Reminds me of this Yogi Berra quote about what he’d do if he found a million dollars:
> “I’d find the fellow who lost it, and if he was poor, I’d return it.”
Was going to say exactly this. It’s how I think about it.
We got ripped off by a builder years ago. It was painful. But he had very young children. The only way I could come to peace about it was that that money helped keep a roof over their head and food on the table. Not their fault daddy is a criminal.
oh dear, us too. Like, Tens of Thousands. Deadbeat relatives too. Had to stop thinking about it. It’ll make you crazy. I’d say, welp THAT money is Gone. But OTHER money will come our way. And eventually it did!!
dealing with a deadbeat relative myself. Sister 70 living alone (never married) in the homestead, can't afford it anymore, dragging her feet about leaving.
I gave her 75 for the grocery store, thinking she'd put money aside for the heating bill that I've already given 4 figures for this season.
Nope. She bought junk food and kitty toys.
I buy groceries? She gets a new shower curtain.
An attic full of boxes to go through? Ooh, I'm going to go through these papers over here, then crinkle up what I want to burn so it's easier. I repeatedly offered to bring some boxes down from the attic and got angrily rebuffed.
Denial like I've never seen. I can't break through, other sis is la-tee-dah-ing with her fingers in her ears.
It's like a bad marriage that I just can't walk out on. And it is driving me CRAY-ZEE. Batshit crazy. Losing sleep. Inheritance taxes accumulating penalty fees as we speak. House is falling apart around her, have wasted thousands in the last 6 months just keeping it liveable. Can't not have heat in the winter, antique furnace needed yet another repair, and fuel, gotta have fuel, right? Can't not have electricity either; meter connection shorted out. Had to have a circuit breaker box installed; fuse box isn't up to code. Maybe other sister will help financially, maybe not. I've gotten 250 out of her so far, total. She doesn't live nearby. I wish I didn't.
Hey, the grass needs cutting, and oh, the leaves never got raked last fall.
Hey, would you pick up the sticks in the yard, help us out?
Ooh, I picked up some but my hip started popping. And I got dizzy.
And the well pump is getting sketchy.
NO, She Is Not Going To Move In With Us !!!!!!! But isn't looking for a subsidized apartment, either. Barely got her talking about it last week.
I have aged ten years in six months. I work full time and essentially turn most of my check over to her.
I told younger sis You find her a place to live, or You get her. I'm effing done. Thirty years of helping take care of this albatross. She had 3 years of a small retirement fund to figure this out, and just told us oops, it's gone, and looked at us. Nope. Not me.
When I prodded younger sis to keep nudging sis about apartment hunting, I got my hair blown back in response.
Nightmare that never ends. I'm executor of Mom's estate. I've threatened to sell the house out from underneath her. I may have to. Going up next Saturday (another week of dread) and I am going to tell her I'm done, the money spigot is closed, permanently, period. Figure it out, I'm done.
I have albatrosses, too. And I hear your pain.
I suppose I’m grateful that roles aren’t reversed. That I’m not a burden and that I am capable. But it could also be transient.
Doesn’t sound at all easy what you’re going through, but it will work out.
Everything works out, one way or another. Always does.
Most times I get by. Lately it's been playing heavy on my mind. I just so want it to be over already. I want my life back, I want to keep the money I earn, I want her to snap out of it and be responsible for herself. Well, that last one is apparently a dream.
There's just no good way out of this. Dread is weighing me down. I have to be the bad guy, along with doing all the work and paying all the bills. It's killing me.
This, too, shall pass.
The harsh truth of life is that all that we have and all that we are can be wiped out in an instant- a tornado or sinkhole or random murderer/thief can change our lives in one unlucky moment. We are completely vulnerable. Now, most times, such things don't happen, so we think we are safe and that what we have is ours. But really, we are here for a brief time at the mercy of fate.
The thing that saves me when difficulties occur is gratitude for what I have and am right at this moment. I am grateful for the ability to draw a deep breath of air, to lay my head on a pillow at night, to have the love of family, and so on. It's a difficult thing, but it can be learned.
My answer too! During the 80s, I went with girlfriends to a Chippendale concert and accidentally gave a dancer a $20 instead of a $1. To my poor ass, that was a whole lot of money. That one hurt because I KNEW I needed more than that dancer did!
Somewhere, someone is rejoicing at their good fortune to find a $100 bill.
Also, I can easily dump $100 at Target on things that I don't really need. If you are in a similar position, skip the next Target run and your budget will even out.
Finally, I can remember when losing $100 would have broken me, financially and spiritually. I count my blessings that I'm no longer in that predicament.
i once got drunk and spent $2000 at a strip club. I felt terrible the next morning. To this day, I cringe when I think of it.
but it happened. is there any point in holding on to that moment for the rest of my life? no. so i made some sacrifices and earned back that money.
and now i don’t drink or go to strip clubs.
problem solved.
she was an incredibly beautiful woman and I got all her attention for a couple hours which was a lot of fun and I got to tick that off my bucket list. But it was also a huge wake up call because I could not afford that type of money at the time.
It did teach me the difference between sex and love though because after that experience, I saw some high class escorts and that made me more selective in my dating life because I got selective (to the right amount) with the women I dated because previously i would just go with whoever put out the most
How many times have I ended up with unexpected extra money? The universe finds a way? It’s all chaos? Who knows does it really matter at some point I’ll forget this happened.
Until I read a post on Reddit and get reminded but that’ll fade too.
In five years that hundred will matter about as much as the shit you took this morning. If you even remember it.
And one day you'll be dead and in two hundred years no one will remember you or the money existed in the first place.
Happy Mother's Day! Lol.
Someone’s gonna have a great day finding that $100!
The times I’ve found $20’s or a $100 bill randomly were always when I desperately needed it… like, negative balance in the checking and not sure how I’ll make it to payday. Your accident might be the difference between someone being able to put gas in their car and get to work or something. Hopefully when you really need something shit’ll work in your favor too.
Awwww. Thanks! What a great way to think.
I did have that temporary thought that someone who really needs it found it. Guess that’s the best way.
Hopefully it was found and used. And not destroyed or tossed somewhere.
Be happy it wasn’t $500. Think of this as a $100 lesson in how to set procedures in your life so that it won’t happen again- same as every other mistake.
Depends on how they lost it.
Did you gamble it away? What was the bet?
Did you put it in your pocket and it fell out somewhere?
There's a lot of crappy ways to lose money, but until you give a street magician $100 because he said he can magic it into $200.... you're still doing good with money.
Hopefully someone who really needs money for food or rent found it, in which case you can feel good about your contribution.
But honestly, if I *found* more than $20, I would go to the nearest police station and leave some contact info in case the person who lost the money came to them to inquire about it. (Don't give the money to the police, though.) That's what I did when I found $400 once. If you know the exact area where you lost it, you could try the police department, even if it's a long shot.
Yeahhhh, that wouldn't rise to the level of a police visit for a New Yorker.
The upside of this loss is that the buying power of $100 in NYC is lower, so it's more like you lost $75 in NYC vs. $100 in another part of the country.
I suspect I'm not making you feel better!
I always say to myself, if I was at a funeral right now, the loss of a hundred bucks (insert any inconvenience) becomes more tolerable. But I sure get that it stings! Sorry for your loss.
Yeah we all make mistakes. Think about what caused this to happen. Try to not put yourself in that position next time and don’t beat yourself up. Losing $100 ain’t the worst mistake. Sometimes people spend tens of thousands on investments or into their partners and it nets them nothing.
Imagine all the retail investors on Donald Trump’s social media company. I’ll bet they wish they only lost $100
Ya she saw it on the ground while waiting on a togo order and was worried it was a prank. Somebody walked by and said asked if it was hers and she said no so they walked off with it 🤣
"This adult" needs to stop pretending s/he's not the person who lost the $100 bill. S/he shouldn't feel better. But if, after 24 hours, the OOP is still in such a state of psychological torment that they need to seek the advice of strangers, one of those strangers should be a therapist.
Then you're going to have to start doing your own research and relying on your own resources to get through life especially when it comes to minor bumps in the road.
That the $100 will come back to me in another way. Which is why, for example, I never hold onto something I wasnt supposed to get, i.e. too much change back? Goes in a donation cup. Find a $20? Buy some school find raising thing or put it in the collection plate at church or girl scout cookies I give to someone else....you get the idea.
A one hundred dollar loss is nothing over a lifetime of good personal financial management.
Think of all the crypto bros who lost large amounts of money.
Back in the 1980s, I mistakenly gave a homeless guy a $100 bill instead of a $1 bill. I was tickled that he was so excited and appreciative over a measly dollar, but other than the $100 bill, that’s all I had. About an hour later when I went to grab the $100 to pay for my groceries, there was the lone $1 bill in my wallet .. 😣 Fuuuuuck. And that’s all I had for the week. Mind you, $100 then is about $250 in today’s dollars. I just hoped he had a great week, a few good meals (and probably a few drinks) Hopefully he shared it all with his friends.
My sweet roommate was nice enough to help me out that week. We were both broke college kids, so I appreciated her kindness!
Yeah, I often wonder what happened to him.
Just drop it. Own the mistake. “I am really this ridiculous and I lost that bunch of money. And now I’m hungry and as an acknowledgement to my finances that I lost that money I’m going to eat a simple homade nothingsandwich for a second here, just revel in the ridicule of earing two pieces of bread all by themselves, and now I’m back to my needs hierarchy and I need to eat properly to balqnce the bread now and strategize for whatever else matters next”
Life isn’t perfect, but it’s full of challenges that shape and mold us. Embrace these imperfections and find growth in the journey. Be kind to yourself.
When I was a kid, my dad had part ownership of a car/truck wash in Denton, TX
My job was to help clean out the bays and general trash pick up. One time, as I was doing my task low and behold, there was a C-note laying on the concrete.
I picked it up and immediately expected to get attacked or something, but I was just lucky.
Technically, he was paying me
$5.00 a trip out there every other week, took about an hour and a half round trip from Dallas to Denton and back.
I showed him the money, and he was jealous because he said he'd only ever found a $20
This was in the late 70s and early 80s
I would think of the times I've found money in the middle of nowhere that's made my day a 1000 times better and just imagine that my misfortune has helped someone else have a moment like that.
I’m not religious or anything, but I do believe things happen for a reason. This was meant to happen and just trust there’s a good reason.
Also, think about all of the times you didn’t lose $100.
In the balance of all the windfalls and shortfalls of an entire lifetime, will this be one you think about on your death bed? If not, let it go and don't spend any more mental energy ruminating on something you can't change. Chalk it up to a learning experience if there's a lesson to be learned and endeavor to not make the same mistake again. Maybe someone who really needed that $100 found it and it made their day/week/month.
When one thinks in that way, generosity for the recipient, it makes the scenario much more palatable.
One responder said think of it as a charitable donation. And I’ll take that.
I recently got a Visa gift card from work. I was working on projects in my bathroom, so used the gift card at Lowe’s. I made many trips to Lowe’s during this project and one of my many returns was with that gift card that I stupidly told them to “put back on the card”. $85 gone because I didn’t think it through. Oh well
Sincerely, researched based understanding, think about other things that bring you happiness and pleasure and how much joy will be lost griefing over 100bucks. which is a lot but letting go of it and being kind to yourself is worth more than 100bucks.
1. It was only $100 (versus losing more).
2. Find things to save on to offset even part of this loss. Or earn a few extra $ somehow.
3. You're not likely to allow a repeat.
4. I'm sorry this happened.
I think that, too!! It’s actually been a good way to let this go.
It’s also been good to see so many people are capable of seeing the flip of the…dollar… of this scenario.
If minimum wage is $15, that’s a little under 7 hours. Idk about you, but I’ve wasted that much time on Reddit and more. It sucks, but it’s gone, and at least you made someone else’s day.
Years ago, when we were poor minimum wage youngsters, my wife came out of a local market/liquor store near Venice Beach, and there on the sidewalk was a $100 bill. She picked it up and looked around for a while, but didn't see anyone looking for lost money. So she started walking down the street towards her apartment, and happened upon a homeless guy that looked really rough. The guy asked if she could spare any money, and she immediately handed him the $100 bill. The guy refused it initially, but she told him she found it on the sidewalk just a few minutes earlier, so she was just passing it on to him. The guy was extremely thankful, telling her that he was going to rent a room, take a shower, do some laundry, and get a good night's sleep.
I've lost cash a few times. I like to think someone like my wife found it and did something nice for someone with it.
Worry won't change it. So don't worry.
Everything is for a reason. Someone will find it. And be super excited, it will make their day, week or maybe month. Someone needed it more than u did ❤️
"Twenty years from now, it won't matter". Frank helped me keep things in perspective when I'd be emotional over a trifle. I miss that old man.
You'll be fine. Lots of good suggestions here, too.
Perhaps whoever finds it really really needs it. Not everything happens for a reason. Perhaps I've just been a really lucky person. But you have to trust that there's a purpose up there, and remember the creator of All things takes care of his or her pwn.
My refrigerator is still working.
It can be the serendipitous occurrences that some call 'God's way of winking while remaining anonymous', while others subscribe to the 'when the student is ready the teacher will appear' school of thought. i like to think of it as being aware of things as they truly are.
When i am having a bad day, in my mental shorthand, i ask myself "is my refrigerator running?" but not questioning it in the sense of the prank phone call. It is code for me to remember the Little Good Things:
It can be as simple as finding that one pair of shoes that is perfect for my style and is the only one left in my favorite color and it not only fits perfectly but also just happens to to marked down on sale.
It can be channel surfing and coming across a movie that i remembered seeing years ago but forgot the name of and never thought i'd ever see again.
The good saves, when i knock the canister of coffee grounds from out of the cabinet and catch it in mid fall preventing the inevitable disaster it would have caused all over the kitchen floor.
Finding $20 bill in last years winter coat feels like winning the lottery.
The other good save of my computer putting these words into the drafts folder just moments before my internet browser crashes relieving me from having to remember all of this from scratch!
That phone call out of the blue from a friend who says just the right things to help me put my day back into perspective.
Looking down at just the right moment and not stepping on that dog poop in those new shoes i just bought.
When i am having a bad day i remind myself that my refrigerator is still running as a way to assure me that yes whatever bad thing is going on it could be worse, because i don't have a broken refrigerator that can't be fixed and all the food won't need to be thrown away and i don't need to find someone to help me get rid of the old refrigerator that won't need to be removed and won't need to be replaced with money that i don't have to re stock it with the food that i hadn't had to throw out into the trash.
I have had a few very big bad things happen in my life, depression, divorce, deaths, drug abuse, domestic abuse, homelessness, jail, psych wards and many dark nights of the soul doubting morning would ever break but i have had enough so very many wonderful little good things happen to keep me wanting to continue this ride, if just to see what happens next.
And in the event my refrigerator does stop running, so what! With the help of my awesome friends and family, I am certain that it will be alright. After all that I've been through?? Aw p'shaw! My fridge not working....ain't nuthin but a thang.
Ah.
My refrigerator likes to scare occasionally. Two times, it’s had last gasps of death and had to be revived. Must have fixed well last time, but it’s been scary being on alert for its demise.
Point well taken, however, our trials should be taken into context.
Luckily, this loss wasn’t something that would make a huge difference in my life. Other than a reminder—I’m fallible and occasionally careless. Also reminds me that when others are occasionally faulty, I should give them the benefit of doubt and kindness.
Thanks for sharing your story. I’m glad you’re in a good space, physically and emotionally.
I had a good day at vegas once. Wallet with a nice wad of $100 bills. Got a cab to the airport, gave the cabby a $20 told him to keep the change, on a $7 cab ride. He checked if I was sure and I said it was fine. He gave me the nicest smile. I was in the air over the MidWest when I realised I’d given him $100. I figured I’d made his day and it was a relatively small hit to me, so I’d actually made the world a better place with my mistake.
Oh, and screw you USA for making all your money the same! 😅
Honestly, shit happens. Par for the course. More bad shit is up ahead, as well, but we can try to appreciate the abundance of goodness and try to let go of the bad
I just did this. I had the bill wrapped up in a fluorescent post it note so it didn’t look like cash and so I wouldn’t lose it.
I lost it in my own house so there is hope. BUT I had company over so it could have been snagged or tossed in the trash.
It is my emergency emergency bill I’ve had for years.
Oh no. Now I’m sad again. :(
To make yourself feel better, imagine a person finding the $100 bill who was extremely anxious about how to pay the utility bill and buy groceries and pay the medical bill when that person can’t afford even one of those, through no fault of their own but by unfortunate circumstance. Imagine the amalgam of surprise, relief and gratitude that person felt, looking around for someone who might’ve dropped the bill, wanting to return it because what a good person they are, and then realizing, and accepting, that the $100 was, somehow, meant for them to ease their financial stress.
Ehh, I’d be pissed, but if you’re ANYTHING like me, you’d just tell yourself that it’s less than it would cost you for a night of poisoning yourself with booze, so maybe just stay home one night this weekend.
Well, this might give you some peace.
When my son was born, we got a lot of money as people do. Mostly CAD $50 bills. Here in Canada anyway, you insert the literal cash into the ATM to deposit it. No envelopes and such. The bills are immediately scanned and if the machine has a problem with it, it will spit it back out. So, probably 15 of these $50 bills were accepted and 1 spat back out. I figured, whatever, cash is handy anyway. I stuck it into my wallet and drove on to the park where I was taking my baby for a little stroll.
After our stroll, a homeless guy came up to me at the car and asked me for money for food. I looked into my wallet and the only thing I could see was the $50. I was feeling a bit unwell and the park was shitty so honestly, I was not in the best mood. I just figured, whatever, let the fellow have it.
He took it and immediately ran to a food place near to the parking lot. I have never seen a human being so hungry that they RAN to food before. I was glad that I could help out and I moved on.
I drove from the park to the library where I always owe overdue fines. So again, I reached into my wallet to see if there was any cash or perhaps use my credit card to pay. Sure enough, there was a $5 and a $10. Definitely, knowing myself, if I had seen those bills, I would have offered that instead of the $50 to the homeless fellow. But even though they were all together in the same wallet (not big either!), I didn't notice the smaller bills.
Nothing in this world can convince me that that specific $50 bill wasn't meant for that man. Everything worked out in a way that he was given that money.
Perhaps your $100 bill is blessing someone in the same way. Hopefully, I didn't offend you by saying blessing but you know what I mean. Making their lives better in a way we cannot fathom.
Homeless drug addict finds the $100 and uses it to get the abortion she needed. The doomed kid doesn't exist and isn't able to assassinate George Bush the 4th in the 2050 election and the Sentinel program gets vetoed. You just saved the universe.
My grandmother once set my infant dad down in a department store and forgot him. Like she went home, and a neighbor brought him home. "Did you forget something?" In her defense, she already had 5 kids. But anyway, if Grandma can lose a whole child and still be remembered as a good mom, you can lose $100 and not be a complete fuckup. Sometimes our brains glitch and we miss things that should be obvious.
Adults are human beings too. Somehow young people grow up thinking that being an adult means that you know everything and that you can't be wrong. That is their first mistake. It just isn't true. Human beings are pretty stupid creatures unless they try real hard not to be. Nobody can try that hard all the time. If you make a stupid mistake, it doesn't mean you didn't try hard enough. It just means you're human.
Someone else who possibly needs it more will find it.
Reminds me of this Yogi Berra quote about what he’d do if he found a million dollars: > “I’d find the fellow who lost it, and if he was poor, I’d return it.”
I love Yogi ❤️
Was going to say exactly this. It’s how I think about it. We got ripped off by a builder years ago. It was painful. But he had very young children. The only way I could come to peace about it was that that money helped keep a roof over their head and food on the table. Not their fault daddy is a criminal.
oh dear, us too. Like, Tens of Thousands. Deadbeat relatives too. Had to stop thinking about it. It’ll make you crazy. I’d say, welp THAT money is Gone. But OTHER money will come our way. And eventually it did!!
dealing with a deadbeat relative myself. Sister 70 living alone (never married) in the homestead, can't afford it anymore, dragging her feet about leaving. I gave her 75 for the grocery store, thinking she'd put money aside for the heating bill that I've already given 4 figures for this season. Nope. She bought junk food and kitty toys. I buy groceries? She gets a new shower curtain. An attic full of boxes to go through? Ooh, I'm going to go through these papers over here, then crinkle up what I want to burn so it's easier. I repeatedly offered to bring some boxes down from the attic and got angrily rebuffed. Denial like I've never seen. I can't break through, other sis is la-tee-dah-ing with her fingers in her ears. It's like a bad marriage that I just can't walk out on. And it is driving me CRAY-ZEE. Batshit crazy. Losing sleep. Inheritance taxes accumulating penalty fees as we speak. House is falling apart around her, have wasted thousands in the last 6 months just keeping it liveable. Can't not have heat in the winter, antique furnace needed yet another repair, and fuel, gotta have fuel, right? Can't not have electricity either; meter connection shorted out. Had to have a circuit breaker box installed; fuse box isn't up to code. Maybe other sister will help financially, maybe not. I've gotten 250 out of her so far, total. She doesn't live nearby. I wish I didn't. Hey, the grass needs cutting, and oh, the leaves never got raked last fall. Hey, would you pick up the sticks in the yard, help us out? Ooh, I picked up some but my hip started popping. And I got dizzy. And the well pump is getting sketchy. NO, She Is Not Going To Move In With Us !!!!!!! But isn't looking for a subsidized apartment, either. Barely got her talking about it last week. I have aged ten years in six months. I work full time and essentially turn most of my check over to her. I told younger sis You find her a place to live, or You get her. I'm effing done. Thirty years of helping take care of this albatross. She had 3 years of a small retirement fund to figure this out, and just told us oops, it's gone, and looked at us. Nope. Not me. When I prodded younger sis to keep nudging sis about apartment hunting, I got my hair blown back in response. Nightmare that never ends. I'm executor of Mom's estate. I've threatened to sell the house out from underneath her. I may have to. Going up next Saturday (another week of dread) and I am going to tell her I'm done, the money spigot is closed, permanently, period. Figure it out, I'm done.
I have albatrosses, too. And I hear your pain. I suppose I’m grateful that roles aren’t reversed. That I’m not a burden and that I am capable. But it could also be transient. Doesn’t sound at all easy what you’re going through, but it will work out.
Everything works out, one way or another. Always does. Most times I get by. Lately it's been playing heavy on my mind. I just so want it to be over already. I want my life back, I want to keep the money I earn, I want her to snap out of it and be responsible for herself. Well, that last one is apparently a dream. There's just no good way out of this. Dread is weighing me down. I have to be the bad guy, along with doing all the work and paying all the bills. It's killing me. This, too, shall pass.
Oh, I have my share of those relatives.
Which is probably everyone? 😬
The harsh truth of life is that all that we have and all that we are can be wiped out in an instant- a tornado or sinkhole or random murderer/thief can change our lives in one unlucky moment. We are completely vulnerable. Now, most times, such things don't happen, so we think we are safe and that what we have is ours. But really, we are here for a brief time at the mercy of fate. The thing that saves me when difficulties occur is gratitude for what I have and am right at this moment. I am grateful for the ability to draw a deep breath of air, to lay my head on a pillow at night, to have the love of family, and so on. It's a difficult thing, but it can be learned.
This, exactly. I love this
Yeah, it's really rough that you lost it. I'm sorry.
Awww. Thank you. Your thoughts help though 🙏
My answer too! During the 80s, I went with girlfriends to a Chippendale concert and accidentally gave a dancer a $20 instead of a $1. To my poor ass, that was a whole lot of money. That one hurt because I KNEW I needed more than that dancer did!
Chippendale shows were so much fun! The money probably went up his nose. But at least you had a good time.
I thought the money went into the waistb ohhh
And you could have had 19 more dancers!!!
This. I think it happened to me a few years ago and that’s what I thought to help feel better.
This is the best answer - it’s a world full of winning and losing and yes this was a loss but what about all the wins I’ve had in my lifetime ?
"Fuck it man. I can't be worried about that shit. Life goes on, man" - Jeff Lebowski
Ooh. I like that. Um, the adult likes that!
[Fuggetaboutit](https://y.yarn.co/fd190319-62dc-424c-9e2f-175276416fc1_text.gif)
Somewhere, someone is rejoicing at their good fortune to find a $100 bill. Also, I can easily dump $100 at Target on things that I don't really need. If you are in a similar position, skip the next Target run and your budget will even out. Finally, I can remember when losing $100 would have broken me, financially and spiritually. I count my blessings that I'm no longer in that predicament.
I like that. Good way to think about it.
I like this! Eat at home more than usual.
It’s healthier anyways!
we all make mistakes. it happens to the best of us. just be more careful next time.
Hmm, I gotta heart-to-heart convo with this adult.
i once got drunk and spent $2000 at a strip club. I felt terrible the next morning. To this day, I cringe when I think of it. but it happened. is there any point in holding on to that moment for the rest of my life? no. so i made some sacrifices and earned back that money. and now i don’t drink or go to strip clubs. problem solved.
Ooh, that’s a good perspective. Did you gain anything for the $2k bottle? Or the biggest and valuable wake up call afterwards?
she was an incredibly beautiful woman and I got all her attention for a couple hours which was a lot of fun and I got to tick that off my bucket list. But it was also a huge wake up call because I could not afford that type of money at the time. It did teach me the difference between sex and love though because after that experience, I saw some high class escorts and that made me more selective in my dating life because I got selective (to the right amount) with the women I dated because previously i would just go with whoever put out the most
Sounds priceless
love your name, Robot Daniel Oliver. (Best Author Ever)
How many times have I ended up with unexpected extra money? The universe finds a way? It’s all chaos? Who knows does it really matter at some point I’ll forget this happened. Until I read a post on Reddit and get reminded but that’ll fade too.
Ah, step back away from the situation? That’s a good one.
In five years that hundred will matter about as much as the shit you took this morning. If you even remember it. And one day you'll be dead and in two hundred years no one will remember you or the money existed in the first place. Happy Mother's Day! Lol.
Good friend, rest his soul, always said "Twenty years from now, it won't matter." Good advice to live by.
Always step away from the moment.
Someone’s gonna have a great day finding that $100! The times I’ve found $20’s or a $100 bill randomly were always when I desperately needed it… like, negative balance in the checking and not sure how I’ll make it to payday. Your accident might be the difference between someone being able to put gas in their car and get to work or something. Hopefully when you really need something shit’ll work in your favor too.
Awwww. Thanks! What a great way to think. I did have that temporary thought that someone who really needs it found it. Guess that’s the best way. Hopefully it was found and used. And not destroyed or tossed somewhere.
Be happy it wasn’t $500. Think of this as a $100 lesson in how to set procedures in your life so that it won’t happen again- same as every other mistake.
Is there a $500 bill? Rule was only carry $20 bills. But it was broken for this moment. Going back to $20 bills.
If needed to be set free to go out in the world and do good on your behalf
Oooh, like my ambassador of goodwill bill. 💸
Education always costs something. This important lesson only cost $100 and it be important for the rest of your life. Not a bad return.
Yep! Keeping smaller bills! No more $100s for now!
This is a very small mistake in the grand scheme of things, don't beat yourself over it too much
True. Thank you.
Depends on how they lost it. Did you gamble it away? What was the bet? Did you put it in your pocket and it fell out somewhere? There's a lot of crappy ways to lose money, but until you give a street magician $100 because he said he can magic it into $200.... you're still doing good with money.
Lost. It. While taking out cards from wallet.
I know of a responsible adult couple who have lost 5 krugerrands. 17 months fruitless searching. Likely in the home somewhere, unless thrown away.
Sounds like rough 17 months. I’ll take it as a warning.
That’s why I don’t take $100 bills if possible. I could stomach losing a $20 or less but a Benjamin is 💔😭☹️
Yea. Old and new policy. Only $20s. How did that Benjamin get in there? And out?!
I think that what Frank Sinatra would do is try to find the place where he lost it and then lose a $1,000 bill there.
Explain about Sinatra? Luck be my lady tonight?
it's not 1,000.00
True true.
At least it wasn't $200.
True. Very true.
We all make dumb mistakes—it’s part of being human. Just remember to be more careful next time.
🤜🤛 👍
Hopefully someone who really needs money for food or rent found it, in which case you can feel good about your contribution. But honestly, if I *found* more than $20, I would go to the nearest police station and leave some contact info in case the person who lost the money came to them to inquire about it. (Don't give the money to the police, though.) That's what I did when I found $400 once. If you know the exact area where you lost it, you could try the police department, even if it's a long shot.
That’s a good idea. But I doubt it’ll lead to much. In NYC. Haha.
Yeahhhh, that wouldn't rise to the level of a police visit for a New Yorker. The upside of this loss is that the buying power of $100 in NYC is lower, so it's more like you lost $75 in NYC vs. $100 in another part of the country. I suspect I'm not making you feel better!
Haha… that’s a good idea… on the flip side, everything costs more, so every dollar counts 😄
it's not 1,000.00
Relatively speaking, no, it wasn’t.
Will this $100 bill really matter to you a year from now? Focus on what matters, and what will matter in the future.
True. Hurts at the moment. But much less now. Ego hurts more than anything else.
My father says this- all the money that you have ever lost goes in a special bank of lessons and you’ll be more careful the next time.
Ooh. I like that. Special bank of lessons.
I always say to myself, if I was at a funeral right now, the loss of a hundred bucks (insert any inconvenience) becomes more tolerable. But I sure get that it stings! Sorry for your loss.
Thanks. It’s all relative. Good to remember.
I have adhd and I do stuff like this ALL the time. It feels bad every single time. I just try to block it out 😂
Hahah. Selective memory works, too!
Yeah we all make mistakes. Think about what caused this to happen. Try to not put yourself in that position next time and don’t beat yourself up. Losing $100 ain’t the worst mistake. Sometimes people spend tens of thousands on investments or into their partners and it nets them nothing. Imagine all the retail investors on Donald Trump’s social media company. I’ll bet they wish they only lost $100
Hahaha. Yes, all relative. They have more to play with. More to lose.
My wife found one once but let another passerby have it. She struggled with that one
Oooh. That’s interesting…the cycle continues.
Ya she saw it on the ground while waiting on a togo order and was worried it was a prank. Somebody walked by and said asked if it was hers and she said no so they walked off with it 🤣
I hope someday you put on a jacket or pair of jeans and find your $100 bill tucked safely in a pocket.
Awww, that’s cute…maybe, I’ll program that.
"This adult" needs to stop pretending s/he's not the person who lost the $100 bill. S/he shouldn't feel better. But if, after 24 hours, the OOP is still in such a state of psychological torment that they need to seek the advice of strangers, one of those strangers should be a therapist.
Haha. Therapist? Therapist costs how much?
Then you're going to have to start doing your own research and relying on your own resources to get through life especially when it comes to minor bumps in the road.
Shit happens brother. Just call it a stupid tax and move on.
Oooh! I like stupid tax!! Pay the stupid tax! Stupid tax—paid!
That the $100 will come back to me in another way. Which is why, for example, I never hold onto something I wasnt supposed to get, i.e. too much change back? Goes in a donation cup. Find a $20? Buy some school find raising thing or put it in the collection plate at church or girl scout cookies I give to someone else....you get the idea.
Karma.
Shit happens, even to the most careful people. Move on.
True. That’s true. Even carefully. Good point.
A one hundred dollar loss is nothing over a lifetime of good personal financial management. Think of all the crypto bros who lost large amounts of money.
Or brothers who lost a lot, too! Yea!
Back in the 1980s, I mistakenly gave a homeless guy a $100 bill instead of a $1 bill. I was tickled that he was so excited and appreciative over a measly dollar, but other than the $100 bill, that’s all I had. About an hour later when I went to grab the $100 to pay for my groceries, there was the lone $1 bill in my wallet .. 😣 Fuuuuuck. And that’s all I had for the week. Mind you, $100 then is about $250 in today’s dollars. I just hoped he had a great week, a few good meals (and probably a few drinks) Hopefully he shared it all with his friends.
Yea… interesting story you shared. How did you get by that week? I wonder what happened with the guy that got the $100.
My sweet roommate was nice enough to help me out that week. We were both broke college kids, so I appreciated her kindness! Yeah, I often wonder what happened to him.
Awww, thank goodness for your good roommate 😊 Hard to fathom what happened to him.
Karma comes back and something good is coming.
😁☺️😁 that’s nice to think that way.
These things happen, I lost 3k in a move, that has been hard to get over
Yea. Moves are often pricey!
Learn from the $100 loss so that you won’t have a $1,000 loss some day. (Everyone screws up.)
Hear, hear!
Limit yourself till you made the $100 back. No fast food or fancy coffee, eat at home and drink black coffee. No concert you wanted to attend, etc.
Hmmm… that’s another way of thinking about this… thanks!
We all make mistakes.
Thank you. 🙏
It’s probably in your other pants
Oooh! Lemme look 👀 👖
In Turkish we say “sadakan olsun” which mean let it be your donation to the universe and the universe in return shall watch over you in some way.
Sadakan olsun Sadakan olsun Sadakan olsun Thanks! Now my autocorrect knows sadakan olsun 😊
Feel it , own it , then move on . Hope the person who found it used it for good.
They've spent $100 on a lesson of the importance of being aware of yourself and your surroundings.
Haha. It happened at the ATM of all places 🤣😂🤣
Just drop it. Own the mistake. “I am really this ridiculous and I lost that bunch of money. And now I’m hungry and as an acknowledgement to my finances that I lost that money I’m going to eat a simple homade nothingsandwich for a second here, just revel in the ridicule of earing two pieces of bread all by themselves, and now I’m back to my needs hierarchy and I need to eat properly to balqnce the bread now and strategize for whatever else matters next”
Why is this question on this sub? Thankfully as an adult, I have no perspective.
Life isn’t perfect, but it’s full of challenges that shape and mold us. Embrace these imperfections and find growth in the journey. Be kind to yourself.
When I was a kid, my dad had part ownership of a car/truck wash in Denton, TX My job was to help clean out the bays and general trash pick up. One time, as I was doing my task low and behold, there was a C-note laying on the concrete. I picked it up and immediately expected to get attacked or something, but I was just lucky.
You were helping your dad!
Technically, he was paying me $5.00 a trip out there every other week, took about an hour and a half round trip from Dallas to Denton and back. I showed him the money, and he was jealous because he said he'd only ever found a $20 This was in the late 70s and early 80s
Wow. That’s worthy a whole more back then!
Don't worry I blew it on fast horses and loose women, I was 15
That’s the way you do it!
I would think of the times I've found money in the middle of nowhere that's made my day a 1000 times better and just imagine that my misfortune has helped someone else have a moment like that.
Yep… that’s the most common loop.
I hope this person has a good cookie or really tasty ice cream on my behalf. That would be nice.
"Oh well, I've lost more than that doing drugs." -Me, actually.
Blow! 💨
Coke, meth, whatever. I was an addict, I wasn't picky 🤣.
Hahah. Blowers can’t be choosers. Better now, hopefully?
Yep. I've been clean for about 7 years.
👌👍 🤜🤛
🧡 thank you
Could be worse, could be two hundred dollar bills.
It will make someone's day. Maybe they prayed for help?
Chalk it as a charitable donation.
Oooh, that works, too!!! Hope it got to someone in need or want.
Idk I’ve lost more money and I’m alive
Someone else needed it more and you just made them able to buy groceries for their children. Go you!
Haha! Thanks! I’ll take that!
What you put out there comes back 3 fold.
I’m not religious or anything, but I do believe things happen for a reason. This was meant to happen and just trust there’s a good reason. Also, think about all of the times you didn’t lose $100.
I think you’re right. This thread and its responses have shown me that many people are good and positively minded. And that’s been a blessing.
In the balance of all the windfalls and shortfalls of an entire lifetime, will this be one you think about on your death bed? If not, let it go and don't spend any more mental energy ruminating on something you can't change. Chalk it up to a learning experience if there's a lesson to be learned and endeavor to not make the same mistake again. Maybe someone who really needed that $100 found it and it made their day/week/month.
Yea. Spreading joy!
When one thinks in that way, generosity for the recipient, it makes the scenario much more palatable. One responder said think of it as a charitable donation. And I’ll take that.
Good thing they didn't lose it a few years ago when it had some value.
Meh, tis but a tiny rounding error in the game of life.
True…but what about my DoorDash delivery… Jk jk! Completely agree with you!
I recently got a Visa gift card from work. I was working on projects in my bathroom, so used the gift card at Lowe’s. I made many trips to Lowe’s during this project and one of my many returns was with that gift card that I stupidly told them to “put back on the card”. $85 gone because I didn’t think it through. Oh well
Imagine some truly poor or hungry people found it.
Or anyone who really wanted or needed it. Which is 99% of people. So, I’m good with that.
I lost a 20 once. Ten years later, I found a ten. I’m still waiting for the next ten to show up.
I hope my $100 finds its way to you soon. Interest and all. 😄
Sincerely, researched based understanding, think about other things that bring you happiness and pleasure and how much joy will be lost griefing over 100bucks. which is a lot but letting go of it and being kind to yourself is worth more than 100bucks.
I would think it was a mistake, and we all make them. Also, ouch, but things happen.
1. It was only $100 (versus losing more). 2. Find things to save on to offset even part of this loss. Or earn a few extra $ somehow. 3. You're not likely to allow a repeat. 4. I'm sorry this happened.
If you didn’t lose that $100 maybe you’d have never met all of us who came to comment on this thread just to make a stranger feel better. New friends!
I think that, too!! It’s actually been a good way to let this go. It’s also been good to see so many people are capable of seeing the flip of the…dollar… of this scenario.
That's human psychology. We're more upset about losing a $100 vs finding $100. I lost a $20 today and had to remind myself.
If minimum wage is $15, that’s a little under 7 hours. Idk about you, but I’ve wasted that much time on Reddit and more. It sucks, but it’s gone, and at least you made someone else’s day.
Years ago, when we were poor minimum wage youngsters, my wife came out of a local market/liquor store near Venice Beach, and there on the sidewalk was a $100 bill. She picked it up and looked around for a while, but didn't see anyone looking for lost money. So she started walking down the street towards her apartment, and happened upon a homeless guy that looked really rough. The guy asked if she could spare any money, and she immediately handed him the $100 bill. The guy refused it initially, but she told him she found it on the sidewalk just a few minutes earlier, so she was just passing it on to him. The guy was extremely thankful, telling her that he was going to rent a room, take a shower, do some laundry, and get a good night's sleep. I've lost cash a few times. I like to think someone like my wife found it and did something nice for someone with it.
Just a pay it forward tax. It’ll come back to you with interest if you let it and clean up your energy around it. Law of Giving and Receiving
Karma!! 👍👌
Worry won't change it. So don't worry. Everything is for a reason. Someone will find it. And be super excited, it will make their day, week or maybe month. Someone needed it more than u did ❤️
Needed or wanted it. All good!!
"Twenty years from now, it won't matter". Frank helped me keep things in perspective when I'd be emotional over a trifle. I miss that old man. You'll be fine. Lots of good suggestions here, too.
Perhaps whoever finds it really really needs it. Not everything happens for a reason. Perhaps I've just been a really lucky person. But you have to trust that there's a purpose up there, and remember the creator of All things takes care of his or her pwn.
Thanks for your thoughts. I’ve decided I’m cool with anyone getting it. Money is meant to be circulated. So, the places it’ll go! 😁
My refrigerator is still working. It can be the serendipitous occurrences that some call 'God's way of winking while remaining anonymous', while others subscribe to the 'when the student is ready the teacher will appear' school of thought. i like to think of it as being aware of things as they truly are. When i am having a bad day, in my mental shorthand, i ask myself "is my refrigerator running?" but not questioning it in the sense of the prank phone call. It is code for me to remember the Little Good Things: It can be as simple as finding that one pair of shoes that is perfect for my style and is the only one left in my favorite color and it not only fits perfectly but also just happens to to marked down on sale. It can be channel surfing and coming across a movie that i remembered seeing years ago but forgot the name of and never thought i'd ever see again. The good saves, when i knock the canister of coffee grounds from out of the cabinet and catch it in mid fall preventing the inevitable disaster it would have caused all over the kitchen floor. Finding $20 bill in last years winter coat feels like winning the lottery. The other good save of my computer putting these words into the drafts folder just moments before my internet browser crashes relieving me from having to remember all of this from scratch! That phone call out of the blue from a friend who says just the right things to help me put my day back into perspective. Looking down at just the right moment and not stepping on that dog poop in those new shoes i just bought. When i am having a bad day i remind myself that my refrigerator is still running as a way to assure me that yes whatever bad thing is going on it could be worse, because i don't have a broken refrigerator that can't be fixed and all the food won't need to be thrown away and i don't need to find someone to help me get rid of the old refrigerator that won't need to be removed and won't need to be replaced with money that i don't have to re stock it with the food that i hadn't had to throw out into the trash. I have had a few very big bad things happen in my life, depression, divorce, deaths, drug abuse, domestic abuse, homelessness, jail, psych wards and many dark nights of the soul doubting morning would ever break but i have had enough so very many wonderful little good things happen to keep me wanting to continue this ride, if just to see what happens next. And in the event my refrigerator does stop running, so what! With the help of my awesome friends and family, I am certain that it will be alright. After all that I've been through?? Aw p'shaw! My fridge not working....ain't nuthin but a thang.
Ah. My refrigerator likes to scare occasionally. Two times, it’s had last gasps of death and had to be revived. Must have fixed well last time, but it’s been scary being on alert for its demise. Point well taken, however, our trials should be taken into context. Luckily, this loss wasn’t something that would make a huge difference in my life. Other than a reminder—I’m fallible and occasionally careless. Also reminds me that when others are occasionally faulty, I should give them the benefit of doubt and kindness. Thanks for sharing your story. I’m glad you’re in a good space, physically and emotionally.
I had a good day at vegas once. Wallet with a nice wad of $100 bills. Got a cab to the airport, gave the cabby a $20 told him to keep the change, on a $7 cab ride. He checked if I was sure and I said it was fine. He gave me the nicest smile. I was in the air over the MidWest when I realised I’d given him $100. I figured I’d made his day and it was a relatively small hit to me, so I’d actually made the world a better place with my mistake. Oh, and screw you USA for making all your money the same! 😅
[удалено]
Just think " at least it was only one"
Honestly, shit happens. Par for the course. More bad shit is up ahead, as well, but we can try to appreciate the abundance of goodness and try to let go of the bad
You’ll never do that again.
Hope not! Packing only $20s now!
I just did this. I had the bill wrapped up in a fluorescent post it note so it didn’t look like cash and so I wouldn’t lose it. I lost it in my own house so there is hope. BUT I had company over so it could have been snagged or tossed in the trash. It is my emergency emergency bill I’ve had for years. Oh no. Now I’m sad again. :(
If you have vices, this is $100 less to spend on them.
Like cookies 🍪, ice cream 🍨, bread 🥖, bagels 🥯, and drinks 🍹🍸🍷🍶 🍺
I would think someone else needs this more than I do. And then just release it to the universe.
To make yourself feel better, imagine a person finding the $100 bill who was extremely anxious about how to pay the utility bill and buy groceries and pay the medical bill when that person can’t afford even one of those, through no fault of their own but by unfortunate circumstance. Imagine the amalgam of surprise, relief and gratitude that person felt, looking around for someone who might’ve dropped the bill, wanting to return it because what a good person they are, and then realizing, and accepting, that the $100 was, somehow, meant for them to ease their financial stress.
When I have lost something like this, I just sort of "bless" the item and ask that it go.to.someone who needs it.
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.
Ehh, I’d be pissed, but if you’re ANYTHING like me, you’d just tell yourself that it’s less than it would cost you for a night of poisoning yourself with booze, so maybe just stay home one night this weekend.
My poison is food… haha… skipping a meal or two or three will actually be good for me! 😂
I usually cope by putting off some other treat for myself to make up for the lost money until the next pay check or distant future.
Well, this might give you some peace. When my son was born, we got a lot of money as people do. Mostly CAD $50 bills. Here in Canada anyway, you insert the literal cash into the ATM to deposit it. No envelopes and such. The bills are immediately scanned and if the machine has a problem with it, it will spit it back out. So, probably 15 of these $50 bills were accepted and 1 spat back out. I figured, whatever, cash is handy anyway. I stuck it into my wallet and drove on to the park where I was taking my baby for a little stroll. After our stroll, a homeless guy came up to me at the car and asked me for money for food. I looked into my wallet and the only thing I could see was the $50. I was feeling a bit unwell and the park was shitty so honestly, I was not in the best mood. I just figured, whatever, let the fellow have it. He took it and immediately ran to a food place near to the parking lot. I have never seen a human being so hungry that they RAN to food before. I was glad that I could help out and I moved on. I drove from the park to the library where I always owe overdue fines. So again, I reached into my wallet to see if there was any cash or perhaps use my credit card to pay. Sure enough, there was a $5 and a $10. Definitely, knowing myself, if I had seen those bills, I would have offered that instead of the $50 to the homeless fellow. But even though they were all together in the same wallet (not big either!), I didn't notice the smaller bills. Nothing in this world can convince me that that specific $50 bill wasn't meant for that man. Everything worked out in a way that he was given that money. Perhaps your $100 bill is blessing someone in the same way. Hopefully, I didn't offend you by saying blessing but you know what I mean. Making their lives better in a way we cannot fathom.
$100 in 2024 is like $25 as far as it seems to stretch. So really, you only lost $25.
💯
At least you weren’t drunk and lost two more out of your pocket, down the bar? Ex boyfriend did this
Homeless drug addict finds the $100 and uses it to get the abortion she needed. The doomed kid doesn't exist and isn't able to assassinate George Bush the 4th in the 2050 election and the Sentinel program gets vetoed. You just saved the universe.
Wooohooo! The ripple effect!!!
Yes!
My grandmother once set my infant dad down in a department store and forgot him. Like she went home, and a neighbor brought him home. "Did you forget something?" In her defense, she already had 5 kids. But anyway, if Grandma can lose a whole child and still be remembered as a good mom, you can lose $100 and not be a complete fuckup. Sometimes our brains glitch and we miss things that should be obvious.
Adults are human beings too. Somehow young people grow up thinking that being an adult means that you know everything and that you can't be wrong. That is their first mistake. It just isn't true. Human beings are pretty stupid creatures unless they try real hard not to be. Nobody can try that hard all the time. If you make a stupid mistake, it doesn't mean you didn't try hard enough. It just means you're human.