Show me the money

Today, most of my day was spent in Manhattan.  I've mentioned it before, but it is worth repeating that it is much harder to find money in Manhattan.

This interesting to me given that the income and demographic in Brooklyn is much poorer than that of Manhattan.

I walked to the subway (walked a mile today to get to the express train).  I found no change this morning on that walk.  I got to the city and ended up walking approximately 3 miles there between trains and appointments.  I'm as careful there as I am in Brooklyn about checking around for money, but found none there today.

It wasn't until I got off the subway at Nostrand in Brooklyn (again I took the express) that I found my first penny of the day.  It was less than a block away from the subway in Brooklyn.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised by the Manhattan vs. Brooklyn thing.  I learned in college from personal experience that the people who grew up with money were less likely to leave a generous tip or give money to friends.  I know that studies have demonstrated that the poor give a much larger portion of their income to charity.  The poor also spend much more of their money on lottery tickets.  That leaves me to believe that if a person of wealth drops a penny, they are more likely to pick it up.  It also might mean that a person with less money might leave it for someone they think needs it even more than them.  The people in Manhattan are either better at not dropping pennies, better at picking them up, or they use credit cards for everything instead of cash.  I do know that housing there is more expensive, so I would venture that the people there are also more wealthy (or at least spend a greater amount of their income on housing).

I feel like it is a missed opportunity for me not to pick up money I see on the street.

A friend has asked me if I spend my entire day walking around looking at the ground for money.  I will admit that I don't spend as much time looking up at the sky or the buildings.  I do, however notice what is going on around me.  I'm careful to scan in front of me as if I scoping out the path I would take.  I do this to not just notice money, but to also avoid dog poop that people have left on the sidewalk.

Today was a two penny day.  Tomorrow is a new day and I hope to have more good things to share.