I possess a secret talent. And no, it’s not the juggling of flaming chainsaws while whistling the Star Spangled Banner. (I’m actually a pretty poor whistler.)
I find coins on the ground.
Wherever. Whenever. Always have and always will.
My parents joke about how I exhibited this talent from the time I was first walking.
On the bus and at the store. Everywhere my little legs took me. Coins. Coins. Coins.
Their theory was that I was low to the ground, and was physically closer to all the riches of dropped money.
But I’m 5’8″ tall now, so that explanation doesn’t exactly hold water. It’s simply part of my nature.
My eyes constantly scan the ground. I’m like a cross between a Marvel super-hero and a secret government robo-something. (Coin-Girl to the rescue!)
I once saw a nurse at work throw a handful of pennies into the garbage. The garbage, people! I was shocked, and surprised that no one else shared my flabbergasted reaction. Unfortunately for me, I have a hard and fast rule that I do not dig through hospital garbage. (If you knew my job, you’d understand.)
What does this have to do with being a Non-Consumer?
Everything.
Some people feel it’s not worth the trouble to bend over for small change.
Wrong. It is so worth it.
All money is precious. Valuing small amounts of money is directly connected to paying attention to life’s small expenditures. And it’s the small outlays of money that you have the most control over.
It matters. It all matters.
Take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves.
I think that might have to be the official motto for Coin-girl.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I have been known to time my stride so that I can pick coins up off the ground in a large sweeping motion without missing a step. I may have the same power, but mine extends to all forms of coin and currency (like the quarter-folded $20 bill I once found in an elevator lobby). Love the coin stack pic, BTW. I share your flabbergastedness, but yeah, there are places where hands do not belong.
When I attended high school in the late 1980’s, students would throw pennies on the ground. Not only did they see the pennies as worthless but the throwers also loved to see who would “scrounge” the pennies. Well, I was a scrounger. I couldn’t believe people would throw money away! I even wrote an article in our high school paper about it in which I declared “the more you throw the richer I grow”. Popular I was not, but I wasn’t stupid either.
My uncle has a way of finding coins on the ground. He also mistakes a lot of thinks for coins that aren’t really coins. I always thought it was because he was born before the Great Depression.
so…. what do you do for a living?
I’m a high-risk labor and delivery nurse.
-Katy
I don’t go for pennies; I leave those for the children around who see more value in a penny. Aren’t we getting rid of those already?
Not really related: I use dollar coins at the farmer’s market since I am often spending $1-3 on many things from many vendors. I don’t really know why, I mostly think it’s funny to see the reaction to people who haven’t seen a dollar coin (especially since there are new ones with the prezs.)
I have a problem with shiney things. I can’t stop looking at them.
I was thinking maybe you should call your blog “100 bill girl” and you will start finding those instead of coins.
Just a thought
I too used to pick up coins and even found a $20.00 bill a few years ago in the road.
I met a lady with a young son in a parking lot one day searching for coins. They were so excited every coin they found and I pointed out one by me. She thanked me so much I was embarrassed. She told me they were hoping for enough to buy a box of macaroni for their dinner. She said at the end of the month especially they hit the parking lots looking for money.
Of course, I gave her a dollar and felt I should have done more.
Anyway, since than I leave the coins for others that might be more in need than me.
Tanya
I found a 100 dollar bill on the ground one time. I was pulling out of a parking lot looked down and saw it. There was no way of finding who it belonged to so I gave it to charity.
Yes! My children have also learned this by watching me. My son was with me walking along the sidewalk lined with coin operated parking meters. He was loaded with dropped change by the time we reached our destination at the post office a couple blocks later! Took us longer to get there because he kept stopping, but it was worth it. There was change everywhere, and he was so thrilled with himself!