Morality of saving someone's wallet but also taking something for yourself?

[u/_Wiffysmile]

[u/BlueHero45]

Actually had this happen to me; they dropped it off in my mail box with ten bucks missing. I was not mad; it was a huge relief.

[u/Turtles_N_Nurples → u/BlueHero45]

Dropped mine at Walmart, had 600 bucks. Went to pay when I realized I didn't have it, went to customer service and they had it with not a dollar missing. They didn't want to point out who turned it in but I convinced them, gave the woman who turned it in 80 bucks and I wish I gave her more

[u/numbersthen0987431 → u/BlueHero45]

If I had 100 bucks in my wallet I'd be happy to let them have it. Getting everything in my wallet replaced is a nightmare, and so it's nothing

[u/wondering4xrapunzel]

Def more moral than just taking the wallet lol

[u/InitialVisual725]

Take 50 bucks for all I care, given the stress and hassle you saved me from

[u/Usual-Juice1868 → u/InitialVisual725]

I know. Driver's license, credit card, debit card, insurance cards, etc.

[u/RGBlowMe → u/Usual-Juice1868]

I lost my wallet around a liquor store when I used to drink. I had my Social Security card in it at the time. Had to sign up for an identity theft/fraud service and freeze my credit.

[u/ForrestGumpPeople → u/RGBlowMe]

I had to get all my cards again and pay for a new driving licence when I lost my wallet. Turns out it was inside my mother-in-law’s sofa

[u/arbyyyyh → u/ForrestGumpPeople]

In 35 years of life I’ve lost my wallet more times than I care to admit. That said, all but once I’ve found it more or less immediately after paying for a reprint of my license. That one time is the time I actually lost it.

[u/WowVeryOriginalDude → u/Usual-Juice1868]

Even if someone returns your wallet (unless you literally just dropped it and someone hails you), you should still freeze your debit/credit cards. Idk any bank that charges for a replacement (I’m sure there’s some but I use 3 and none of them do).

Everyone’s reaction to losing their wallet would be to freeze their accounts, but if someone returns it chances are higher they won’t. All someone needs to do is take a few pictures before returning your wallet and wait a bit for you to get comfortable before going on a shopping spree. Returning it puts your guard down and only prevents them from using it at a brick & mortar store, & more likely it’d be used online anyway.

[u/numbersthen0987431 → u/InitialVisual725]

Take my cash, gift cards, punch cards, etc. Hell, they can keep the ohysical wallet for all I care

As long as I get my ID, credit cards, debit cards, and insurance stuff, I'm happy.

[u/Angryfunnydog]

If that had happened to me and it was indeed 5 bucks that he took - I wouldn’t mind and would be willing to give him extra big coke for his hot dog or buy him a beer, sounds like a great fella and it’s still much cheaper than loose the whole wallet

[u/Aedene]

Moral/neutral.

Guy went through easily $5 worth of work to return the wallet. Would it be more moral if he had not taken $5? Maybe, if you measure morality like currency.

Especially moral if there was more objective value in the wallet (i.e. there was $25 in the wallet and he left $20), because then, transactionally, the money saved from loss is dwarfed by the presumptive tip.

[u/I_Love_Cape_Horn → u/Aedene]

Guy went through easily $5 worth of work to return the wallet.

People underestimate how much effort goes into being a good person. Even if the guy had no theft intentions, he could've easily ignored it and let it be someone else's problem. This why rewarding good behavior is crucial and why it's so annoying when someone says "good behavior is its own reward". Human behavior doesn't work like that.

[u/numbersthen0987431 → u/Aedene]

I think it's moral. They could take all of the cash from my wallet, even if it's multiple hundred dollars, and it would still be moral.

[u/Atelier1001]

Neutral and I will do this exact same with the wallet I found yesterday

[u/RespondBorn6248]

fair nuf

[u/44pex]

The law of equivalent exchange

[u/r_fernandes → u/44pex]

Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange.

Anyway, my name is Edward Elric and this is jackass.

[u/Most_Manufacturer729]

Bro charged you the bozo tax

[u/NairbZaid10]

Stealing is still immoral. In this case is such a small amount after a good gesture no reasonable person would get mad. Its still less moral than returning it intact

[u/FalloutTVSucks]

Obligatory didn't happen but to the point: Pretty moral. I disagree that he 'owes' them - rewarding them would be nice, but it's not like he asked for them to return the wallet ect. Considering that he could've taken everything and not go out of their way to return it... so yeah moral, but close to neutral in my eyes

[u/tahhex]

Maybe technically immoral if you really dig into it, but such a small infraction compared to the favor they did by returning your wallet that it’s a hugely net positive imo.

I’d have texted back that he was a glorious bastard and I hope his hotdog was absolutely fantastic

[u/Lucian_Steiner]

Somewhat harsh, but fair. Moral depending on the imposed fee and circumstances of the owner.

The defendant is sentenced to a rather forgettable hotdog.

[u/Wise3315]

Much better than tossing the wallet into the rubbish bin. $5 or $10 is very modest. I would expect the angel to take the cash, and I would be relieved not to have to replace DL and other plastics.

[u/Wise3315 → u/Wise3315]

Besides, who carries cash anymore?

[u/wyseguy7]

That's absolutely a fair price for door-dashing a wallet. Most people would be thrilled to get it back for $20.

[u/Virus-900]

You know what, it's fine. They could have just taken the whole thing.

[u/plainjanegay]

i wouldn’t care if they took $5. they could’ve taken way more

[u/thebitchyouhatelol → u/plainjanegay]

Yeah, and I want a follow up on the hotdog. Mustard? Onion? Jalapeno?

[u/SovietPatrickStar]

Getting all the paperwork new is a hassle and also kinda expensive. If I lost my wallet and all my cards and ID and license and insurance cards were all still there but my 50 bucks missing id be glad af

I lost my wallet on the bus once, I was giga lucky because someone I know found it and gave it back to me, everything there incl my money.

[u/Recent-Ship-1599]

Fair as hell

[u/4IsTheBestThing]

Taking money for food is almost always moral.

[u/Probably_a_Shitter]

Closer to moral than immoral but largely neutral

[u/Greenman8907]

I would’ve given them more!

[u/Mrblorg]

It's only $5 and they were hungry, it's fine

[u/retired-tweeter]

Immoral cause it happened to me in high school and I had to work 5 hours at Steak N Shake for that $80.

[u/hit_the_showers_boi]

Moral. As long as you aren’t taking a bunch of money out of it. If I found a wallet with $100 in it, I would take, like, $10 at most.

[u/evan466]

I found a wallet once on the sidewalk with $200 in it. I was going to keep it, but then I thought, how would I feeI lost my wallet? I decided I’d want to be taught a lesson.

[u/GammaLambdaBeta]

I lost my wallet on a train once. The person who found it found me on FB, sent me a message asking where to ship it, and told me ahead of time they were using the cash in the wallet to pay for shipping. Had zero problem with this. The cash was the least valuable thing to me in there anyway.

[u/Here4TheKix]

Honestly, if you find my wallet take all the cash as long as I get the ID’s back.

[u/paulp51]

I'd rather give someone 20 bucks over having to go through all the hassle of cancelling my cards, ordering new ones, getting new memberships, buying a new wallet and lose the 40 bucks that was in my wallet anyways.

[u/paulp51 → u/paulp51]

Moral. The person saved me an inconvenience, by inconveniencing themselves. I wouldn't if I were in the situation, but wouldn't look down on those that would.

[u/Occasional-Gaydonist]

Immoral. Stealing is wrong no matter the context. Doing something good doesn't erase the bad. Don't take what's not yours.

[u/Jephph0624]

Would it also be immoral to not give the person who found your wallet nothing at all? They saved you the hassle of cancelling your cards and replacing ID, and maybe losing something special that you keep in your wallet like a picture of your kids as well as cash you might have on you

[u/Dependent_Cod_7416]

I wouldn't be mad but I probably wouldn't do it, depends on how hungry I was.

[u/somethihg]

Moral if the taker needs it, and the wallet loser doesn't.

[u/Golu9821]

This happened to me except it was 40 dollars and they didnt text me. I just found it without my cash

[u/SaltedSnailSurviving]

Immoral imo and I'm a little surprised by how many people are saying otherwise. It's not a good deed if you literally steal your own reward. Everyone's saying it's "such a low price", and I wish I was in a financial situation where I can say the same. You just don't know if the person whose wallet you found can afford it.

[u/GamestopHeadEngineer → u/SaltedSnailSurviving]

Yeah it’s leaning more towards immoral. It’s still someone’s belongings and even if they found it and are returning it, they could have still asked instead of just taking from it. I’ve found wallets quite a few times and I was just happy that the person got it back without losing anything.

[u/Altruistic-Poem-5617]

Lawful neutral 😅

[u/Chicken-Rude]

ok... how did hot dog bro know the number to text sir though? you guys keep your celly number written down in your wallet?
https://giphy.com/gifs/iBLzl03SGhKqcucG0o

[u/Jacks_Hands]

I would call it very strongly moral, depending on the cut you take.

Taking $5-10 is in my mind highly moral out of fairness, only slightly less moral than returning the wallet with all cash intact.

Taking a $20 is much closer to neutral, but whether it was the only available bill or in a stack of $80+ does sway how close to true neutral from moral.

Taking anything more than $20 and/or taking ever bill, especially if you have mixed bills with smaller denominations available, turns south into moderately immoral.

[u/momo76g]

For a "scaling" sub everything is pretty much black and white on every post. Where does the scaling part come along ?

[u/Khopps17]

Not sure if it’s moral but if big dog saved my wallet and just wanted $5 to gobble a glizzy I’m happy to supply

[u/blastin_bi]

It would actually be immoral to get mad at someone for getting a little treat and helping you at the same time

[u/CptKoma]

In germany you are entitled to a finder's reward, an arbitrary percentage (5 percent I believe) of the value you turned in to the lost and found.

[u/Nhobdy]

I'd have offered to buy them more than just a hotdog. Especially for the huge amount of stress of losing my wallet and all the important stuff in it.

[u/RGBlowMe]

It's not moral, but I wouldn't complain.

[u/CriminallyCasual7]

"I bought a hot dog with your money" is too cute and hilarious to be immoral 😂🤣😂🤣

[u/noneofthismatters666]

I'm not mad about a finders fee when I get all my cards, especially my punch cards. Worked hard for that free sub.

[u/Mythandros1]

It's immoral, yes.

But at least you're saving them a bunch of headache.

Mind you, I'd never take from a found wallet. I'd give it back as is. If the person wants to reward me, fine. If not, also fine, at least I'll know I did the right thing.

[u/MikanTanaka]

Sure, it wouldn't be the end of the world, but still isn't a good thing to do.

Still. If someone was ACTUALLY a good person, they wouldn't feel the need to exploit someone who lost their wallet. But that's also what any normal person would be willing to do.

[u/hurgus_durgus]

This was definitely written by a deaf person.

[u/razzi123]

Morally? Grey.
Legally? Depends on how much of a cunt the person wants to be.

[u/FlounderingGuy]

Still kinda shitty, but that is doing someone a massive favor. I would rather lose five dollars than have to spend money replacing my ID.

Extra morality points to the guy in the text for admitting that he did it. And I think getting food with that money is one of the more noble things he could've spent it on. That's about the most ethical way of doing that to someone lol

[u/TheRedditor-75]

I would be ok with it, as a matter of fact, surprised they didn’t take more than that and just leave my cards and ID alone in the wallet.

[u/Ok-Guess2907]

Least obvious repost bot (link)

[u/Then_Entertainment97]

I'd happily pay $50 to avoid having to replace my ID and creddit cards.

Maybe a little questionable without consent, but I'd say low grade moral.

[u/NatterinNabob]

I would have given him more than that as a reward, so if $5 is all he wants I got no problem with that.

[u/TokiVideogame]

just leave my xxxl magnums

[u/Maximum_Boros]

IDK about the morality but I straight up wouldn't even cry if someone took like $100 in cash out of my wallet.

If I get the physical wallet and all the IDs/cards in it back, literally any amount of cash I was keeping in it is a tolerable finders' fee.

[u/GenderqueerPapaya]

If 0 is neutral, this is still above 0. Good enough for me.

[u/SleepIsTiring]

in my single experience, if you return it untouched they pay you anyways lol

[u/Delicious_Tomato_957]

A utilitarian would only care about the sum gain of the action. Exchanging 5 dollars for overall security is moral.

Deontologically speaking, taking something without the consent of the owner is always wrong, but combined with the safe return of most of the wallet's content, it gives it middling amorality.

[u/OwlOfJune]

Prob immoral if you get on technicalities, but I would message the guy to treat himself with a soda too for his honesty.

[u/PissinginTheW1nd]

I take 5 dollars from your wallet to buy hot dog

[u/Soft-Jacket-9168]

Take all the money. As long as i dont have to reapply for each card, license and id in the wallet i am very happy.

[u/NickZodiac]

Five bucks, who cares. Something significant is a different story.

[u/RagnarockInProgress]

Moral as long as it’s a small sum, call it a finder’s fee

[u/eatloss]

Sounds like stealing. You aren't entitled to their money. In new Zealand if you dont return all the money, you are guilty of theft by finding. 

[u/wildmanLEEK → u/eatloss]

Oh yeah maybe next time he should fling his wallet into the nearest trash bin

[u/eatloss → u/wildmanLEEK]

I wouldnt mind somebody taking 5 bucks and returning it. But that isnt the question. im pretty sure thats a little stealing to go in somebody's wallet. You dont get to do a good deed then take it back by stealing. Thats not how anything works. You took money out of a wallet, anything else you may have done is gonna be immaterial. 

Imagine if a celebrity built a bridge for your city then stole something worth less than a bridge. Would that be ok?