My Lucky Pennies

I’ve been picking up lucky pennies for as long as I can remember. Of course, I don’t pass by a nickel, dime, quarter or bill without stopping to pick it up either. I learned the lucky penny rhyme at a young age. You know the words, "Find a penny, pick it up, all day long you’ll have good luck." Well for years, I’ve been finding pennies, picking them up and putting them in my pockets. The found coins would eventually end up in my bowl for loose change and get mixed in with all the other money. That was until about ten years ago when I decided to separate the "found money" from the rest. I thought it would be more fun to keep the two separate and see how fast the "found money" would add up. I decorated a white piggy bank I found at the craft store with the words "My Lucky Pennies" in permanent marker and placed it on my dresser. Then I proceeded to drop every loose coin or bill that I found after into the bank. Now when the jar gets enough money to make a purchase, I treat myself to something special... a candy bar from the vending machine at work, a new bottle of nail polish, even a bottle of inexpensive wine. Over the years, I’ve probably made about $25 in "found money". But the bank surely makes it more fun then just dropping the "found money" in with the others and using it at the laundromat or for paying tolls on my way to Chicago.

~Helen S., Janesville, WI

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