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How do you motivate your kids to help out around the house? Maybe you offer them an allowance to do a few chores. Money is always a good motivator.
But one recent story shows that sometimes doing a basic household chore can pay off big time, after a young kid found some big bucks while cleaning out the car.
Landon Melvin, a 9-year-old from Plainfield, Indiana was helping his dad clean out their Chevy Suburban, which they had bought used back in September.
![](https://en.newsnerdev.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2021/05/Screen-Shot-2021-05-26-at-2.16.49-PM.jpg)
Landon cleaned under the floorboards, something the family hadn’t done since getting the car. There, he found a surprise: “I was cleaning my dad’s car when I looked under the floorboard and I found a package,” Landon told WRTV.
Landon told his dad Michael about the discovery, and he assumed it was just some old paperwork. But then they took it inside to open it — and $5,000 in cash came pouring out!
![](https://en.newsnerdev.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2021/05/A-9-year-old-found-a-surprise-under-the-floor-mat-of-his-familys-car-—-5000-1-34-screenshot.jpg)
While that’s definitely a surprise, the Melvin family didn’t think about keeping it. They immediately realized it must’ve belonged to the former owners of the car.
Indeed, they tracked down the former owners, a family in South Carolina, who had taken the money out for a cruise vacation and misplaced it.
While many people would’ve just kept the money, the Melvins returned it — and their good nature was rewarded, as the family insisted that young Landon keep $1,000 as a reward.
![](https://en.newsnerdev.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2021/05/A-9-year-old-found-a-surprise-under-the-floor-mat-of-his-familys-car-—-5000-2-2-screenshot.jpg)
That’s quite a jackpot for a 9-year-old, and he says he’s still thinking about what he will spend it on.
“It’s upstairs in my mom’s room. I’m thinking of all things I can buy,” he told WRTV.
Show this story to your kids — it might just inspire them to clean the house! ?
Thank you to Landon for doing the right thing and returning the money! Glad your good deed was rewarded. Share this inspiring story!