by When you’re on a budget, the last thing you want to do is spend a lot of money on furniture. This is especially true for anyone with a limited income, like college students, who are also oftentimes racking up student loans and many other expenses associated with their education. That’s why buying secondhand furniture is so appealing to many people, it’s the cheapest, easiest way to furnish your place without breaking the budget.
When Reese Werkhoven, Cally Guasti, and Lara Russo decided to move in together, the roommates needed to furnish their new digs and so they headed over to the local Salvation Army in New Paltz, New York. Money was tight because Reese was in his third year at SUNY Potsdan, while Laura had graduated a year prior, and Cally had just recently graduated from Mount Holyoke College. They were searching for a couch and didn’t want to spend a lot, so buying used was the smartest way to get a cheap one.
After looking around, they found a nice sized couch that would fit in their living room for only twenty dollars. While it wasn’t brand new or the best looking sofa they’d ever seen, it was good enough for lounging around on and the price was too good to pass up. Once they moved it into their new place and got it all set up, they sat down and immediately noticed that it was not very comfortable. It seemed really lumpy, and no matter where they sat, the bumps persisted.
At first, they didn’t think much of the lumps in their new used couch. After all, they had paid only $20 for it so they weren’t expecting it to be super comfortable. Even so, the lumps were making it hard to relax and sit on so they decided to at least try and adjust them by seeing if they could move them around. With that in mind, Reese examined the couch and found a zipper on one of the arms. He unzipped it and immediately found the reason why it was so lumpy; there was an envelope stuffed into the couch!
The envelope had a bunch of bubble wrap inside and upon unwrapping it Reese found himself staring at a wad of cash! He couldn’t believe his eyes but right in front of him were $50 and $100 bills neatly stacked and placed carefully inside the envelope. The roommates began to freak out and naturally started to look and see if there were any more cash filled envelopes in their bargain Salvation Army couch.
They found a couple more bubble wrap envelopes and after they counted all the money out, they were left with a grand total of $41,000. Each of them had plans for what they would do with the money, but their excitement over the lucky windfall didn’t last long. When they came across a bank statement with a woman’s name written on it, they knew the money must have been hers, and now they faced a moral dilemma. Do they keep the money or return it to the rightful owner?
The three chose the latter option and were able to track down the woman thanks to a little help from Reese’s mother. When they called to inform her that they’d found the money the woman rudely demanded that they give it back, which they intended on doing anyways. However, when they arrived at her home to hand it over, an elderly woman answered the door and burst into tears. She was so happy and grateful that they’d found the money and returned it to her.
It turned out that for 30 years she had been stashing her late husband’s savings in the couch. One day she had gone to the hospital to have surgery and that’s when her daughter came over to clean up her house. In the process she threw out the couch, not knowing that her mother’s life savings were inside, and the woman thought that she’d never see the money again. To show her appreciation and to thank them for returning it all, she ended up giving each of the roommates $1000. Now they can buy a more comfortable couch to replace the one they ripped open!
