Is it worth a Penny?

I teach my children to pick up pennies that they find on the ground and parking lot. I tell them it's free money and that no one else likes it because of it's color and value. This has a double message in it. All money is valuable just as all colors are also.

I tell the child to pick up the penny then pull out my calculator and tell them if they spent that amount of time and picked up pennies for an hour they would be making $$$ an hour. Of course, I also tell them that they won't find a pile of pennies but they will find money at times and it's worth the 30 seconds they use to pick it up.

Sometimes they will find nickels and even quarters! One child found $20.00 with no one around to ask if they lost cash. I found $20 at a religious college's holiday light event once - I turned it in to the lady accepting donations that was standing near (lots of people so who knows who dropped it) and told her if no one came searching for it then it's a donation after closing time. Be nice.

It's also good exercise! I tell the children that this is the only job they are eligible for at such a young age so be happy to bend for a penny! (My X told them it wasn't worth a penny...) Guess who has no mortgage? Me. :)