Zactly. It’s not like when my grandmother would send a check for my birthday when I was a kid. That’s a present from a family member. Later in life I was helping out her and other family members.
I’ve turned down rewards, offers to pay for gas, payment for minor work, etc. in the past if I think the effort on my part was minimal. I’m also like Kimstu and I don’t pick up money on the street for the same reasons (maybe the owner will find it or maybe someone who needs it more than me will take it).
As far as the term “free money” goes, that reminds me of a telemarketer who was trying to sell a book of coupons. When I expressed disinterest, he said “Don’t you want FREE MONEY??” My answer was “no” and he didn’t really have anywhere to go from there.
When I arrived at a loved one’s home to help them manage after a surgery, their spouse gave me 1000 dollars in case I/we needed anything during my stay. 10 crisp new bills. I thought that was weird but took it and immediately set it down on the side table.
I didn’t need to buy anything and he was the one who went shopping using their card. So was it a payment for my lost wages and travel? Was it a test of my commitment? IDK!
I left it all behind and alerted him that it was still on the side table.
Mostly, me too. But if it’s an insignificant amount, like a penny or a nickel, I probably won’t pick it up for a different reason: because it’s not worth it. And there may be an in-between amount—a quarter, maybe?—that’s worth picking up but not worth worrying about whom it might belong to or who might need it more.
About a year and a half ago I got a letter from an attorney informing me that, along with a woman I didn’t know, I’d been identified as a relative of someone who’d died intestate. I did some research and contacted the attorney, telling him that I’d never heard of the person in question and therefore I wanted to be removed from the list.
My decision was based partly on the fact that the estate consisted almost entirely of a house that looked like a it would collapse in a stiff breeze (in addition to being five years or so behind on property taxes). But mainly it was because while the other woman on the list may not have had a better claim than I had, it certainly couldn’t be any worse — so the bookkeeping system I use in place of a conscience concluded that taking half of any proceeds, while perfectly legal, would be tantamount to theft.
(I looked up the case later, and as it turned out the next door neighbor bought the house. After the dust settled I would have netted somewhere in the vicinity of $100K; but apart from an initial reflex to kick myself into the next month, I’m comfortable with my decision.)
Did you make any attempt to find out if it was your long lost uncle who left the estate?
I know where all my uncles are (underground, except for one who’s in a crypt).
No, thanks to a relative who’s into genealogy I have a pretty complete family tree on both sides, and the deceased isn’t anywhere on it.
ETA: One thing that struck me as odd is that I have five siblings, but I was the only one identified as a potential heir.
Driving down a road and saw an envelope laying in the road, it was obviously full of papers. I stopped and found about $3500 in cash and a number of checks totally over $10,000. I was strapped for money at the time and thought I found me a treasure. The deposit slip had an address just up the street so I took it back. The money belonged to an older couple that had just had an estate sale for their son, he died in a motorcycle accident a few months earlier. I told them that I wasn’t working at the time but the money wasn’t mine. They gave me a nice reward and hired me to do some yard work to make some money.
This doesn’t involve money. About a year after my now ex and I married, I had helped my father fix an outbuilding on his property. It held part of his car collection. A few weeks later he called and said he had something for me as a wedding gift. I went to his house with my ex, he gave us a nice 1958 Chevy Impala. We took the car home and enjoyed it for about a week. Then I got a call from my “sister” (long story, no time now), she said her mother was upset about the car and was going to demand that I pay for it. I just said okay and hung up the phone. The next morning I took the Chevy back to my father’s house. That was in 1990 and I haven’t spoken to my father since the day he gave me the car.
I will pick up a penny because of a verse I learned from my first husband.
“See a penny pick it up, and all the day you’ll have good luck, See a penny, leave it lay, you’ll wish you hadn’t all the day.”
FWIW. 
I feel like you’re leaving something out of the story, because this strikes me as a non sequitur.
Leave out what??? My father has chosen to not speak to me since the day he gave me the car. My attempts to contact him have gone nowhere.
Looks like your sister/mother sabotaged both your car and your relationship with your dad. (If I understood it correctly). If they tried to tell you that, you gotta wonder what was also said to your dad to stop contact
I had a very similar thing happen. I pulled up to an ATM and saw what looked like a pillow right where you do the transaction. I did mine and then opened my door and reached for it. It was a purse with around $3800 in large bills, credit cards, and about $300 in quarters!
After a second or too, it hit me that someone must be frantically looking for this, so I did a Been Verified search for the name on the card and called her number. A caretaker answered the phone and said that the woman was too ill to take my call, so I told her why I called. She told me that the womans kids were retracing their journey all over town looking for the purse as it was for experimental medical payments.
I went to the address from my search and met them there, I have never seen such relief on a pair of peoples faces, and they offered me $300 reward, and I turned them. But they insisted, so I took only to make them feel better. Then, I took my own mom out on the money.
I am with you on this one! I have found random bills ($5.00 - $20.00) on the sidewalk or in the alley a few times with no one around looking for it. In those cases it is mine without any guilt.
I have also found wallets and cell phones which I have made exceptional efforts to return everything to the owners and would not take reward money.
My karma is also in good shape.
That is the strangest side effect of Covid-19 have heard of so far.
Could be worse, I guess. Without knowing the details those seem to be the kind of side effects that wishing they may be over soon feels like the wrong thing to wish.
Once I found a $20 bill on a supermarket floor and turned it in to the front desk in case whoever lost it came looking for it. Given that it almost certainly wound up in the pocket of that store employee I felt kind of silly afterwards, but no big deal.
A couple years later I found a $10 bill on the floor of a different supermarket and kept it. Bread (or at least half a loaf) on the waters…
My lovely mom wanted to buy me a car or something for my grad-school graduation. I felt that (a) she was being overgenerous with money that she really ought to keep for other more necessary purposes, and (b) I didn’t really want a car or something.
I said she could buy me a new bike pump and a new wristwatch. Both of which I still use (over a quarter-century later!), and they are cherished mementos of my dear and now late mother. I bet a car would have ended up being much more of a PITA to own, although I appreciate the generous impulse! 
I was raised with a kind of working class mentality where I think my parents would have rather died than accept money from anyone. If you haven’t achieved total self sufficiency by age 18, you’ve failed as a human.
I fell in love with a guy who happened to have rich grandparents. He had a trust and a car by the time he was sixteen, and they paid for his college.
This presented a kind of identity crisis for me. Who am I if I haven’t earned everything I have?
Well, I decided a couple of things. I decided that I would never ask for money, but I would never turn down money when offered and that I would strive in all ways to be a good steward of whatever money happened to land in my lap.
Because of my husband’s privilege, we have indeed had random large checks just shunted our way with no explanation. The vast majority went into investments and charity. I don’t live with the delusion that I am entitled to anything, I never expect more, and I plan my financial life as if I’m never going to receive another cent.
And that’s just it.
As far as strings-attached money? No amount of money could get me to change my mind about something I value. I can’t be bought.
Yes I have refused many times. My dad is generous, but very, very controlling. He offers to pay for vacations, but only where he chooses and to the venues he selects. Ditto for using his boat – only when he chooses, where he chooses, etc. He’s offered several times to help buy a new house, or to pay for upgrades to ours. But like always, he decides what’s done and even chooses colors/furnishings/locations/etc.
Please understand, these offers are quite generous, like the vacations include all airfares, food, play/event costs, everything. But you must follow the script almost exactly.
So I almost always refuse, preferring to choose my own path. Occasionally one of these offers will line up very closely with what I want to do anyway, and I’ll say yes.
Years ago I found a wallet on the restroom floor in a Target. As I recall, it contained 30-40 bucks, along with a couple of credit cards and a driver’s license. I turned it into the Customer Service desk, but I’ve often wondered if the money made it back to the owner.