Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Wheres George ??

I have this hobby that I am really interested in and may (or may not) interest you as well. I like to track where my dollar bills go after I spend them. To do this I use a website http://www.wheresgeorge.com/ The basic idea is that I take dollar bills that I receive in change or from a bank and enter the serial numbers into the website at the location I am currently using the zip code. I mark the bills with the website name and then spend them. Others notice the website name on the dollar bills and then "update" their location by entering the zip code where the bill is currently? Its a fun way to track where your money goes after it leaves your hands. There is also a score associated with the number of bills you enter and the number of bills that are found (or hit) and where they are found.

I heard about it on the radio but others usually learn about it by finding a marked bill and entering it's location themselves. I am completely hooked on this little hobby. There is a whole online community of "Georgers" who chat online about "Georging" and even have large gatherings where they swap money to spend in different parts of the country and the world.I have only been doing this less than a year but have had really good results.

So far I have had bills found in 32 of the 50 US states, 2 US territories, the District of Columbia, and Canada. My George Score has me currently ranked 72nd of 3150 in the state of North Carolina rankings with an overall hit rate on my bills of over 18% (the site average is about 10%).

Sometimes people look at me funny when I ask to see their money to see if they happen to have any rare or unique bills and when I ask them to trade money with me if they are going to travel but overall people are very helpful. My in-laws have carried marked bills for me up north and overseas and my parents are doing the same thing next month.

Here is a link to my George profile that includes maps of the states and counties where I have had bills found... Oh yeah btw using the wheresgeorge.com website is free so if anyone wants to check it out please feel free. You do have to register for a profile in order to actually track bills but it's risk free as well. Oh and one more thing. If you ever look down into the bills you received in change and see one that has stamps on it saying wheresgeorge.com please take a moment to enter the serial # and the current zip code into the website and see where that bill has come from. You might be surprised how far George has travelled.


Doc

10 comments:

Leighann said...

I don't hang on to my money long enough to track it! BAHAHAHA!

Dana said...

So, I'm not the only geek? Although I haven't "released" any dollar bills, I do have some that I've been tracking for a while now.

Kind of scary, isn't it??

Jay said...

That's pretty cool. It would be even more cool if you could track actual location.

Like ... I put a dollar into a stripper's g-string. Next day a drug dealer has it. Then a liquor store has it. Then it goes to a bank. Then it goes to a convenience store and is given out as change for some dude's purchase. Then, it goes into some other stripper's g-string and the cycle of life continues.

The Mountain Cat said...

I need to start a web page www.WHERERSABRAHAM.com. It is to track how far you can throw pennies. The last one I threw ended up in Guam.

macguy4321 said...

Hey I'm a Georger too. Love it. I've ben doing it for several years now. I'm Eric - the Mac Guy.

Doc said...

Leighann - LOL! - I hardly do either however I have found that using more ones instead of just pulling out my debit card has actually saved me money.

Dana - No you aren't the only geek - However I have taken it to a whole new level.

Jay - Beleive it or not I have several bills that have turned up from strip clubs. there is a feature where the person entering it can tell you where they found it... you get some interesting notes

Vin - LOL - It won't work...

Mac Guy - good to see you buddy... See Ya'll there are a bunch of us!

Unknown said...

Uhm.....I'd have to have the money first wouldn't I? The $$ leaves her so fast I rarely see it.
Now pennies we have those.

Anonymous said...

I just started doing this a few months ago when I got a dollar bill with the stamp on it. I brought it to Florida with me a few weeks ago and spent it at Disney World, so who knows where it will end up. I hope the person who has it will register online.

Anonymous said...

Very cool! I'm probably too lazy to track all my bills (not that there's really so many since I have the same problem as Penelope anne these days...), but I'll definitely keep my eye out for yours!

Cait said...

Bourbon St., baby!