Up Your Wealth Wednesday is a new personal finance series I am bringing over to Futures every Wednesday. I love writing about personal finance – about making money, saving money and everything in between. I hope you enjoy this series. The series was given its name by my fabulous partner in crime, Sarah.
Now when you saw the word roadkill, I bet your heart skipped a beat and you thought..is she really talking about that type of roadkill?
Well rest easy because I’m not – I am talking about the ‘roadkill’ we see almost every day – those unwanted pennies discarded onto the floor as if they are worthless. I mentioned this in a recent Up Your Wealth Wednesday post.
I am still not entirely sure where it got its name, I think the term perhaps originated on the Moneysavingexpert.com forums, however I took part in some ‘roadkill’ challenges on there when I was a more active member and it was amazing to see what amounts of discarded money people were bringing home. Some of them weren’t just picking up money but receipts and coupons (known as wombling) as well – anything to make the pennies stretch a little further!
I wasn’t very lucky in my efforts – I think I managed about £1.50 roughly for each month that I attempted the challenge. However, some people were much much luckier, often scooping up between £20-£60 in discarded change each month! I happen to live in a very savvy area where everyone watches their pennies and their pounds very carefully. Jack is always finding pennies though and taking them home for his money box!
You do need to have eyes like a hawk at times – they can sometimes be almost hidden from view – but places where you are likely to find some include outside shops and at bus stops, those places where money can easily be dropped. I am never going to make an income from picking up someone elses dropped loose change but I have recently turned it into a fun game with Jack – he puts anything we find into one of his moneyboxes (he has a few for different things) and once it is full we will take it to the bank and get it put into his account – after all, it will do much better in there than it will sitting on the ground!
What do you think? Is this a savings step too far? I do it with Jack as and when we see something, we don’t actively go out searching like some people do although if we lived in a less savvy area, the thought would be tempting. Would you be tempted to try this to add a few pennies to the pot?
must admit I am lazy and sometimes even forget to take coupons or money vouchers with me I need to get more organised as so often miss out on store cards points too
I am hopeless with vouchers! I have had many vouchers to help budget a shop but I keep forgetting them
I love picking up discarded pennies, I guess I’m still superstitious 😉 but I’ve never managed a good amount.. I’ve probably managed £1.50 in my lifetime lol. x
I was unfamiliar with the term. I can definitely see how the small amounts would add up.
I don’t find coins often and too be honest if it’s copper coloured I wouldn’t waste my energy to pick it up especially as all sorts or germs are on the floor.
I used to do this when I was younger and once found a twenty pound note and it felt like I had won the lottery lol!
I once found a tenner years ago and dime days ago I found a fiver but I didn’t pick it. Lol. Not found any coins though.
I am terrible we have coppers all over the house and in all my hand bags, to be honest I just find they’re not worth the effort it would take to add them all up for a sake of a couple of quid lol x
I think this is a good idea, it teaches children to be mindful of their money as well x
I remember having a pair of friends at school who would pick up everything they saw – I wonder how much they made.. Hmm.
I dont think its taking it too far, every little helps as they say. I hate it when people throw away pennies, etc as some people could really do with those xxx
I always pick up pennies I find on the floor. Always. 🙂
I usually pick pennies up! Never counted how many I’ve ever earned in a month though but now I think I will!
I’ve not heard this term before! I bet kids will love doing this tho and it’s a great idea to collect it up and pay it into a bank account.
I’ve never counted the pennies I’ve picked up (or the bigger coins either)
If I find any pennies I always give it to charity,its something my mum always did so just followed suit.
I never pick up change on the street but my daughter always does. I remember when I was younger my sister used to make a fortune doing this though, she would find money everywhere and would even look in the change dispensers at train stations and always find a pound or two… Luckiest kid!