Hi everyone! It’s been a while since I’ve done a roundup, so I thought I’d put one together for today. There have been some good articles out there in the personal finance “blogosphere”, as bloggers seem to be upping their game a bit. Also, there seem to be waves of new blogs starting up each month. So, lots of good reads are out there. I’ve collected a few that resonated with me for one reason or another, which you might like too.
But first….
The Joy of Finding Money
First, I have to ask: do you get enjoyment out of finding money? Do you remember times you’ve found money? I answer yes to both. What’s interesting is that usually, it’s not a whole lot of money that’s found. However, the enjoyment from finding it seems to be a bit disproportionate compared to what’s actually found. For whatever reason though, it’s a thrill to find money!
It’s not like this happens to me all that often, but the most recent episode was just this past weekend outside a pharmacy. I was walking outside toward the parking lot, and stopped in my tracks when I saw a few bills on the ground. I did a double take, and saw that there were a 3 $1 bills! They were just laying there right the middle of the sidewalk, sun shining on them. Someone must have just dropped them.
Before picking them up, I sheepishly looked around. Nobody was there. Then, before picking up the money, I saw this huge guy in a truck which was parked the lot, about 20 feet away. He looked like on of the guys from the old “Da Bears” skits from Saturday Night Live Fame. He clearly knew I wanted to pick up the money, and was watching. I motioned to him, as if to ask “I this yours?”. He just shook his head saying “Not mine”. Then shrugged his shoulders.
Might as well pick up the bills, right? Nobody was around. So, I did – and did a fist pump, kind of like Tiger Woods style. I glanced over toward the truck, and the guy and a huge smile and gave me a fist pump too. Then, he rolled down his window and said “you have to love days like this! Maybe you should buy a lottery ticket!”
Not, finding $3 isn’t exactly a big deal. Nobody gets rich from penny pinching anyway. Besides, it’s far less than minimum wage, and there’s some guilt feeling bad that somebody else lost the money. I’d handle this differently if it was a large sum of money, of course.
However, there’s also something about finding a small amount money that makes one happy. Maybe not as excited as the lady I saw who showed extreme excitement over finding money, but its fun nonetheless.
Posts I’ve Enjoyed from Around the Personal Finance Blogosphere
As mentioned up front, here are some recent posts around the web that I’ve liked, and would like to share with you:
Retire by 40 posted What advice I would give my 23 year old self. I would have quite a bit of advice for my younger self! Can’t go back in time, but we can always apply our learnings to life going forward. Also, if you have kids, you can impart your wisdom on them too!
Krantcents posted Is There a Right Time to Buy Real Estate? His blog is a source of a lot of wisdom based on real-life experiences.
Narrow Bridge Finance posted An Amazing Trip to Israel on a Budget. Find out how he took a trip abroad for less than $900 total!
Life and My Finances posted Advice for My Friend the Financial Disaster. Derek shares a story about how he dealt with conversations with a friend with money problems.
Reach Financial Independence posted Cattle investment part III: they are all gone! Interesting post on a true alternative investment.
Everyday Tips and Thoughts posted Hallmark Holidays. I like her perspective on the importance of certain holidays, and also learned something new about the original intent of Sweetest Day.
Untemplater posted Top Sights in Australia for the Adventure Seeker. You can tell I have traveling on the mind, after listing this as well as Eric’s low-cost trip post earlier! This one is more of a bucket list type of trip.
The Amateur Financier posted 10 Things to Include in a Will. Good to be prepared, thinking of ones we love
Tight Fisted Miser posted How to Get Free Redbox Rentals. I used one of those codes for a free rental.
Have a great rest of the week!
Thanks for the mention! Sometimes our friends just aren’t that financially wise and we just need to help them out (with words, not with money).
Sure, no problem!
Thanks for sharing my staff post at Life & My Finances! 🙂
I love finding money, but I’ll check to see if it’s someone else’s like you did before picking it up–it makes me smile every time….
Glad to share – sorry, I didn’t realize it was a staff post written by you. I enjoyed it!
I LOVE finding free stuff! Always! Money just laying around, I always just take it. Some people get oddly guilty about it, but for me, I don’t even look around. I just pick it up. *shrug * And yeah, it’s AWESOME! Good thing for the money you found that it probably didn’t bust anyone’s budget to lose it, but it sure made your day. Sometimes when I find $10 or $20 I think how that might really mean something to someone. I still pick it up of course, because otherwise it’ll be gone with the wind, but it does seem sucky for whoever lost it.
yeah, when it’s a smaller amount of money, there’s less guilt and besides as you say – otherwise it will be gone with the wind..
Thanks for the links, I am in good company.
no prob, it was a good post.
Thank you for the mention! I get the same excitement when finding money or anything of use on the floor. Weird how a few pennies can make you happy because they are unexpected, while a paycheck is just the norm and you don’t blink when you get it.
Pauline – I know, it is funny how getting something for nothing can be exhilarating, even though the actual amount of money might not actually be much
Thanks for the mention Squirrelers! I love finding money too. The most I ever found was a 100 bill I misplaced in a coat pocket one time, that was sure a surprise. I felt rather dumb for misplacing it though. Most of the other times I’ve found money it’s been a couple dollars which is still really exciting!
Sydney – now that’s more fun, finding $100! Even if it was misplaced originally, that had to be cool to rediscover it.
Thanks for including my post. I’m glad to see you were able to use it to get a free rental.
Not only did I get a free rental, but I signed up for the email list and got another free rental. I also got an offer for a free rental if I reserve a movie. So, my reading your post led to a chain reaction of free movies 🙂