The Pretty Penny: November 2009

Ah, the never ending search for pennies. I love it!!! You never know where it will take you or what you will find. I continue to have folks e-mail & text me with their finds (ok, sure...my mom & dad are the main supporters...but that counts!!). Below are the latest batch of text messages & e-mails. They still make me smile! Hard to believe a little penny could bring such excitement. It's true that we should pay more attention to the small things in life (and the big ones if you're my paper-money finding friends!).

Hope you enjoy this next batch of found money updates as much as I did!

"The First Team--Mom found a penny in Amarillo, TX and I found three (count them, three!!!) while I was pumping gas in Altus, OK. Man, we're good." --Dad 8/24/09

"you rock just found a penny. i love you." --April C. 8/29/09

"I just found a penny at a truckstop in Limon." --Paul G. 9/7/09

"Yeah I don't think I've ever got this excited about finding a penny!" --Paul G. 9/7/09

"Another one. I found a dime walking in to the Walmart yesterday." --Dad 9/7/09

"FYI--Nancy found a penny yesterday! Add it to the spreadsheet. I'll send it to you." --Jenn C. 9/18/09

"metro penny yesterday. 2 along my walk to work this a.m. Woo-hoo!!" --Julia B. 10/7/09

"$20!!!!!! Wholefoods parking lot :)" --Illeny M. 10/7/09

"Just found a dime!" --Misty C. 10/8/09

"another metro penny just now. Lincoln face up, just when I needed a smile!! :-)" --Julia B. 10/15/09

"Big Day!! While working at Lake Las Vegas today, One of the other guys found a nickel on the seat of the boat we were in. I talked him into donating it to the penny project. While waking McGruff tonight, I found a dime!!! Life is good." --Dad 10/18/09

"Big Find! While I was walking McGruff this morning, I found a quarter!" --Dad 10/22/09

"I FOUND A QUARTER enroute to work this morning. I lost my phone so don't have easy access to track down phone numbers so didn't leave a vm like usual, but this one was great - in the intersection resting on one of those manhole covers...sufficiently dingy and battered but def recognizable. I looked both ways and snatched it :). I was ecstatic." --Julia B. 10/30/09

"Found a dollar today!" --Misty C. 11/3/09

"Found 2 pennies so far today!" --Misty C. 11/7/09

Penny Protocal

1. Pennies & other change must be discovered outside your home &/or other areas where YOUR money hangs around. It's about found money, people...not money you just forgot you had!

2. Taking pennies from other people's homes (or vehicles) constitutes stealing...don't do it!

3. Tip jars are strictly off limits.

4. Foreign curency cannot be accepted. If you find a Canadian quarter and can somehow convince your Canadian friend to buy the quarter from you at the correct exhange rate in American dollars...then bring it on!

2009--Penny Totals

Technology...a blessing & a curse! We had a bit of a penny disaster when the spreadsheet file we use to track the pennies was corrupted by some kind of cyber-space virus. ACK!!!

The good news is that we keep pretty good records and only lost about a month's worth of data. We still know our total, but not exactly what came from where (or whom...sorry to some of my now penniless collectors on the spreadsheet!).

But we still collected tons of pennies! In 2009 we collected $393.09!! That brings our total for the project so far up to $784.00. AMAZING!!

AND...we even started being a little philanthropical! We dontated $500 to the 1st Annual Young Women's National Conference (geared toward 14-17 year old girls & meant to help with self-confidence & self-esteem), which helped pay for signs, lunch & the financial literacy panel! For more information, check out http://www.ywnc.net/ or follow them on facebook to get involved with next year's event!

All in all...it was another great year for pennies!

2008--The Final Result

As of 12/31/08, "found money" for the year equaled $148.48! In addition to what we've picked up, there's also $6.09in found but uncollected change across the U.S. (way to get those pennies turned in!), $60.31in donations (my girls kicked off the donations this year with a champagne toast at Mate) PLUS $6.95in interest from an account we opened with our money! And now we've added a new category...FUNDRAISING! We're starting small but with the generosity of many people (thanks ASAE Global Summit attendees!) have collected $89.61! That's $305.35 (found (collected)+donations+interest+ fundraising) for Penny Project '08!! We've more than tripled our total from last year ($85.56)!

Penny Saved, Penny Earned--2007 Results

As of 12/31/07, our total amount of "found money" for 2007 was $76.80! Not bad for a bunch of grubby change off the streets of DC (among other places!). In addition to what we've scrounged up, we also have $5.38 in found but uncollected change in various places across the U.S., $8.30 in donations (thanks for getting us started Liz by emptying out your change jar!!), PLUS $0.46 in interest from an account we opened with our money! That means we'll start with a nest egg of $85.56 (found (collected) + donations + interest) to kick off Penny Project '08!!

The Pretty Penny

More Messages & Penny Finds!

Penny Protocal

The Penny Wall

The Spreadsheet...Who just throws money in a jar?!