumble upon an exotic foreign currency.

FOUND: Austin, TX

I’m not sure why this happens so often, but I appreciate it very much. For some reason, I always feel like it is my own personal angel reminding me to pay attention to my surroundings as you never know what treasures you are going to find. It could be my dad or grand-dad whose lives were lost WAY too soon playing a game with me. Perhaps I look at the ground too much?

Not only does it bring me joy and a few chuckles, I feel taken care of in some strange way.

…i choose this…

Pam

91 comments

  2. When I was a young adult (way back when), I used to have dreams about finding money. In my dreams, I would keep looking, whether it was by digging, moving stones, etc and I would always find more. One night coming home from the bars, my brother’s girlfriend got out of the car to let me out of the back seat (remember two doors?) and she found a fifty dollar bill lying in the rain-soaked gutter. I told them about my dreams and we started looking around for more. I found two twenties folded together about 10 feet away (3 bills?). The next day we all went to an outdoor festival with great food trucks and we all pigged out on our free money. That was my ONLY time.

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    1. I have those same dreams too, where I find a bunch of bills. I BET you have walked past $$$ of dollars, you are just focused on other things like your wonderful family! Love the story with your friends – I do remember 2 doors. I have a GF who only likes cars with 2 doors – I will not be riding in the backseat unless I have to. haha.

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    1. Have you found $$ wandering around NYC? I was responding to Lyssy, that of all the times I have been there, I haven’t found a thing. I did drop a wallet in SOHO once and it was returned to me with everything in tact. It was 2 months after 9/11 so people were most definitely operating with love in their hearts.

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      1. I have seen people drop money and I’ve alerted them to the fact, so I’d say that we are so densely populated someone would see the money fall and either pocket it or return it. Also, walking here is being on sensory overload. You can’t pay attention to everything

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  5. Ha – I already knew this about you, but it’s still a fun read! (The Shaun Cassidy lookalike pic was just the icing.) I rarely find money but as you know, the minute we moved into your state, I found some outside the new apartment! Your juju welcoming me maybe? 🙂

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  8. Great stories of cash windfalls! You were a very cute Shawn Cassidy. Wasn’t he the huge heart-throb (The Do Run Run, The Do Run Run….) In Austin, Texas I found a $20 bill on the street and treated my women’s housing co-op of 16 to an ice cream cake. Fun memories.

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  10. That’s amazing – to have found so many notes, so many times! I’ve found the odd coin here and there, but I recall once, I saw a guy drop something from his back pocket, which turned out to be a £5 note, so I hurried after him to give it back. (He seemed more worried that I’d approached him than grateful!) Oh yes, and on another occasion, I was wandering back from a night out and found a £5 note on the pavement, but this time there was nobody around to hand it back to… 😊

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    1. It is funny how guarded people can be – I know I can be! Yesterday, I walked over to a neighbors house (whom i had never met) to thank him for shoveling my sidewalk. I felt like I needed to stand 6 feet from the door, so he wouldn’t be freaked out. lol.

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    1. I like finding coins too. I pick them up nearly every time. One time I was in New Orleans and I saw a dollar bill floating on the sidewalk…several people just walked by it. Either they didn’t think it was significant or they didn’t see it. I ran after it, stomped it with my foot, used it to jump on a trolley car and it opened a whole other door of adventure. Life is magical if you are open to it!

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  13. I’ve probably lost more money out of my pockets than I’ve found, but I have had a couple of good scores. Once I looked out the window and saw money blowing by in the breeze. We charged out the door – my boyfriend got a $5 and I ended up with a $20 and 3 $1s. The morning after the big Labor Day dance in our tiny village one year I found a wad with about $250 on the ground! But I couldn’t stop thinking about how I’d feel if I woke up to find all my money missing, so I put out some feelers and found the rightful owner. I should have felt good about it, but it turned out to be one of the few people in town I disliked, so I was wishing I wasn’t so honest! Karma happens, though. A few years later I found $80 in the middle of the street on the fourth of July – and kept it that time!

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    1. It’s sooo good to hear from you! I hope your holidays were great! I have dreams like the situation you described – what fun to actually experience such a thing!!! Dang on returning the $ back to the less than desirable person – but you are right, karma works in great ways – I am a firm believer in that. Finding $80 – what a thrill – unfolding all of those bills!!!

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    1. Oh yes, pay phones and those old gum ball machines – even video games! Sometimes we would walk through the drive through at fast food places to find loose change too. I don’t think my parents gave me enough allowance. haha.

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  18. I remember you writing about that topic a couple of years ago, right?
    I’m like you – I find money and wallets too. I would appreciate a wallet with 140.000€ this week thank you very much… (maybe I should have put that in my vision board?…)

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    1. You have a great memory! I did post this a couple of years ago on the old blog! I have found a couple of wallets in my lifetime and cellphones too. I am always devastated for the people who lost such things so I do everything I can to get those back to the owners. I was in NYC 2 months after 9/11. I dropped my wallet on a sidewalk in Soho – the next day I got a call at my hotel (from a bar I did not go to), saying they had my wallet (they saw my hotel key). When I picked it up, everything was in tact, even the $$. IN NYC. My belief in humanity that day was exponential. 🙂

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  19. You’re definitely looked after, my dear Pam, not because you might need the money in some way, but angels know how to recognize one of their own and they know you’ll take care of yourself or others and put that random money to good use. And you do !

    I have found some money a few times and always feel like a fraud when I do, checking around me if the person who might have lost it still is around and if I could give it back to them. I once found a small bill floating in the sea in Vietnam (those bills are plastified, and still can be used after being wet), another time right next to the ATM machine downtown my hometown.
    I was told when I was longer that I looked too much at the ground (to check on poo or other things, I don’t know), and I should look ahead of me so I now do… (although hard habits die hard and when you’re used to the trails, you do often look at the ground for potholes!).

    A random post goes a long way, my friend, you’ve had quite a few interesting comments on that one !
    Happy findings to you !
    xoxoxo

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    1. You’re an ANGEL Juls. Thank you for lifting me up today lady! I am not a religious person, but I do believe in Angels :-). I can see you as a young girl looking at the ground for curiosity purposes more than anything. And I agree, when hiking, eyes are on the ground to keep from tripping! The last time I found a $100 bill, it was wadded up into a small ball. I envisioned a drug dealer making a score in a parking lot, and missing the stuff into his pocket! I didn’t feel so guilty about picking it up and keeping it. lol. I hope you had a great weekend! Hugs my friend!

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  21. Looks like I am not the only one that keeps finding money! My husband usually says that I don’t even have to work, but instead, I could just go for a walk and come back with pockets full of cash. They say that when you find money on the ground, angels and spirits are reminding you that you are worth more than you think you do. Cheers and have a good day. Aiva 🙂

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      1. I have found money on the ground before and I get excited, but it’s always tainted with guilt. I’m like, “man, someone is going to be bummed they lost $20” especially if at Six Flags Magic Mountain – I went there a lot as a teenage (when we could drive) and we all only had a bit of cash for food during the day….so I always think, some kid is going to not have food.

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  23. Random thoughts and ruminations are great – you never know where they will take you!
    I am so amazed that you remember these incidences with such clarity – I’ve been told that everytime you find money on the ground, it’s when your angel is saying hello. Hmmmm
    Chuckled at your Shaun Cassidy side-by-side …. I remember him and Parker Stevenson very well. Hardy Boys was one of my favourite shows growing up.

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    1. Oh yes, the Hardy Boys! So many good shows back then. Sean and I watched Columbo the other night – Ricardo Montalbano was one of the characters- just classic!!! I do believe I have an Angel, always have. I spent the weekend thanking said Angel for my good fortune 😍

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      1. I loved Ricardo Montalbano on Fantasy Island – “the plane! the plane!” I loved Columbo, too, and watched it religiously every week!

        Were you ever into Battlestar Galactica with Richard Hatch & Dirk Benedict? They were my Hardy Boy equivalents in the science fiction genre.

        Yes, absolutely good to thank Angel for said fortune!

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  25. great share pam
    and this is very cool that you find money – $
    i ha e found money a few times –
    like in the 89 summer was washing my car and found a brown bag with cash – fives and ones – almost 20$
    and hubs and i found money (think it was 8 or 10$)on the ground in an alley way into restaurant – the restaurant manager asked if anyone lost it and then told us to keep it –
    –
    but your theme of having this happen is pretty cool and i like your connection to the outer realm- and the paying it forward !! karma chips baby!

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    1. Ha! Thanks! I love the reference to the summer of 89 – finding a BAG of money! I wonder what the story was there 🤔. Makes me feel like I should plant a bag sometime and pass along some good fortune. A memory to be had for a lifetime 😊! Thanks for sharing your stories! Love it!

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  27. Ah, was so excited to see you blog about this (and to read through the comments, which was like spotting a breadcrumb trail of treasures in and of itself)! I know I mentioned finding coins a lot. I once joked to the heavens, “Can you make them quarters at least?” so of course I usually only find pennies. Just found two in the past week, LOL I think there’s definitely meaning behind the 3’s, too!

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  28. That’s so cool!! And in 3’s definitely add a whole other layer! I usually find pennies and dimes, but I always check the date and think back to that time to see if there’s some connection that needs to be brought to my memory.

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    1. Ha! That would be fun! The last time I found a c note, I had a traumatic dental appointment. I cried most of the way through – I had a BAD experience as a kid and was reliving it all!! It was sooo embarrassing. So, when I walked out to the snowy parking lot and just happened to look a few cars over, I spotted a wadded up Bill. I immediately started laughing. Made the whole nightmare worth it!! Lol

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  30. A lot of this made me laugh Pam. You did bear an uncanny resemblance to Shaun Cassidy (I had a huge crush on David Cassidy at that age). My father, a chain smoker, also left the windows closed when we drove…horrible! Your 1000 peso finding reminded me of when my then 11-year-old son found a one million (or maybe it was a billion) dollar Zimbabwean bill. He was over the moon until he found out it was practically worthless. He still has it as a keepsake.

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    1. David Cassidy was dreamy for sure! Why did they torture us like that??? Good thing it made me so sick I never picked up the habit. I feel your son’s pain for sure. I cashed mine in for the $2. Back then 2 bucks bought a lot of candy. LOL

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  33. Wow! You don’t just get pennies from heaven, you get $100. Last year, Bill and I were running in Asheville, NC and we found $172. Finding $5 or $10 makes me happy, but finding that much money made me sad. That’s too much for someone to lose. We donated it. I didn’t want the bad karma!

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