Have you ever found a fiver? What about a tenner? There's nothing like the electric thrill of finding ‘free’ money is there?

But as you stoop to pick up the coin or note, you take a look around.

It’s human nature to feel a bit guilty. There’s always that momentary hesitation as your hand clasps the sort-of ill-gotten gains.

You fear that someone is returning to the scene to catch you in the act of pocketing their loot.

As you pop it in your pocket there’s the dual emotion of your joy at getting one over on the world while that sinking feeling as you know someone else is quite literally out of pocket.

I’ve been on both sides. While holidaying abroad I spotted a note on the bottom of the swimming pool.

I checked around the sun loungers and there seemed to be no-one frantically searching for their lost Euro.

In I dived and sauntered (if you can do that in water) across to the spot and headed down to the pool floor to snatch up ‘my’ money.

Off to the side I swam and examined my treasure reclaimed from the depths (six foot is quite deep – especially if you’re Denis Kilcommons).

A soggy but still usable 10 Euro note was mine. Strangely because I was on holiday I didn’t feel guilty. I presumed it was previously in the wallet or purse of a French or German tourist around the pool and therefore fair game.

Some of you reading this may feel disgusted with me. Surely I should have held aloft the errant currency and informed everyone that I had found it. You may think I’m a thief. I think that in this case it bought some very cold beers.

On the flipside I once walked away from a cash machine and left the money in. It was a Morrisons in Middlesbrough so you can imagine how depressed I was before I lost my money.

About 100 yards away I realised I’d left my money. My stomach lurched and I hurried back ... to no avail.

There was still a queue of people, I hoped my money had just been taken back into the machine but a quick phone call to the bank proved fruitless.

So to the person who stood behind me and pocketed my money, a pox upon you.

Maybe it’s because it was more money that I felt so wronged. How much is too much to find and keep?

For some people £0 is the amount, for others I’m sure it’s much more.

But one man in America has proved that doing the right thing is more than its own reward.

Homeless Boston man Glen James probably thought all his wishes had come true when he found a backpack on Monday.

Mr James, who has been homeless since 2005, took a look inside and discovered the bag contained $2,400 in cash and nearly $40,000 in traveller’s cheques.

But rather than taking the cash and fiddling the cheques he did the right thing and handed it in.

No doubt former Boston courthouse employee Mr James thought that may be the end of it.

But no, an online fund was started to reward the Good Samaritan and since it opened more than $100,000 dollars have been deposited.

Now the plan is to get the fund up to $250,000 so Mr James can get a house and back on his feet.

Talking about his good fortune he said: ‘It's just nice to have some money in one’s pocket so that as a homeless man I don’t feel absolutely broke all the time,’

Who says good things don’t happen to good people?