Coin Hunting.

Most people will not bother to pick up a coin. I've seen teenagers receive change then just throw their coins on the ground. Paper money is on the way out too so coins are even more of an inconvenience. I walked by an area where people often stand to pan handle and there was a pile of coins on the ground. Even the homeless and destitute view coins as too much of a hassle.

In the age of Covid-19, the idea of picking up a coin that could contain the virus is not increasing the appeal of coin collecting. At least not from a common parking lot or sidewalk. That is where I swoop in and collect the free money.

Where are people likely to drop coins? You have to think like a coin. If people bother keeping a coin they usually put it into their front pocket along with their keys. When they enter their car after making the nightly trip to 7-11 to buy Malt Liquor and Cheese sticks they pull their keys out of their pocket and inadvertently spill their coins onto the ground. If you go into a parking lot early in the morning or late at night you can walk up and down the area were people exit their cars to increase your odds of finding something. Refer to the diagram below.

  
Sometimes you get lucky if you keep your eyes open. I was waiting outside a fancy grocery store in the nice part of town when I saw a woman walking out of the store. She had an envelope full of cash and coupons. As she was fiddling with her purse, all the coins in the envelope spilled out. After years of training I could tell by the distinct sound of the coins striking the ground that one of them was a quarter. My excitement was pronounced as I imagined putting that same quarter into a washing machine at the laundry mat a block away from my apartment later tonight. That would come to almost 8% off a load of laundry. Tantalizing.

I walked over to put myself into position before anyone else did. My heart quickened as she stopped. It seemed that she might turn around and pick up those coins. Then I realized with great relief that she was just retracing her steps in an attempt to remember where she parked. I skulked over and picked up a cool 28 cents. The three pennies would fit nicely into the coffee tin I keep by my counter. I fill it up with lose coins and take it to my credit union where I can convert it into digital currency anytime they decide to finally let the public enter the building. By that time I should have quite a collection.

If you walk up to a fountain, is it illegal to extract the coins small children and the superstitious have used to make wishes for your own personal gain? I did a little research and found out that it is not illegal to take money out of public fountains. That money usually goes to a local charity. Don't think of it as taking money from people who don't want it. Instead, think of it as taking food out of the mouths of the needy. The problem is that if you handed them those same coins they would likely toss them back on the ground and ask you for some paper money instead. 

I should take some time to vigorously wash my hands. 20 seconds is the new standard but I think I might need to up that to 25 or 26. If you use the sink at the grocery store then the soap is free too. Good thing I live right next door to a nice one.

Renters Insurance

Renters insurance is nothing more than an annoyance. I have nothing worth insuring besides my car and it already has a policy. Lots of apartments force you to buy a policy as a condition of your lease but sometimes there are ways around this. When I first moved to Austin with my brother we were told to buy renters insurance but we just never did. The leasing office never asked us again. Problem solved.

Later I moved into a room in a house and again the landlord asked me to carry a policy but told me it was optional. So I opted not to. He could care less as long as my rent check came in each month. again, the perfect system. After 6 months he kicked us out of his house so a coworker would have a place to live. Bummer.

My two roommates and I decided to find an apartment together. The lease required that we carry renters insurance. Luckily it didn't state that we each had to carry a policy. My roommate Laquanda had renters insurance so I just forwarded the info to the leasing office and that was that. Another year I didn't have to carry a policy.

At the end of our lease we went our separate ways and I had to find another place to live. I found an apartment where they rented out the rooms individually. It was really cheap and I later found out why. The place was just on the border of being condemned. The price was right. They even had you buy a renters insurance policy instead of paying a deposit. I thought this was pretty crooked but it was cheaper than buying my own policy. It cost around $16 a month and this was nothing more than a worthless bill since I still have no possessions worth insuring at this point.

I only lasted 3 month in this dump before I couldn't take it anymore and leased my own apartment. It's very small but I am the only occupant. Which also means I have to carry a renters insurance policy according to the lease. I tried to avoid buying a policy again but then I was informed I would not be receiving the keys to my apartment without proof of a policy. I had car insurance through GEICO so I decided to go through them to buy a renters insurance policy. They even said I could get a discount on my auto insurance by bundling. Sign me up.

GEICO directed me to another company called Assurance. The policy was going to be $11 a month. Great. I bought it, moved in and forgot all about it.

After a few months I was reviewing my credit card statement and it said Assurance was charging me $16 a month. How could this be? I called the help line to get some answers. After navigating an extensive phone tree and being put on hold a few times I reached an agent. He told me that Assurance was allowed to charge me $5 a month to process my payment. I informed him that was not going to work for me an I needed to find a way to eliminate the fee or I would be canceling the policy. He laughed and told me that the only way I would be able to avoid the fee would be to pay the entire year in full and that in Texas this was a common practice. Then I laughed and told him that sounded like bull shit and I would be calling back in a few days to cancel this policy when I found a cheaper one that doesn't just steal money from its customers. He wished me luck.

After a little shopping around I found a policy with an online renters insurance company called Lemonade. It could be called Fake Insurance Company for all I care. All I want is proof that I have a policy since I never plan to make a claim even if all the filthy rags I call clothing end up getting stolen. $5.75 a month. Then even agreed to cancel my old policy so I didn't need to contact Assurance again. That is a savings of $10.25 a month on something I do not care about. Success.

The next step is to create my own fake insurance shell company based out of the Cayman islands. Then I can write a policy for myself that is just as valuable as the toilet paper policy I am currently paying for at no cost. Not a bad idea.

https://www.offshorecompany.com/company/cayman-islands/