It’s not uncommon for thrift store customers to find money tucked away inside the items they buy. After all, those items are pre-loved, once belonging to someone else. You’d probably assume common money-holding items like purses, wallets, and clothing with pockets are how shoppers luck out. But one shopper shared a rather unconventional way he hit the jackpot at Goodwill—through a cookbook.
Popular TikTok user Adrian Peru (@adrian_peru) shares his hidden treasure in a video with over 63,000 views. “Bro, I just bought a book from Goodwill. Look at this,” he says, flipping the camera to unveil a cookbook from 1998.
He flips it open, and there’s a dog-shaped paper clip that’s being used as a bookmark. “I see this bookmark and I’m like, ‘Oh, … that’s pretty cool,’” he says.
Then Peru, who has 400,000 followers, says he then noticed a second bookmark.
“Who … uses money as a bookmark?” he asks, showing a variety of bills totaling $252 tucked inside. “I don’t know if they just left it in here. They don’t have a bank account or what, if this is their savings.”
“There’s, like, $200 in here!” Peru exclaims. “I thought this was a sign for me to start cooking. No, this a sign for me to go buy food. Food is on them.”
Peru questions how many of the books at Goodwill could potentially also contain cash. “There’s so many books in there, and I saw a lot of them with gaps. Clearly, I assumed were bookmarks, but this one has money,” he says.
He continues to question why the previous owner would put money inside the book.
The Daily Dot reached out to Adrian via TikTok comment and direct message, as well as to Goodwill via press email.
Viewers offer explanations
And viewers delivered, offering various explanations.
“That was some lady’s emergency money,” one viewer said.
“Older ppl leave money for the next person. a blessing. I hope they get to see this,” a second commented.
“They donated their books without looking through them first. My aunt warned us to go through her books,” a third explained.
However, others were skeptical of his video and implied he staged it for views. In previous videos, he says he found AirPods on top of a sewer drain, a pendant necklace, and a purse full of perfume.
“You always finding stuff,” one user stated.
“Bro you know you put that there,” another remarked.
@adrian_peru Why would someone put money inside a book… #Bank #Money #Book #Bookmark #Cookbook #Togo #Found #Lucky ♬ original sound – Adrian
Why would someone store money in a book?
Because thieves are less likely to search through books for money, they make for a great hiding spot. And many people—especially senior citizen-aged people—still hide money at home, according to AARP. They do this out of distrust in banks and in case of emergencies. Peru is also not the first person to find money in a book. In 2012, a man found $20,000. He decided to search for the original owner to return it.
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