Update: Found cash in old clothes, unsure how to budget it

I was cleaning out my closet and found $50 in a jacket pocket. It's mine, but I feel guilty just spending it. Part of me wants to put it towards savings, but another part thinks I should donate it. How do you decide what to do with unexpected money in your budget?

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3 Comments

nathan_johnson546mo ago

Last year I discovered a crumpled ten dollar bill in an old pair of jeans. The denim was so worn I almost donated them without checking. My dog needed a new toy, so that ten went straight to the pet store. Felt good to get him something he really enjoyed.

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nina_green6mo ago

That "feel guilty just spending it" feeling is so real with found money. I've noticed we treat it like it's not real budget money somehow, like it needs a special purpose. I usually split it, half for fun and half for something boring but responsible.

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dakota_butler396mo ago

It's so weird how our brains put money into separate boxes like that. @nina_green has a good point about splitting it, which totally makes sense. This whole thing reminds me of getting a gift card and only buying stuff you'd never get normally, because it doesn't feel like spending your own cash. Found money gets the same weird "play money" label in our heads, like it's less real somehow. Maybe it's because we didn't work for it in the usual way, so the normal rules don't apply.

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