Would you take free money if you didn’t need it? : The Saturday Weekend Review #149
MY MONEY IS YOUR MONEY
I’m not giving away my money but a social experiment I watched this week made me question how society views the gift of free money and the message behind the obvious.
Coby Persin who is well-known for his video pranks and social experiments took to the streets of Manhattan with a cardboard sign that read “Take What You Need” and a suit made of money.
Instantly I thought that people may think he was joking and wouldn’t approach him or they would take advantage of the free money. On the other hand I thought if someone is in real need they would certainly stop him to take what they need.
I was shocked at what I saw in the video and maybe you will be too.
Free money is tempting
Many people stop and read Coby’s sign where others keep on walking because they either don’t need it, are too shy, in a rush, believe it’s a joke or that someone is filming and they don’t want to get involved.
If I was to see a guy standing on the street with a sign telling people to take free money I would instantly believe it was being filmed for a social experiment. It is unusual. I guess I’m just that kind of guy and I realize that none of us are free from the realms of video these days as it’s everywhere.
Who walks around with a sign telling people to take free money?
I’m sure this went through the minds of many passing by Coby who weren’t sure how to react. This is exactly why some street skeptics may have waited to see what others did first before they took what they needed, if they needed it. Others, not so much.
Society loves free stuff- including money
Let’s chat about the various people who stopped Coby to take his money and my reaction.
The first guy to approach Coby didn’t waste any time removing the money. He is stocky, wearing a suit and outspoken but honest where with an extravagant voice he says, “I don’t need it but it’s free. Who wouldn’t take it?”
He’s right! Who wouldn’t pass up free money? I know I wouldn’t BUT if the message is clear as it is in this case then common sense tells you to keep your hands in your pockets. Thankfully, not everyone thinks with a one-track mind but I bet there were people who walked by who thought about it but didn’t act on it.
Although it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to realize that the free money should go to people who could use a hot meal or pay bills this guy had no shame in ripping off the free money without so much as a thank-you. He was a bit of an ass to be honest and I was wondering when he was going to stop or if he would just take it all.
Then I gave him the benefit of the doubt because like the saying goes , “We can’t judge a book by its cover” because there may be an underlying story we don’t know about. Just because the guy was wearing a suit doesn’t mean that he was rich or not suffering financially.
Many people walk the streets dressed up looking for a job or taking part in job interviews. Do you remember the 2006 movie “The Pursuit of Happiness” featuring Will Smith? He was a struggling salesman with little to no money and always in a suit trying to sell his product to businesses.
Not everyone likes to admit they are broke or in debt. Most would rather say nothing or pretend life is good while showing everyone just how amazing and rich their life is, when it’s not.
Moving on a runner passes by then turns around and asks, “Is it really free?” and Coby responds, “Yes if you need it”. The guy proceeds to take a few bills then run off. Fair enough, I guess he needed it.
One of the shallowest of all was the woman carrying a Louis Vuitton purse who said that she had a nail appointment the next day to pay for when asked if she really needed the money. No shame in taking money that she knew darn well was meant for people who really needed it.
This made me realize how some people don’t think outside the box and are only out for themselves. It’s after you actually see how people act that it opens your eyes.They take what they see at face value and run with it. She sees a sign telling her to take free money if she needs it, so she takes it.
The message here is that we still don’t know the difference between “Needs” and “Wants” when it comes to spending money. Not an ounce of remorse even though it’s clear the money was meant for those in need. Shame on her!
Then some dude racing by on a cell phone seemed in shock that Coby was walking around with free money taped to his body that he decided to take some and say, “I don’t even need it”. I don’t know if it was instant shock that made him do it, greed or because he could and thought it was funny. It was a lame move if you ask me.
The girl with the Givenchy bag could have sold her bag for cash if she was strapped for money but it may have been a purse that was close to her heart. Uh, that’s me being reluctant to judge again.
Would you sell something that was the last gift or memory you have of someone you love?
I also considered that maybe she was a shopaholic with tonnes of debt and the money was needed. Just because someone has something valuable doesn’t make them rich or not in need.
You can’t always tell a person’s financial status by what they wear and don’t wear, have or don’t have. If anything it’s tone of voice and actions that speak louder than “stuff” but some people are great at hiding behind labels.
Then this happens…
What really struck a chord with me was the gentleman with the dog who took a couple of bills to buy food and said “Give whatever you have to give to other people”.
I’ve seen many social experiments online where homeless people or those with little money are the people who give the most, help the most and are compassionate towards others who are in the same position.
Why?
They know what it’s like to live on the streets, have limited income, live pay to pay or with no steady income so they look out for each other. There are plenty of people who do have money and aren’t in need and give back but this social experiment goes to show you how free money can draw out the lions in some people and the angels in others.
You have succeeded in life when all you really want is all you really need
There’s a strong message being sent in this video about people in society who genuinely want to help others in need and those who only look out for themselves. Whether you have a job or not, money in the bank or a dollar in your pocket that money can go a long way depending on the hands who use it.
The last guy in the video is proof that we need to be more compassionate about those who are struggling whether it’s clear or not because every person has a story. Not everyone is fortunate but not everyone needs to have what others think they need to survive. Money just doesn’t make the world go round it can save lives.
My take from the video… some people are greedy but we already knew that. Change the way you view life and you have become part of the solution this world needs.
What do you have to say about the people in the video? Why did they take the money when they clearly stated they didn’t need it?
CBB Week At A Glance
This week has been busy as we’ve started our Christmas shopping so we aren’t fighting the crowds when it’s snowing and driving is horrific. We don’t mind but with the baby it gets a bit tough bringing him around so getting gifts early really does help us out. Besides, he loves shopping! Our goal for next year is to start buying gifts as early as possible.
We’ve decided to opt out of any Christmas exchanges with the family this year apart from the kids so that will help our budget as well keep shopping to a minimum. While we were at the mall we noticed Santa Clause had arrived so next week we will squeeze in a trip to see Santa and his elves for a visit and photograph.
One super deal we grabbed this week was a KidKraft table for our son second-hand for $50 which retails for almost $200. We do have another little table and chairs that we got free but I haven’t finished sanding and staining it yet. Once completed the table and chairs will go up in his room. This means he will have a table in the kitchen, his room and a round craft table in the living-room.
This week my wife started to colour with our son which he seems to be getting the hang of. Good thing we bought the washable non-toxic Crayola crayons though because he has tasted them along with wall experiments. He has a hard time settling down as he is so active but when he is focused on something he really gets in there to learn.
Round of applause here for me…
I finished cleaning the garage and the outside so I can now cross that off my to-do list for the season. My wife and I had a chat about getting the garage finished and buying a tool center for the back wall. I wasn’t going to complain because I’d love to do that. I guess it’s just another project which we can add to the list.
On Thursday we took part in Red Thursday shopping which is comparable to Black Friday shopping but on a Thursday. We picked up mainly clothes for Christmas gifts but ordered about $70 worth of items at Sears online where they had some great deals on educational toys and a Big Wheel. We also picked up a few items from Kijiji that were new in packages for Christmas gifts and a Spiderman mask that talks from the Goodwill.
Other than that it was a quiet (who am I kidding) time at home and work this week apart from the steady flow of customers. Next week the Christmas tree is going up and the winter tires are going on. That’s the plan.
How was your week?
Published This Week
Just in case you’ve missed any of my blog posts this week I will share them all below. If you are looking for past Saturday Weekend Review posts scroll down to the bottom of this post where I will list up to 5 previous weeks for you to read.
If you have a question that you would like to ask Mr.CBB fill out the Contact Mr.CBB form on the Home Page and send in your questions. If you want to share a story via a Fan Question only please ensure that there is minimum 500 words and lots of details…we love details!
Right now CBB is posting Tuesday (Grocery Game Challenge) , Thursday (Personal Finance Post), Saturday (Personal Finance and Weekly Wrap-Up and a recipe on Sunday!
- Black Friday Shopping Is On Our To-Do List For 2 Reasons
- 7 Expensive Grocery Shopping Habits You Should Stop
- Cinnamon Cream Cheese Pancakes Gluten Free for Low Carb High Fat Atkins Diet
- I doubled my 20% Savings Rate By Doing These 5 Things was featured at Rockstar Finance!
Budget Brags
Submit your Deal or Brag:
Saving money while grocery shopping is essential in the CBB family and that’s why we share our grocery shops every week in The Grocery Game Challenge 2015.
What I love the most is when my fans share their amazing shops with me whether it be groceries or other deals they find at a garage sale, online or freebies!!!
If you have a brag that you want me to share email me at canadianbudgetbinder@yahoo.(ca) < remove brackets) or fill out my contact form by Friday each week to have your brag considered for the Saturday post.
Hi Mr.CBB and Fans!
This week I’ve got these two rugs to show you which were free to me as a friend got new ones. I saved almost $100 on the two of them.
Free is good!
-Colleen K.
Making A Difference (MAD)
Note: If you are a personal finance blogger (anywhere around the world) and would like your blog to be MAD featured simply drop me an email and I’ll explain the process to you.
This is my way of giving back to the personal finance community through networking and sharing knowledge with my fans. Today it is my pleasure to share with you Money Gravity!
My name is Ashley Chorpenning and I am the creator of the personal finance blog Money Gravity. I am honored to be featured this week by Mr. CBB!
As a senior in high school, like many, I spent a considerable amount of time completing college applications and submitting resumes. Once I had made the decision as to which university I would attend, it was time to begin the student loan process. I found this process to be overwhelming and extremely frustrating. In the end, I borrowed more money than I needed because I did not have the proper guidance.
It became obvious pretty quickly that I was destined for a major in finance! Through my early years and after college graduation I wondered many times why we were not taught in school at a young age how to manage our money. I needed to put to good use my BA in Finance from The University of Cincinnati.
Being able to manage your money is an extremely important skill that very few have mastered. Looking around at the people closest to me, I wanted to figure out why some knew exactly what to do and why most did not have a clue.
Shortly after I began my first job out of college, I decided that in order to truly help people become financially healthy, I would need to first help them become financially literate. I wanted to change the way millennials were educated about finance and make it fun in the process.
This was the start of Money Gravity. Gravity, by definition is the force that attracts a body toward the center of the earth, or toward any other physical body having mass. Because gravity exists, we are able to move as we wish. We have freedom because we know that the law of gravity will keep us on the ground.
We can apply this same concept to Money and Finance. We can have freedom through stability and structure. Taking control of our own lives and shifting the stigma of the average young person could drastically change the outcome of our future.
Money Gravity was created to educate and enlighten millennials. My blog inspires millennials to learn about finances through my experiences. As millennials, we owe it to ourselves to become educated and make the necessary changes to be financially free. If we take action now, we can prepare for the future ahead of us.
Top Recipe
Food and grocery shopping is a BIG part of CBB because food is a large part of the budget which people struggle the most with.
If you are someone who would rather buy convenience meals or products consider cooking homemade meals or baking from scratch.
Not only will you save money but you will be proud of what you accomplished and you’ll see that from the smiles on those you feed.
If you don’t already know I have a second Facebook page called The Free Recipe Depot where I share recipes from other Food Bloggers from around the world.
I also share recipes on the blog once a week on Sundays either made by my in-house home blog cook Nicola Don or myself. This is a fun, interactive blog where we talk about everything that happens in our world.
This week our Top Recipe Pick goes to Stephanie over at Back For Seconds for these mouth-watering Milky Way Cheesecake Brownies. If you don’t have Milky Way bars available I’d just substitute Mars bar. Either way they are going to be delicious and I’m sure Santa won’t mind if you leave him out a couple.
Top DIY Project
This week I found this wonderful post over at Buzzfeed that featured 51 Life-Saving Holiday Hacks which I thought were brilliant. The info above is great because it will help you to estimate just how many decorations you will need for your Christmas tree so you don’t spend more money than you need to. Check them all out… you’ll love them!
Editor’s Pick
Every week I will pick a blog post of the week from around the web that I found interesting and want to share with you and an Editor’s top blog post pick.
Editor’s pick (That’s me Mr.CBB) goes to Gary over at Super Saving Tips for an interesting post about how to understand what it really means when a retailer speaks to us through marketing. He gives us the low-down on Retail Speak 101. A great read… check it out!
How people find CBB
Every week I get thousands of people visit Canadian Budget Binder because they did a search online and found my blog. Any spelling errors below are because I share with you the exact way they typed their search engine query to land on my blog.
- If I leave the country will my OSAP follow me? – Haha, now this is the funniest statement I’ve read in a LONG time. Pay your debts off and stop trying to cheat the system.
- Secret way people make money in Canada– Haha, ok this is funny too. Come on now… just get a job and spend less than you earn.
- Cows cost $10, goats cost $5, Chickens cost $0.50c buy 100– I wonder if someone was trying to answer an exam question by typing it into Google. ha!
- Pineapple Rice Side Dish– Christine, this one is for you! See it’s a popular recipe.
That’s all for this week friends but be back here next Saturday to enjoy the next edition in the Saturday Weekend Review Series. Don’t forget to subscribe to my daily blog post by entering your email address on the home page and verifying the subscription email once it is sent to you. If you don’t verify the subscription you won’t get my daily blog post.
-Mr.CBB
Related Articles:
- The Saturday Weekend Review #144: Home buyer is scared to submit house offer for one reason
- The Saturday Weekend Review #145: Not handing out Halloween Candy makes neighbour feel cheap
- The Saturday Weekend Review #146 : Should I Spend $35,000 to Renovate My House or Move
- The Saturday Weekend Review #147: A Huge Water Bill Could Come Your Way If You Don’t Do This
- The Saturday Weekend Review #148: Stealing Outdoor Christmas Decorations Is the New Money High
