12 Surprising Stories That Reveal How Far a Dollar Bill Can Take You

When you look at the smallest whole denomination, like a $1, or whichever currency you use, you'd think it's too little an amount to make a difference. These stories will prove to you, in the sweetest, most heartwarming way, that $1 can take you a long, long way and get you more than just financial fulfillment.

• My great-grandma used to give all of her great-grandchildren a dollar every time she saw us. It was a sweet gesture, and all of us great-grandchildren would love seeing her and enjoying the free money. She's recently been moved to a nursing home due to the risk of falling because her body is extremely weak (she's 95).
  I moved in with my boyfriend in August and went through my things while I packed. I found, concealed in a child's book, one dollar wrapped in a note that read, “Dear baby smileaway, I can't wait until you're born! Here's your first dollar, make sure mommy keeps it. I love you very much!”
  A few weeks later, my mom, sisters, and I went to visit her in the home, as my mom is her primary caretaker. I pulled the dollar from my pocket and read the note aloud. My great grandma's eyes lit up, and she beamed. “Oh wow, look at that,” she said. “I'm glad mommy didn't spend it all!” It was a pretty priceless moment. © d0ctorsmileaway / Reddit
• 92 dollars. We worked a coat check at an auction, and we weren't supposed to have a tip jar. Well, someone placed an empty glass on the counter, and eventually someone else thought it was a tip jar and started tipping. I said nothing.
  It got so full that I had to empty it, and then people no longer tipped because it was just an empty cup. So I put a dollar back in, which made people assume it was a tip jar again, and then the tips came flowing again.
  The second wave of tips made 92 dollars. So putting a dollar back in made me 92 dollars. I regret absolutely nothing. © combo531 / Reddit

• When I was 16, my aunt and uncle wanted to give me an old hand-me-down car that both my cousins used when they first got their licenses, but because of tax purposes, it made more sense to “sell” the car to me. I bought my first car for $1. © herbieeee1 / Reddit
• When I was very young (around six, I think), I was sitting on a curb trying (and failing) to play my new (toy) guitar, when an old man put a dollar bill at my feet. I was absolutely flabbergasted and tried to give it back to him, but he explained he was “tipping” me. I was then introduced to the wonderful and lucrative world of busking, from which I have received lots of enjoyment and cash in recent years. © Krazy-Kat15 / Reddit
• Bought an interesting-looking silk blouse at a pay-by-weight Goodwill outlet. $.99 per pound, so was less than a dollar, technically, since it weighed mere ounces. It turned out to be a rare vintage Versace. Sold it for around $700. © GalavantingRhino / Reddit

• A rather bossy, loud woman came into our shop to talk to my brother. My 6-year-old nephew told her she needed to leave so he could finish his homework. She laughed and left. I gave my nephew a dollar for getting her to leave. (I didn't tell him why he got the dollar).
  For Black Friday, the local animal shelter has a special any black dog or cat for a $1. Nephew buys a dog with his dollar. So one dollar got rid of an annoyance, saved a dog's life, gave my nephew a great pet, and bonus, annoyed my brother because he really didn't want another dog at the house. © Empereor_Norton / Reddit
• One hundred Swedish Fish (candy). My local public pool sold them by the penny when I was a kid. My mom would send us in with enough money for admission, and if we were lucky enough that she gave a large bill to break for change, we'd go to the concession stand.
  Treats at home were rather scarce, so I cherished any candy I could get my hands on at the pool. It's one of my sweetest memories, in a literal and figurative sense. © comeclosertome / Reddit

• In California, in orange-growing areas near Fresno, guys will sell oranges for like $5 a 20lb bag. I was passing a guy, and he had two bags on his truck left, and it was getting late. I pulled over thinking I had cash, and he looked relieved.
  But, when I opened my wallet and all I had was $1 in there, he had this look on his face and said, “Give me the dollar and take the oranges.” I thanked him too much and grabbed a bag. He said, “No, both of them. I just want to go home.” I gave so many away to friends; they were tired of them.
  From then on, I made sure I had cash, and when I saw that guy selling any of the fruit or veggies growing near, I stopped and got some at his full asking price. His name was Rich, and if you see a now very old Mexican dude in Clovis, CA, selling oranges, buy them. © 7fw / Reddit

• I used to work at a local country club as a banquet server several years ago. There was a man who was especially old who usually gave me an appreciative buck or two as a tip. One day, which also happened to be my 19th birthday, he gave me a single dollar, and after work I bought a $1 scratch-off lottery ticket.
  I won $2 on that ticket and then bought a $2 ticket, from which I won $5. I continued to roll with the punches and bought a $5 ticket, where I won $20. Considering the minor initial investment and the fact that it was my birthday, I treated myself to a $20 lottery ticket (the highest denomination around here).
  I broke even with that ticket, considered throwing in the towel and taking my winnings, but decided to keep playing anyway. I went to a different convenience store and bought the same type of ticket, and I won $1000. That $1000, which ended up being about $930 after taxes were taken out, paid for about 80% of a 10-day trip! © phalyon / Reddit

• Ok, the short version. We were at a bar, and my friend bet me $1 that I couldn't throw a dart and hit said dollar taped to the board, above his head, a la William Tell. Of course, I miss. And stuck that into his forehead.
  We were laughing and trying unsuccessfully to remove said dart, off to the hospital. Friend has a cute nurse remove the dart in the ER. He proposes to her then and there. They wind-up dating. They get married. Now, here's where it pays off for me.
  Destination wedding in the Florida Keys. I am broke. Like, broke. Can't go, sorry. NEGATIVE, he says, you shall be the best man! After all, my awful dart-throwing skill is why they met.
  So, they pay for me to spend a whole week hanging out in the Keys with the rest of the wedding party (and man, what a party) for the wedding. They are still married 20 years later. And yes, he still has the dart. Framed in their den. © TrapperJon / Reddit

• I was working retail, and one of our regulars came over, all faint. She was one of the old ladies who used to come in and look at the TVs in my department while they waited for it to be time for the bus back to their independent living facility.
  She asked if I had anything sweet on me that she could have. I got her a Coke, and she drank slowly, holding on to me. My manager called an ambulance, and they took her away. Diabetic.
  The EMT told me that the Coke was just the thing for her and slapped me on the back. I still remember her little wave as she left. She lived.
  I didn't save her life or anything. But that dollar I spent on the Coke that I got from the machine in the break room made the difference between her getting into the ambulance conscious and with dignity vs. unconscious and sick.
  She said later, when I visited her at the hospital, that she might have had to move from independent to assisted living without it. So that was a good dollar. Best soda I never drank. © spiderqueendemon / Reddit

• Back in Jr. High, I liked a girl. One time, during a trip, we stopped at a gas station, and she bought me a pack of gum. I tried to pay her back, but she refused. So, I slipped the $1 in her pocket.
  She put in my backpack, and so began the back and forth of this bill. We found silly ways to give it back and forth. I mailed it to her house. She stuffed it in a gum wrapper and offered me a piece.
  Finally, I decided to ask her out on this $1. I wrote, “Will you go out with me?” on it, put it in a note, and gave it to her. She said yes (of course, it would be a terrible story otherwise, I suppose).
  About four years later, I still had the same dollar kept away. On our anniversary, I wrote “Will you marry me?” on the bottom of the dollar. We have been married for 15 years and have three awesome kids. We still have that dollar, and recently framed it. © Jfreak7 / Reddit

There's no dearth of sweet and touching instances in our lives. Just like these parents who stood behind their kids, like a rock, no matter the circumstance.