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Picking Up Money (Followup)

Written by Nickel - 9 Comments

So… Shortly after I posted about the guy whose girlfriend shamed him into leaving a dollar on the ground, Lifehacker picked up the story and ran a poll asking their readers the following:

What’s the least amount of money you pick up off the ground?

As of right now, there are a little over 9k votes, and guess what?

Just over 30% of respondents would stop to pick up a penny, but roughly 51% wouldn’t stop for anything less than a quarter. Interestingly, nearly 4% wouldn’t even bother picking up a five-dollar bill.

Where do you draw the line? While I’ve been known to pick up pennies, I’ve also walked past them when I’ve been in a rush. But I almost always pick up nickels, dimes, and above.

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Published on December 10th, 2012 - 9 Comments
Filed under: Miscellany

About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!

9 Responses to “Picking Up Money (Followup)”

1
RichUncle EL Says:
December 10th, 2012 at 2:48 pm
I will pick up anything because you never know when you might find an old coin worth more than the face value.
2
jim Says:
December 10th, 2012 at 4:56 pm
Yes I will pick up a penny. And I’m pretty lazy.

A while ago I figured that bending down to pick up a penny works out to around $36 /hr based on the 1 cent payment versus 1 second time invested.
3
BG Says:
December 10th, 2012 at 5:21 pm
I typically hate pennies and leave them in that “leave a penny” jar on counters. Nickels, similar to pennies, more of a hassle to deal with small 1c & 5c denominations. Dimes are just too small (physically), which makes them hard to actually separate from the floor.

Quarters, a nice big coin, easy to pick up, and has some real value. I’ll pick up a quarter, anything smaller can stay on the floor for the next guy.
4
Lewis Says:
December 11th, 2012 at 8:10 am
I thought I’d always pick up a dollar, but today there was 100 yen, about $1.25US, on a seat while I was at my US Navy job. I didn’t pick it up because a group of my superiors were in between me and my find. I thought I’d let them “find” it and hopefully make everybody’s day a little better. I’d say it worked. We got an extra long lunch. Hooyah!
5
Jo Says:
December 11th, 2012 at 11:37 am
BG, I am the same way when I get back change with up to four pennies as part of that change. I don’t mind leaving it in the tray for others to benefit if they fall short on a purchase. I certainly have found myself in that situation before, so am grateful for this.

As for the topic at hand, I will pick up any denomination in coin. I’ve been doing this for a while now and have quite the “collection” of coins in my little coin wallet. I need to transfer this into my piggybank at home before I put my little stash towards something silly such as a bottle of pop or a candy bar. *eyeroll*

I thank Donna Freeman as my role model and belief that it all adds up. I think I will keep adding to my huge plastic Coca Cola bottle bank until next Christmas season and then bring it to my CU. They have a coin machine for members to use for free. It’ll be interesting to see how much I will have accumulated.
6
Grayson @ Debt Roundup Says:
December 11th, 2012 at 12:06 pm
I would pick up a nickel, dime, or quarter, but would leave a penny. I don’t like them and they just take up space.
7
Cindy Brick Says:
December 11th, 2012 at 3:52 pm
Husband saw a penny we’ve never noticed by the side of the house (built c.1968). If he hadn’t picked it up, he would have missed out on a 1921 penny!

I pick ‘em up. No matter what.

Last post: Monday Stuff on the Way to Other Stuff
http://cindybrick.blogspot.com.....ff_10.html
8
Tam Says:
December 11th, 2012 at 6:40 pm
I will pick ANYTHING. Money is money. Anyone who has ever been broke knows that. I have been there and those habits never change. If I am at a drive thru and they drop my money, yes, I open the car door and pick it up.
9
barr Says:
December 11th, 2012 at 7:36 pm
I’ll pick up anything, even a penny if it’s heads up!

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