Penny Picker-Upper Synergy...1+1=3

The "Kulh Girls Travel Guide" makes mention of The Penny Project!

And check out that coaster-sized penny!

I love spending time with good friends...especially when I get to be a tour guide in my own city. And DOUBLE especially when my friends play along with my love of penny finding!

Such was the case when my best friend from high school came to visit DC for a few days with her mom & sister. We had a brilliant time, painting the town red! We also had amazing success in penny finding while they were here, finding pennies & other assorted change everywhere we went...even in the lawn at the National Cathedral (seriously...good eye, Jane!). Honestly...in just 5 days we collectively found $2.11! Talk about synergy! The excitement and penny spotting skills just kept building and building the entire visit! And now that they're home, they're still on the look out! They've enlisted the help of family and found an additional $0.55. Score!

Anyhow, on their last day in town, I had a work event that forced me to leave my friends to their own devices. I came home to 3 sticky notes, each one with their individual finds for the day along with some clever commentary.

They also wrote a rather clever "travel guide review," which they left on the table with a coaster-sized penny to hold it in place! Maybe there's a Penny Project Bed & Breakfast in my future! See the original review and penny in the picture (above) and the text of the write up below. And see if you can find a friend to spot pennies with...it really does make it fun!

Kuhl Girls Travel Guide

Leslie's Bed & Breakfast--(*****)Five Stars

If you're looking for fun in the DC area--Leslie's B&B is the place to be! Not only will she risk traffic tickets to be curbside to pick you up at the airport, she'll brave the harrowing streets and parking while shuttling you around in luxury (can't beat the Geo)! The perfect tour guide for the standard fare as well as the off-the-beaten path quirkiness the city has to offer. Try not to miss all of the sites while you're being trained by the master @ coin collecting for The Penny Project. The only drawback to this beautiful and cozy condo (with the largest patio in the entire city!) is your ego being smashed at the nightly Scrabble tournament. And last but not least, the food is awesome and the stories are legendary.

Call for Reservations!

My Glass is Half-Full...of Pennies!

Ok, so finding pennies has become the center of my universe. This might be upsetting or completely bizarre if I didn't continually learn new things about myself, the world, or how simple shifts in perspective can create big change (no pun intended) in your life.

My sister and I used to live on the same street in Washington, DC and got to hang out all the time. But one day, she met a great guy and bought a house out in the 'burbs. We still like to hang out but more times than not, she's the one coming this way because well...it is the city and there's so much more going on here. That and the $6+ in tolls to get to her house (one-way) are a butt kicker.

Now, there is a way to get out there without taking the toll roads, but it takes an extra 30 minutes and can be seriously impeded by stop & go traffic between the myriad of lights on the route. Not so much fun.

There's a route that seems to be the middle ground between fast and cheap (shall we call that feap? chast?) that costs $1.25 each way. Not so bad. But even with this route as an option, I'm still not so thrilled about dragging myself all the way out to the 'burbs on a regular basis.

Well...I WASN'T thrilled about it. Until tonight.

Since it was late when I was driving home I decided that it would be ok to open my car door in the tool booth area to see if there might be any dropped change. After all...not all drivers are going to have good aim as they speed down the highway, sometimes barely slowing down for the toll booths.

So there I am, 50 cent toll in hand when I pop my head out the door. No cars behind me...so I step out to see what I can find. Turns out, this stop was a gold mine! 2 quarters, 5 dimes and a penny. Woo-hoo!

When I got to the second toll booth I could barely wait to pull into the lane. Again there was no one behind me, so I opened my door and stepped out. This time, I found 2 dimes, 5 pennies & a Canadian quarter....that I could pick up. There was also a bevy of change sunken into the asphalt from being driven over repeatedly. Probably close to $2 in dimes and quarters. It was crazy! I dropped my 75 cents in the basket and pulled away as soon as I saw a car approaching the lane. As I pulled away, I thought about the trip to and from my sister's house.

Here I had been hemming and hawing about the toll to come visit my sister and it turns out...tonight I actually MADE money on the venture! I paid $1.25 in tolls and came away with $1.26 for the Penny Project (plus one wayward Canadian quarter). Once I realized how much fun it is going through toll booths, I could hardly wait for my next visit to the 'burbs!

So I present to you this: Where you find "half-empty glasses" in your life, look for ways to fill them up (or at least ways to see them as half-full!). Maybe you can make that mental shift with pennies...maybe with something else. But in the long run, you're definitely better off (and sometimes a penny richer) if you can find a way to make toll booths an adventure and visiting your sister something to look forward to instead of dreading.

**Note to my sister who will hopefully read this at some point: the dread is all about the drive out there...not you! You're fabulous! :-)

Penny Converts...Gotta Love It!

I love to hear from penny-picker-uppers, friends, and others who have heard about The Penny Project. Especially when they're telling me there's penny converts out there! My friend Laura featured our pennies on her blog (which she's done again with a follow-up photo story, check it out at: http://theadventurousphotographer.com/). A few weeks after the first story, she forwarded me the following message. Ah, the sweet victory of winning over a new penny seeker! And I love that she's turned it into a game with her son!

Pennies, bringing the world together!

Laura's Message:

Leslie,

Thought you'd get a kick out of this note from on of my blog readers!

Laura

Laura, you are welcome. You inspired me to save pennies. After reading your blog, I was at the grocery store. The women in front of me dropped a coin. A silver coin. A dime. Too lazy to pick it up, I seized the opportunity, thought of you and now, am 10 cents richer. LOL. My son and I are having a little contest because he loves picking up pennies. Now, so do I.