Finding $45,000 That Isn't Yours: A Family Dinner Table Talk

Finding $45,000 That Isn't Yours: A Family Dinner Table Talk

This week's Family Dinner Table Talk, from HuffPost and The Family Dinner book:

It almost sounds like a dream come true: After purchasing his family's first home, Josh Ferrin discovered about $45,000 in cash stored in metal boxes (maybe it wasn't a coincidence that the Salt Lake City suburb he moved to was called Bountiful). Although it was tempting to keep the cash, Ferrin knew that the money must have belonged to the recently deceased owner who had left the house to his children, and that he should give the money back.

He explained, "I don't believe you get a chance very often to do something radically honest, to do something ridiculously awesome for someone else and that is a lesson I hope to teach to my children." Kay Bangerter, the oldest of the six children of the previous homeowner, called the money's return "a story that will outlast our generation and probably yours as well."

What would you have done if you were Josh Ferrin? Do you think that honesty is always the best policy? If you really needed money, would it have been okay to keep some of it? Is it stealing if you find something on your property, even though it's not yours? If $45,000 dropped into your lap, how would you spend it? How do you save money? Have you ever kept something that wasn't yours?

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In her new cookbook, The Family Dinner, Laurie David talks about the importance of families making a ritual of sitting down to dinner together, and how family dinners offer a great opportunity for meaningful discussions about the day's news. "Dinner," she says, "is as much about digestible conversation as it is about delicious food."

We couldn't agree more. So HuffPost has joined with Laurie to launch a new feature we're calling HuffPost Family Dinner Downloads. Every Friday afternoon, just in time for dinner, our editors highlight one of the most compelling news stories of the week -- stories that will spark a lively discussion among the whole family.

To see last week's Family Dinner Download, click here.

Subscribe to receive HuffPost Family Dinner Downloads by email every Friday afternoon.

For more tips and recipes, check out The Family Dinner: Great Ways to Connect with Your Kids, One Meal at a Time by Laurie David and Kirstin Uhrenholdt (thefamilydinnerbook.com).

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