I Discovered Something in a Bra Box at Work—It Still Haunts Me

One Reddit user recently shared a confession. What began as a normal shift at work soon turned into a tough decision that continues to haunt her. How would you handle a situation like this?

Back in 2021, I worked at a small thrift store in my town. I was in charge of going through the socks, underwear, bras, shoes, purses, and bedding. Additionally, we would collect brand-new stuff and hold it back for a “sale.”
We happened to get six or eight brand-new bras, and one of my coworkers boxed them up for our sale. At least four months went by between the time we boxed up these bras and the next time I saw them again, so they weren’t new, and if someone had noticed something was missing and came in asking for them back, we would try our best to find their items as long as we could. We never heard anything about them.

A week before everything goes out onto the floor for the sale, we check everything over, make sure it’s priced, and price it if needed. These bras in their boxes were something that needed pricing, and I pulled one out of the box. Behind it was a thick bank envelope with nothing written on it. I opened a desk drawer and put the envelope inside. I grabbed it when I went on my lunch break, and it was full of cash. After counting it, I realized it was $8,000 and put it in my bag without saying a word to anyone and didn’t tell anyone I worked with until I left.
I never heard anything about it, and no one ever asked anything about the box, so I don’t think the person who donated even knew they did.
Part of that money was used to help me get a car so I didn’t have to walk to work anymore.

Redditors united in one thing: If there was no way to identify the owner, and nobody missed it for months, that was the only right thing to do.

• If no one came to talk about it, I think you’re good. Yes, it feels wrong, but if you turn it in to your boss, they will 1000% keep it. © Anansi3 / Reddit

• If you handed it in, your boss would have kept it, so better you than them! © hotmumma7 / Reddit

• Honestly, if it sat there for months and no one came looking for it... that feels less like stealing and more like the universe throwing you a lifeline. Not saying it’s right, but I get it. You used it to get a car and keep going, that’s better than that cash ever would’ve done sitting in a bra box. © altaf770 / Reddit

• Good for you. The money was meant for you. I hate when I read stories like this, and the person returns the money. Always keep the money. It’s a blessing. © kyii94 / Reddit

• This is what happened to my aunt. She had a lot of diamonds and kept them in a very old wooden table. She and her sister knew that the diamonds were kept there. Time went by, and she completely forgot about the diamonds. In my hometown, there are people who circle house to house buying scraps for a small amount of money or exchanging them for some fruits.
  Fast forward, she donated this old table. After some time, her sister visited her house. She asked, “Where did you put the old wooden table?” My aunt said she gave it for scrap. Sister said, “Oh, okay, but where do you keep the diamonds now?” And that’s the time she only realized... goodbye 💎 © eh-kodok / Reddit

Some people shared the stories of how they found something worthy and decided to find the owner. Spoiler: it didn’t turn out nicely.

• I found $600 once. I was in the worst place financially that I had ever been. I didn’t know where rent, food, or gas was going to come from for the next few weeks. I jumped through hoops to find the owner. I found her with some help. She called me on my roommate’s phone because I couldn’t afford one. I asked if she could please come to me to pick it up. I had so little gas in my car. She refused and said that she’d call the police if I didn’t come to her. I offered to meet her at my job on my next shift. She refused. I caved and went to her. She snatched the money from me and yelled at me for causing her to cancel her credit cards. No, thank you, no offer of gas money. If any of my coworkers had found it, she would have never seen it again. I would still give her her money back if I had it to do over again, my conscience is worth more than $600. But I would give her a piece of my mind. © Optipop / Reddit

• This happened to me when I worked at a dry cleaner’s. Found a couple of hundred in a regular customer’s pants pocket and handed it to the owner’s wife. She kept it. The owners were loaded, the customer was loaded, and I was making $3.35 per hour. © Nice_Rope_5049 / Reddit

• I worked at a Goodwill store where someone found $7,000 and turned it in. Goodwill kept the money and gave that person a $10 gift certificate. © m0therscratcher / Reddit

• That happened to me with money I found on our work property and turned in. I waited three months, then asked if anyone had claimed it, and they said no. When I asked if I could have it back then, they said no. I’m glad I kept the iPod. © PlumbutterOnToast / Reddit

And some shared their lucky finds:

• My mom found $500 in an ironing board at Goodwill. She bought it and took the cash home. © ndm2001 / Reddit

• My husband and I had been hired by an agency to clear out some storage areas and take the stuff away. The owner was an old woman, a piano teacher who had died. She had no family. The guy who hired us said we could have what was left if we wanted it. She left behind a lovely little piano. My husband said, “Let’s keep it, will be a pain to move, but he could make it into some furniture or sell as is.” I looked inside and I saw a black velvet flat envelope tucked on the side. Inside was 20,000 and a sapphire and diamond tennis bracelet. © SherbertSensitive538 / Reddit

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