Homeless Dad Pulls out Old Piggy Bank from Dumpster, Finds $100K Check in It – Story of the Day

Standing in the dumpster, a homeless man saw an old piggy bank covered with dirt. He picked it up and hid it inside his jacket, hoping he could take it home and sell it for a few bucks. However, he was shocked when he opened the piggy bank at home and saw what was inside it.

"Hey, Lisa! It's time for you to go to school," Steve brushed his daughter's hair off her forehead while trying to wake her up.

"Okay, Dad," she replied in a groggy voice. "I'm up."

Steve stood up and walked outside the shelter home he had been living in for the past two years. While he took a sip of the unappetizing coffee that tasted more like bitter water, he thought about how his life had changed after his ex-partner, Allysa, left him.

Steve saw Allysa for the first time at work. They worked in different teams in the same IT company and often met near the water cooler or during lunch breaks. Whenever Steve looked at her, he felt she was the most beautiful girl he had ever met. He loved her hair, eyes, lips, and how she talked. He felt butterflies in his stomach whenever she'd take his name.

After spending months together, Steve finally decided to confess his feelings to her and learned that Allysa didn't have the same feelings for him. Although she liked him, she wasn't ready to marry him.

"Why don't you live with me for a few days and then decide?" he asked her in the office cafeteria.

"But Steve..." she said while tucking her hair behind her ear.

"I think we can be in a live-in relationship, Allysa. I think it would be great," he tried convincing her.

A few days later, Allysa moved in with Steve. She agreed to pay half the rent, and buy groceries, while Steve would pay for the utilities. They planned to live together for a month to decide what to do next.

Three weeks later, Allysa agreed to stay in Steve's apartment for a few more months. However, whenever Steve talked about marriage, she would immediately change the topic because she was afraid of the responsibilities of being Steve's wife.

She thought he connected with her emotionally like no other man did, but she only wanted to have a good time with him.

When he returned, he saw something that shook him.

After living together for a few more months, Allysa realized she couldn't live without Steve. She told him she was ready to spend the rest of her life at his place, but marrying him was not part of her plans.

"I don't think I'm made for marriage," she would tell him. "It's just not my thing, Steve. You know how I am."

Despite wanting to marry her, Steve agreed to continue the live-in relationship with the girl he loved the most. He allowed her to live with him, unaware that she would soon become the mother of his child.

"Oh my God!" she cried when she saw the positive pregnancy test. "We can't have a baby right now."

While Allysa wasn't ready for the pregnancy, Steve felt excited when he learned he would become a father. Soon, he convinced Allysa to keep the baby. He told her they would raise their daughter together.

The couple welcomed their first baby and named her Lisa. As years passed, they watched her grow into a beautiful teenager who had inherited the perfect blend of traits from her parents. She had Allysa's eyes, and her hair resembled Steve's.

On Lisa's fourteenth birthday, the couple planned to host a party at home. They invited all their friends and family, hoping to have a great time. However, that day turned out to be the worst day of Steve's life.

After the party was over, Steve went outside to the house to see off the guests. When he returned, he saw something that shook him. He caught Allysa cheating on him with his best friend, Anthony. It was a painful sight that was etched in his mind forever.

At first, Allysa apologized to Steve and promised him she would never cheat on him again. She begged him to forgive her, but he was heartbroken, and there was nothing she could do to regain his trust.

A few days later, Steve woke up and discovered that Allysa had left. She took away all her belongings, including her clothes, shoes, jewelry, and money. When Steve found his locker was empty, he immediately grabbed his phone and checked his bank account.

"N—n—no," he said. "Please, no!"

When he signed into his online bank account, he realized Allysa had taken all their savings. He shared a joint account with her, and it was empty now. The devastated father had no idea how he would raise his daughter with no money in his bank account.

"This looks good," he said while shaking it near his ear.

"I can't believe she would stoop so low!" he punched the bedroom wall. "Why did she do this to me? I loved her wholeheartedly, and she ran away with Anthony!"

After losing all his hard-earned money, Steve only relied on his job to provide Lisa with the best of everything. However, it seemed like his life was going off-track after Allysa left. A few months later, he lost his job and faced a series of layoffs for the next few months until the landlord kicked him and Lisa out of their apartment.

Since he couldn't find an IT-related job, he had to work odd jobs to make ends meet. He lived with Lisa in a shelter and was trying his best to move out.

"Hey, Dad!" Lisa said, interrupting Steve's thoughts. "I'm ready. Let's go?"

"Sure," Steve smiled, kept his mug of coffee back in the kitchen, and walked his daughter to school. Every day, he would quietly visit the dumpster near her school to dig through it, hoping to find something precious.

The last time he visited it, he found a few valuable things that he sold for a few bucks. This time, he hoped the same and walked towards the dumpster. While walking towards it, he could see a piggy bank sitting on top of the pile of garbage.

"This looks good," he said while shaking it near his ear. "I think it's empty, but I can sell it after cleaning it up."

He looked around and quickly hid the piggy bank inside his jacket. Then, he headed to the shelter, hoping to clean his dumpster find. Little did he know that he would stumble upon a life-changing sum of money inside it.

"Well, let's see what's inside," Steve said while shaking the piggy bank near his ear. He didn't hear coins rattling but the sound of paper rubbing against the piggy bank's metallic body.

"Sounds like we have some banknotes inside!" he smiled and opened the piggy bank. Upon peeking inside, he saw a folded piece of paper. "What's this?" he asked while pulling it out carefully, trying not to tear it.

Once the paper was in his hand, he unfolded it and froze. "Oh, my God! This can't be true!" he gasped while his hand went to his mouth. He looked around, hoping no one at the shelter heard him.

It turned out that the paper he pulled out was not ordinary. It was a check worth $100,000, but what further surprised him was the name written on it. "I can't believe it!" he shook his head while his eyes were glued to the familiar name that once meant the world to him.

"Oh, Allysa!" he whispered while sliding his finger on her name written on the check. "You have no idea how grateful I feel right now!"

Since Steve had to go to work, he stuffed the check inside the piggy bank and hid it in his closet. Then, he went to work and returned to the shelter with Lisa later that night.

When his daughter went to the bathroom, Steve thought it was the perfect opportunity for him to take out the piggy bank and look at the check again. "What should I do with it?" he asked himself. "I can either keep it and use it to change my life, or I can return it to Allysa."

"Dad, you should keep it!" Lisa interrupted. "After all, she cheated on you and left us with nothing!"

After hearing his daughter's words, Steve thought she was right. He decided to keep the money with him because Allysa had already given him a lot of financial trouble. He thought this was the best way to make up for everything he had lost.

He thought about it on his way back but stopped midway when he realized what the right thing to do was.

The following day, Steve went to the bank after dropping off Lisa at school. Before entering, he looked at the check in his hand and wondered if his decision was correct. Should I keep Allysa's money? he thought.

"Yes. I deserve it," he said before entering the bank and heading towards the check deposit counter. While he was about to enter his name and bank account details, he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"She's in the hospital, and I need money for her treatment," the man said before Steve turned around, looked at him, and realized it was Anthony.

"I can't access her bank account. I don't know what to do!" Anthony continued talking on the phone.

Meanwhile, Steve overheard his conversation and realized Allysa was in the hospital, while Anthony didn't have money to pay for her treatment. That realization made Steve rethink his decision to keep the money with him. He looked down at the check and thought he could save Allysa's life with it.

No, Steve, no. Think about Lisa. She needs this money! he thought and entered his details to deposit the check in his bank account. Once he received a message from the bank, he headed to the shelter, but something stopped him midway.

Part of him wanted to rent a small apartment and take Lisa out of the shelter, while part of him wanted to help his ex-partner. He thought about it on his way back but stopped midway when he realized what the right thing to do was.

Steve turned around and headed to the hospital. He asked the receptionist about Allysa and said he wanted to pay her bills. Once the payment was processed, he returned to the shelter without speaking to Allysa or Anthony.

Later that evening, Steve received a call from Anthony. "Hey, Steve! Thank you so much for paying the bills. I can't believe you'd be so generous!" he said.

"You don't need to thank me for anything, Anthony," Steve replied. "I heard about your financial situation, so I thought I'd pay the bills."

"That's so kind of you, Steve," Anthony said. "I never thought you would help Allysa after what happened earlier. I feel so embarrassed."

"It's fine, Anthony. Everything's cool."

"Please send me your bank account details, Steve. I will pay you back once Allysa gets better. I don't have access to her bank account."

"No problem, Anthony. Take care," Steve replied before hanging up.

A few days later, the doctors allowed Allysa to go home once her health condition improved. That day, Anthony told her about Steve's generous act.

Upon hearing Allysa's offer, Steve smirked.

"I can't believe he paid for my treatment! That's so kind of him," she said.

"That's true!" Anthony replied.

Later that day, Allysa called Steve and thanked him for paying the hospital bills. "I'm so sorry for everything I did earlier, Steve. I shouldn't have taken all of your savings," she said.

"It's fine," Steve replied sternly.

"I'm returning the money you spent on my treatment, but I wanted to talk to you about something," she said.

"Sure, go ahead."

"I feel ashamed for leaving you and Lisa, so I thought I should share the money I took from you. I'll transfer half the amount to your bank account."

Upon hearing Allysa's offer, Steve smirked. "You don't need to share the money, Allysa. Just transfer the money I paid for you. That's all," he said.

You've already shared half the amount with me, Allysa, he thought. Steve never told her about the piggy bank he found in the dumpster. He kept it a secret and soon moved into an apartment with Lisa. A few months later, an IT company hired him for a full-time role, allowing him to quit his odd jobs. He lived happily with his daughter and never had to struggle to make ends meet.

What can we learn from this story?

• Always be kind. Steve could have gone to the shelter instead of going to the hospital after he deposited the check in his bank account. He was kind and generous despite knowing his partner had cheated on him.
• Sometimes, it's better to stay quiet. Steve could have told Allysa about her check, but he kept silent because he feared she wouldn't return the money. Moreover, his silence also made her apologize for her mistakes.

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Click here to read an account of a boy who accidentally dropped the piggy bank his grandmother gifted him 32 years ago, and diamonds spilled from it.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.