Tuesday, February 03, 2009

$0.32

Today we found a total of 32 cents- three dimes and two pennies in spite of the freak snowstorm that crippled our post-workout plans this evening. Aside from that, the Humphery family spent a quiet chilly night at home :)



Total today: $0.32
Total thus far: $55.09

34 comments:

Alex said...

hey...those were my dimes!!! i lost them today!

Anonymous said...

Did you know you are on CNN?

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/US/02/06/found.money.family/index.html

Good luck!

Sincerely,

Vegan "Kodo" Freegan
www.stealthyliving.blogspot.com
San Francisco, CA

Unknown said...

Why not do what I have seen others do, since New York has snow and snowplows and snow removal. Check the snow dumps in spring, there is a lot of change to be had where they dump the snow.

Undercover Mother said...

Fantastic idea! We never stick our noses up to a found penny, but this kind of makes a game out of it, which is great! Will be doing this in our corner of Astoria, Oregon!

Shambala said...

I beleive that it's important to teach our children to understand the value of money and they need to work for things they want. There are so many more lucrative ways to a teach child how to make, earn and save money and I fear that these children are getting the wrong message about the value of a few coins. Their time is worth something and spend hours looking for pennies appears to be counter productive and a waste of time that could be better spent reading, doing charity work or something that helps society. Anything better than hunting pennies. If coins are found by chance, it's nice for them to not pass them by, but concerted efforts to spend so much free time searching for change will make for rather odd adults.

Unknown said...

Just wanted to drop by and say what I think you guys are doing is great. Sometimes the smallest things you do as a family makes it stronger each day. I hope the upcoming spring and summer months make it easier to find change, I'm sure theres no shortage of it lying around!

Unknown said...

I saw your blog on Fox...kudos to you & hubby for teaching your kids the value of a buck...or in this case a penny. I have a question... When you started did it feel strange to stop in front of a crowd to pick up a penny?

Mama Kelly said...

I found your blog through the CNN piece. I have subscribed as I think what you are doing is both facinating and inspiring.

Mama Kelly
2witches.com

PS I grew up in Staten Island

letterstoelijah said...

Found out about your blog through cnn.com (I'm sure your traffic is going to go through the roof)

You should make a request: Ask for one dollar from each state - and keep a tally on your blog. I bet you will get it!

Master Chief said...

Wait till your children get into high school. Three of our teachers take a daily tour of our grounds for change. The students here seem aggravated by change in their pockets. They used to throw pennies, then it became nickels and dimes. The economy seems to have slowed the practice some, though. Oh, and from a 30 year Navy man, Thank You for serving and for the family sacrifice.

JAVASRaman said...

I am so happy to see this. We live in Oklahoma. My 11 year old son has involved our family in a similar journey called 'The Street Penny'(even though we are surprised at how people dont care for coins more valuable than the penny too). It started off in a fashion similar to yours. Now he has got his school involved. In my opinion, bending to pick up the money also involves exercise, leading to a fit nation.
His efforts have collected enough money to where he hopes to buy school supplies for a few children as he graduates from 5th grade.

Josh Lee said...

Hi, just read your article on CNN I think it's great what you're doing and teaching a valuable lesson to you kids. Good luck and I'll be checking back once in a while to see what total has become.

Josh
http://www.daily-encounters.com

dan said...

Awesome! I saw your story on CNN. I have been collecting change similarly since June of last year - found about $40.

Keep it up!

Vicki Knighten said...

I like your idea. It goes along with picking up soda bottles, cans and beer bottles and cans here in Michigan. It cleans up the roads and gives us 10 cents back for each one! It sure makes you appreciate giving and receiving. What a great truth to give to our children.

Bob's Place said...

I love the site, saw an article about you and your site on cnn.com.

Alfie said...

I think all of this is fabulous! I do the same thing, inspired by a local consumer's reports radio host who asked 'how small a coin is too small to pick up?' I decided to pick them all up. I live in a much smaller town (Albany, GA), but last year collected a little over $13.

Keep up the great work!

Alfie

Rachel Hundley said...

I love that you have found such a unique way for your family to spend time together.

Wolfwings2 said...

Saw your story in an article on CNN's website. I found it interesting and came to check out your site.
I have two teenagers (18 and 19), and they find it amusing when I pick up change and pop bottles I find while we're out and about in town. I tell them "money is money" doesn't matter that I picked it up off the ground.
It's nice to see you and your family have fun doing this together. Good for you!

Wolfwings2 said...

Saw your story in an article on CNN's website. I found it interesting and came to check out your site.
I have two teenagers (18 and 19), and they find it amusing when I pick up change and pop bottles I find while we're out and about in town. I tell them "money is money" doesn't matter that I picked it up off the ground.

Jim-of-oz said...

You're obviously going to get a bazillion hits now that the blog is on CNN, but I've been picking up change forever - to the chagrin of my wife. I get home after a walk and turn out my pockets with all my treasures - change, keys, nuts and bolts. Keep up the good old-fashioned values.

Char said...

Hi! I just read about your story on CNN and was happy to see it! I'm one of those change collectors too!! My family and friends think I'm silly - but, like you said, it ADDS UP!! Yesterday, I couldn't believe it, but I found over $14 in change off of the bike path I ride to work on!! (I wrote about it on my blog: http://bikerchickchar.blogspot.com/)

Great to see I'm not the only one who picks up money and saves it! :)

Charmaine

Mama Bird said...

That is so cool that you are blogging your found money. We've been gathering dropped coins for years, but we call them "orphan money" because we use them toward the support of a Rwandan orphan through http://www.reach.org/

We also add "orphan money" received from returning beverage bottles--but I suspect that's outside the scope of this blog. ;)

Di said...

Just read the article on CNN. I think what you all are doing is GREAT. (And I think you all absolutely deserve to keep some of that 10,000 - for yourselves!)

I laughed out loud at this -
"A family that collects change together stays together."
Sounds just like my Dad! :-)

Suburban Sweetheart said...

Such a cool idea. Loved the CNN story. And while I love that you plan to give it to charity, I wonder if some could go to your kids' college funds instead? Sending a child off into the world with an education is just as much a karmic good as is donation...

Anyway, keep it up!

KataniaStar said...

Love what you're doing! I always pick up any money I come across. My friend taught me this saying: "Find a penny, pick it up, all the day you'll have good luck!"

Greg said...

Over the past three years, I have been picking up change in the Boston/Cambridge, MA area. I never really gave it much thought until late 2007 when my girlfriend asked me how much I found in a given year. So, last year I tracked it - over $24.

Congrats on your big finds, you leave me with something to aspire towards.

High Power Rocketry said...

I love this blog! I am a THer and also an avid money looker forer when I walk. THers use metal detectors to search for objects including (most often for that matter) coins. Most beaches return about 1 - $3 an hour or more. And from time to time you find rings, watches, and other very valuable items. It is a great hobby, I really suggest you give it a try. Ive been doing it since the 3rd grade, it is great for kids. It is exercise outdoors, fresh air, and also requires quite a bit of strategy and discipline.

Almost every day I find some amount of money, though I have decided not to pick up single pennies that are dirty: only multiple pennies or singles indoors (this is a matter of saving time and effort, as the value of a penny is 1/5th the value of the next smallest coin).

You may want to think about adding google ads to this blog (I could even help you with the code if you needed to do it quickly). For every 1000 blog hits you get about $1. Since cnn posted about you, I bet you could take in 10 dollars per day or mroe.

High Power Rocketry said...

Opps PS I live in NYC also.

Jesse Winchester said...

I think if you brought all this change to a metal recycling plant, you might get more money back then the value of the change itself! Ive heard from numerous sources the penny is worth more in metal then 1cent.

Mick said...

Hi There,
I saw your story on CNN.com which linked to your blog. I think your idea and efforts are very commendable. It especially teaches children the value of money - which is very hard these days. Have you considered opening a high-yield online savings account (eTrade, ING, etc) to save your found money in as you're climbing towards your goal? Interest is like found money too when you think about it. You could still keep the jar with a portion of the money in it, as I’m sure it’s rewarding to see it fill up. But then put a large chunk into the savings account, say $1000. Then deposit into the account every time you reach a milestone. You'll reach your goal much faster!! Just a thought….

Keep it up.

Regards,
Mick
Madison, WI

Unknown said...

I pick up money anytime I see it, unless I am in danger of getting hit by a moving vehicle. I save the change that I find and put it in a bank, then buy savings bonds with it.

http://www.urbanfrugal.com

Mame said...

I love how everyone has an opinion on what you should do with the money. And some people have an opinion on whether we should even be picking it up. It's not like we spend hours a day looking for money (as the CNN piece was cut to suggest) - it's just that when we see it, we pick it up. It's clearing litter, really. You can't return to its previous owner, might as well clear the street, floor, or shrubs and take it on home to spend as you choose.

Anonymous said...

I am so glad to read about a family who is proud of this. I have been doing this for years, and will continue. My kids chide me for doing it. It all started with the old saying "find a penney, pick it up, all the day you'll have good luck." My daughters have found money and will tell me of their finds. Most I have found at one time was a $1.00 bill!

Bailee said...

What a cool thing! But you can't guess what my family has started doing in the mountains of North Carolina??