found money

[97guns]

I remember when I was around 8. parents took me to Chinatown, they were buying some fish or something, I look down and there's a $100 laying on the ground, I casually step on it and scoop it up when the coast was clear. If that scenario was to present itself again I would probably handle it the same way, I'm not taking it into the closest store and asking if anyone lost something, finding it on my front lawn with contractors working is a different story.

Then there's my brother who actually saw a guys bankroll drop out of his pocket in Hawaii and jumped in it like a bum on a hotdog, if I saw it drop out I would have to let the guy know but if I don't see it drop it's open game in my book

[msomnipotent]

I found about $60 scattered around a forest preserve. I didn't feel bad about keeping it because no one was around other than the date I was with. I didn't feel bad about not sharing it with him because he was kind of a jerk. I did buy beer afterward, though.

I do feel bad about an incident when I was young. My sister and I found $20 at a grocery store. My mother turned it in because 1. Karma and 2. the store was frequented by the elderly on fixed incomes that lived in public housing across the street. There was a good chance that $20 was someone's spending money for the month. My father lost his mind when he heard, and my aunt went to the store to claim it. Yes, we were "low income" as well, but I was so embarrassed that I refused to go with my aunt to give her directions to the store. Back then, you did as you were told or you couldn't sit down for a week.

[PeggyHefferon]

I would keep it/use it to pay off all my credit card debt since im always up to my eyeballs in debt. Even if you pay your credit cards off in full each month its still considered debt until its paid in full.

Unless you overpay your credit card one month. Then your transactions won't create a debt.

[PeggyHefferon]

I'm sure some would, but most people are fundamentally honest, especially when put on the spot where they don't have time to think about it. Lying isn't the natural response. That requires thought. Your reflex is honesty.

I think you would be surprised by the percentage that lies.

[Petunia 100]

I'd donate it. Plus, if you donate it, you can get a tiny little tax writeoff (if you donate it to a qualified charity). Win-win.

Only if you are OK with being dishonest. If your basis is $0, your deduction is $0.

[disneysteve]

Only if you are OK with being dishonest. If your basis is $0, your deduction is $0.

How do you determine the basis on cash? I could get cash as a birthday present from my mother. I could get cash from a winning blackjack hand at the casino. Or I could find cash in the parking lot at the mall. Once it is mine, it's mine.

[TexasHusker]

I'm sure some would, but most people are fundamentally honest, especially when put on the spot where they don't have time to think about it. Lying isn't the natural response.

Wow. What planet do you live on? I might take a rocket ship there.

[disneysteve]

Wow. What planet do you live on? I might take a rocket ship there.

If you're holding up cash and say, "Did you drop this?" that's one thing. If you just say, "Excuse me, did you drop something?" that's different.

[Petunia 100]

How do you determine the basis on cash? I could get cash as a birthday present from my mother. I could get cash from a winning blackjack hand at the casino. Or I could find cash in the parking lot at the mall. Once it is mine, it's mine.

You can't take a deduction for something you got for free.

[disneysteve]

You can't take a deduction for something you got for free.

I understand that, but how does that actually work with cash. How can the IRS say that the $50 I donated to charity came in a birthday card from my mom vs. coming from my normal income? Money is fungible. OP could write a check for $40 to the charity of choice and put the $40 cash in his/her wallet.

[AJSimon]

I think you would be surprised by the percentage that lies.

100% of people lie in small ways every single day. When you're dealing with an issue of consequence, I agree that most people reflexively try to be honest. What they end up doing is saying things that are some percentage true, some percentage false, and that's how they get caught lying. Because the resulting statement makes very little sense.

Cops rely on this fact when they interview suspects. The dumb, guilty ones try to tell some version of the truth, and all it does is make the lies more obvious.

[TexasHusker]

100% of people lie in small ways every single day. When you're dealing with an issue of consequence, I agree that most people reflexively try to be honest. What they end up doing is saying things that are some percentage true, some percentage false, and that's how they get caught lying. Because the resulting statement makes very little sense.

Cops rely on this fact when they interview suspects. The dumb, guilty ones try to tell some version of the truth, and all it does is make the lies more obvious.

+1.

Peoples' FIRST inclination is to be dishonest, if it suits them and no one will know otherwise.

There are mountains of laws on the books - and punishments - that prevent us from acting on our every selfish whim. Thank goodness.

If you want to know what happens to people when they are above all law and have absolute power, look at people like Saddam Hussein, the N. Korea dude, the Iran dude, Hitler, Stalin, Nero, and so on.

With no laws to protect us from ourselves, we can get very barbaric, very quickly. This propensity is baked into our nature. Toddlers start lying before they can speak a word.

[rennigade]

Speaking of finding money...found $8 on the sidewalk yesterday. Sure beats the metal coins I typically pick up. That paid for my chipotle yesterday! I thought about trying to find the owner but its a dog eat dog world.

[creditcardfree]

I found someone's wallet at a rest stop last week when we were traveling. I did ask one person that walked by, but no one else was around. I called the Highway Patrol and they asked if I would return it to the truck weigh station about 10 miles back. They did also offer to come get it, but we figured that would take longer. It actually took us thirty minutes to get back to our original destination, but I did get a call about 45 minutes after I dropped it off that it had been returned to the owner and he was grateful. No cash, but several types of identification and credit cards.

As to the original post, I would keep the $40 as it is not identifiable in the situation you were in. If you wanted to let go of any guilt, giving it away to a good cause would be a good idea.

[Drake3287]

Nice of you to drive back to the Weigh Station, I would have done the same thing. People like you and I are rare these days. It's nice to think that if we ever lost something important others would do the same.

I truly think that I have great luck with life in general because I do the right thing. Sounds corny but true. I also think I've taught my kids to do the same.