Okay, so I’m ADDICTED to that new show out right now – “Take the Money and Run.” Any of you watch it? It’s one of those reality shows that involve scheming and cops and a whole bunch of lying, only with this one you actually CHOOSE to go to jail! Haha… (you see what I did there?).
The premise is that they give two people a briefcase full of cash ($100,000 worth), a car, and an hour – and by the end of it they have to have it hidden somewhere in order to trick professional investigators from finding it. You can use your cell, and go *anywhere* in the vicinity you want (you have to stay within your hometown), but it’s totally up to you where you put it. All the while knowing that as soon as that hour ends, the detectives are gonna pick apart every last move, and call, you make ;) So you gotta be smooth!
Then, once you’re done, they throw you in this dark-ass cell w/ no windows, and the INVESTIGATORS have a turn to go find it. If you can outwit them for 48 hours straight – the $100,000 is all yours!!! But if THEY crack the case, and can get it before the 2 days are up, then THEY become the lucky winners of $100,000! How awesome is that? So pretty much *somebody’s* walking away with some fat cash in their pockets after two days worth of work – not bad.
And that leads us to today’s question at hand: If you were given the chance to go hide a briefcase full of cash, and only had an hour start to finish, where would YOU stash it?
And keep in mind, *everything* is traceable when it comes to that car and cell phone, so you gotta be careful on how you use it (or don’t use it). Also, you both have to make sure you’re on the SAME page and have your entire story down pat or those detectives WILL get it outta you! They pretty much treat you just as if you were a true criminal indeed.
Now I keep thinking about a whole bunch of great places I can store it around here, but if I REALLY wanted to go all out and do some massive trickery, I’d have to say I’d put it in the one place they’re never gonna look. THE CAR! Yeah I’d drive that bitch all around, and call a half dozen people or whatever to try and have them follow the wrong tracks, but by the end of it all that sexy little briefcase will be right there underneath the seat. Or maybe in the trunk, if it’s got one of those flat tires in the back that I could just throw out and replace it with ;)
What do you think? Am I a genius, or an idiot? You know those shows have a ton of interns doing all their dirty work for them anyways, so you better believe that once you’re out that car, the poor guy/gal is heading right over to the storage lot or the rental place to hurry up and return it before it costs the studio any more money. It would be long gone before you even made it to the precinct! (which would be another ultimate hiding place actually, but a lot more difficult to pull off, haha…)
If you’re reading this Jerry Bruckheimer, you might wanna hurry up and cast me ;)
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PS: It airs every Tuesday night @ 9pm EST, on ABC if you’re interested in checking it out.
(Photo by MiiiSH)
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If I had another person to help me, I would have them take the car and the cell and drive around for an hour making calls and browsing google maps, returning home, while I walked a half hour into the woods, buried the briefcase, and then walked back.
Hmm.. I would just have someone else drive the car and make calls while I walk to the bank and put it in a safety deposit box. Even if they can figure out where it is, highly doubtful since there won’t be any trace of it from the car/phone and I’ll be keeping my mouth shut when they interrogate me, they can’t get at it. ;)
These comments are great ideas. No witnesses. Besides, if you hid it in the rental car how would you get the car back to retrieve the money. I don’t have too much time to watch TV, but I did see the first episode on Hulu. It was pretty interesting and I might have to watch another one or two.
Wonder if anyone actually takes the money and runs… $100k doesn’t seem like it would be worth it, but you never know.
I might put the briefcase in a coat check some place secure or exclusive where you can’t see the items from out front.
I didn’t realize this show had already started! I’ll have to check it out next week! And I’m not sure where I would hide it, I like both Paul and Dan’s Ideas!
Out here, I have no idea. Possibly to my old job. 100 greenhouses over 30 acres is a pretty easy place to hide something. Even if I told them it was at Gulley’s, it’s a good bet they wouldn’t find the hiding spot.
Back home, it’s really easy. I grew up on the edge of the Pinelands National Forest, better known as the Pine Barrens or home of the Jersey Devil. I could just chuck it under some brush 20 feet from one of the lesser used trails and I might not even find it again. But I wouldn’t even do that. There is a secret spot that a friend and I discovered in a secluded part of the Barrens (I think its technically on military land). In that spot, there is a half-burried metal trash can that we used to hide stuff in.
I’m with Paul. Have the friend drive the car, get out at some random stoplight near a home depot. The friend keeps driving and calling people, while I go buy a shovel, find somewhere to dig, and put it in the ground. There’s no way they would find it. Heck, I might not be able to find it when I go to collect my winnings…
That was my first thought. Leave a shovel with a very specific kind of soil on it from, say, stop 3 in the car. Be sure to get a bit of dirt under my nails and shoes, some brambles on the bottoms of my jeans. I would UPS the money to myself via a few cities so it would take a few days to get back to me.
Jolie has the right idea. But do you have to keep it in the briefcase? If not I would hide in more than one place.
I’ve seen the show, well, once . . . and I gotta agree. Hiding it in the car crossed my mind too! drive around for an hour, work out your story,make a couple of ‘stops’, etc.
The one I saw had the guys leaving from a pier. I thought, well, hell, hide it under the pier! Dont even LEAVE with it! Just hide it and then go!
I think the trick to winning is to hide it EARLY in the hour. Like within the first five minutes. And then use the remainder of your hour to work out your story and lay a false path. Of course, I think contestants of that show will figure that out pretty quicklyand start doing that.
I also wonder . . .could they call a friend and just give the briefcase to the friend? So, they dont KNOW where it goes. Just that Mike took it. And then, again, they could drive around and plan a story to tell the cops!
Re the comments about splitting up to hide the briefcase . . . I think the rules of the game say that you have to stay together. That you arent allowed to split up.
This sounds awesome! I have never even heard of it, so clearly I am missing out. Having seen too many CSI episodes I think they would tear the car apart. I think I would also have someone meet me somewhere and then toss them the suitcase in a drive-by, without even slowing down….Could work?
This sounds like a super addictive show! I’ll have to check it out :)
As the worst liar in the world, I can tell you that it wouldn’t matter where I hid the briefcase – I’d fold after 10 seconds of questioning.
I watched the first two episodes then gave up. How is it possible to crack to those detectives? There is no threat! It’s not like the detectives can actually lock you up for something.
Stick the briefcase in the ceiling tiles of the local library, call every single person in your contacts list twice, ride around for an hour, then SHUT UP! Name, Rank, and Serial-Number for two days and you’re done…
I’m not telling :)
Seriously, just watched the show for the first time last night and its pretty fun to watch. Not sure if I’ll feel the same in a few weeks…
I love that show too. Except for the fact that we don’t know any of the rules?
These people all seem smart enough to split up, which makes me think that they are not allowed, nor do they ever get far from the car, which leads me to believe they aren’t allowed to do that either.
They also answer questions from the interrogators, which makes me think they are required to answer questions instead of sitting there quietly. The guys last night had it in the bag if the one guy didn’t break. The guy with the goatee was completely manipulating that woman, it was amazing. He was so polite, kind and genuine, he had her in tears.
As for where I would hide it, I’d hide it in a public building in the first 10 minutes. I’d then use the rest of the 50 minutes stopping at random places, making calls, doing U-turns, and getting our story straight.
Bottom line, I love the show, but I’d like to see the rules ahead of time.
I had never even heard of this show until just now, probably because we don’t really have cable. It sounds really interesting though, so I guess I’m gonna have to check it out. I don’t know what I would do since I don’t know all the rules but I’m sure it could be done.
Interesting. Once I get TV again in the fall, perhaps I’ll watch.
My first thought was I’d mail it to myself. Then drive around and make up some elaborate story and go out for some good Mexican food before turning myself in! The good old USPS would take at least a few days to get it back to me! And I’d send it certified… those people are sticklers for ID with anything that is sent certified and since these “detectives” prob aren’t real cops they won’t hand mail over for a gameshow.
Alright–seriously, J?
I was all pepped up to tell you my husband’s brilliant idea (which he repeats every time we watch this show), until I heard your brilliant idea. Under the car. Seriously, you’ve gotta stop pulling this parallel universe stuff on me. It’s freaky. :)
Personally, my plan would be to drive to my office (and various other decoy stops along the way), then walk from my office to the bank down the street, where our office has safe deposit boxes that I have access to. There’s no way the investigators could dig out the fact that this bank is the one our office uses, we have safe deposit boxes there, and I’m one of the people with access to the keys.
Then my hubby and I would drive to a coffee shop and enjoy some yummy snacks while coordinating our story so there weren’t any holes. :D
I’ve seen the commercials for that show but kinda forgot about it. I do want to watch.
I have no clue where I would hide the money. sounds like a fun show to watch.
I love Dan’s comment about the safe deposit box! I’m not sure they would think of that, but I suppose it’s also possible they would if they’re trained professionals. I guess we better hope that they don’t get a hold of your blog if you ever make it on to that show! They’d be on to you! I feel like the car is a little bit less secure. You want to make sure that if you hide the money it’s not going to go move on you! I’d feel much better putting it in one spot that’s going to stay. Imagine the 48 hours being over and the $100,000 is gone?!
lol since the first moment i heard about this show, i’ve been thinking of where i’d hide the money. one of the producers did an interview and stated that it’s in the rules you can’t hide the money in the car. major bummer cause i totally thought of that. i also thought about hiding it at work, but it has to be in a location that’s freely accessible (or something like that). so i’m kind of at a loss. the thing i do know? i’m not partnering with my best friend or my boyfriend. they are TERRIBLE at keeping secrets. my mom might be great cause it’s her job to keep secrets ;)
Give 2 teenagers the phone and car. Tell them to drive around and call everyone they know. Take bus to a local gym, skating rink, bowling alley etc. Put the $ in a rented locker. mail the key to yourself. Shut up.
If you really want the $ to disappear you can give it to a politician (think TARP).
If its a standard briefcase, I might hide it at a briefcase store … somewhere in the back, where I hope no customer buys it!
Well, seeing as I live on the outskirts of Atlanta and have cows for neighbors, I would definitely be able to find a location in the woods to store it. Either that or at my alma mater. We once had an escaped convict hide on campus without being found. I don’t think they ever caught him because after 2 days they stopped looking on campus. Maybe he liked the area so much he decided to enroll.
I’d probably do the FedEx-it-to-myself thing. However, I would ask my partner in crime to stop a couple of blocks from the FedEx place and stay in the car. I’d walk over and do a two-day mailing to myself in care of my sister. Then I’d walk back to the car and say, “Let’s drive.”
My partner would have no idea where I “hid” it. Therefore s/he could not break under interrogation. The detectives wouldn’t find the box at my house ’cause it ain’t AT my house.
P.S. I’d treat them to doughnuts after 48 hours, to show there were no hard feelings.
Haha, these are GREAT! And so fun to think about and try to foil ’em ;) I’m not 100% sure, but I do think you both have to stick together, and that the cash has to remain in the briefcase at all times. And that you can’t ship it off or something, which is freakin’ hilarious Jolie!! Good one ;)
My thoughts on your ideas, whether those rules above exist or not:
@Paul – Haha, nice! And what would be good about that is that you’d have no idea what your friend was doing w/ the car and phone/etc, so that when you guys got split up and interrogated you wouldn’t have to lie cuz you really DON’T know what happened! And your friend wouldn’t know exactly where you put it ;) Unless there’s a rule that you have to be together at all times…. hmmm… (and now looking at other comments, there’s a good chance that once the investigators FIND OUT you didn’t go w/ the car, because they would, they’ll know the general area you were in, and can track it down a lot sooner ;))
@Dan – They can’t get YOU, but if they find out it’s at, or around, the bank – you better believe they’re gonna get the bank to confess ;)
@cashflowmantra – Oh, well the producer people would know where it is :) I’m sure they just cut you a check anyways like 5 months later or something, haha…
@No Debt MBA – HAH!! Now THAT would be funny. And turn pretty much turn into COPS at that point ;)
@Mercedes – Yeah! You gotta watch it, yo!
@Edward Antrobus – Would you be able to get to your secret spot, and back, within the hour? And with enough time to lose your trail?
@Kevin @ Thousandaire.com – They can track your purchases at Home Depot though, and once they find out you weren’t in the car with your friend (cuz they will, believe me), they’ll know it had to be within walking distance of the Home Depot AND only X amount of mins out which is plenty of info to go snooping around some fresh dirt ;)
@jolie – Hahahhaa… you have to leave the money in the suitcase, BUT, I wonder what would happen if you DID UPS IT? haha… probably against the rules and they wouldn’t even air it ;)
@LLF – Yup, have to keep it in the briefcase I’m sure.
@Laura in ATL – Haha yeah! That would be a GREAT idea too, as long as your friend doesn’t give in and tell them, which is the only problem w/ that. Cuz now there would be 3 people who knew (sorta) where the money was. If that person cracks you’re done for ;) I do like the pier idea though, exept they can see you while you’re there before you go, haha… but 5 mins in would be smart.
@ShoeGal – Huh, it might! Though I don’t think you have time to prepare or think it through before you start. I’m pretty sure they just tell you you’re gonna be on some reality show or something, or just really low level details about it, and then they spring it on you so you can’t formulate a game plan yet.
@Alexis – Awwwww, haha… at least you’re an honest person!! That’s great :)
@Eric – I know, right?? I mean, sometimes they get pretty aggressive but jeez, it’s not like you’re in jail FOR REAL. Though I’ve never had to go in solitary before… maybe your brain just gets jacked up in there and starts playing tricks on you? 48 hours doesn’t seem long, but w/out windows to look outside or any people to talk to, I’m sure it would stress people out. I’d like to think I’d be totally fine though ;)
@DebtTips – Yeah, esp if the same outcome keeps happenning. Maybe they’ll switch it up though and change the rules a bit or something before that happens?
@tom – I know! Me too… but I think you’re right on all accounts – there’s gotta be some rules going on which is why they keep having to answer, etc. Guess if they just sat quiet it wouldn’t make for good tv, eh? :)
@Jen @ Master the Art of Saving – You better start watching it then so you can play along with us ;)
@slug | sunkcostsareirrelevant.com – Yeah, give it a shot. You’ll know pretty quickly after one episode if it’s worth it or not. We dig it.
@Robin – Haha, the investigators are actually real ones with 20-30 year records of being bad asses ;) They’d def. be able to get UPS to turn it over (or even easier, your pockets when you’ve gotta change into the jumpsuit! Haha…) But I don’t think you’re allowed to mail it out anyways, though it’s a great idea!
@Cordelia – Haha, cuz we’re good like that yo! I like your idea too :) Though I’m prety sure they *could* figure out the safety deposit box stuff… if anything remotely is tied to you or your past, they’ll dig it up. That being said though, you could take it a step further and hide it into a DIFFERENT safety deposit box, which wouldn’t make sense to them since you’d naturally use your company’s one ;) But then there’s a paper trail and yada yada yada… all interesting to think about though.
@Ashley @ Money Talks – Watch it and then let us know :)
@Kelsey @ Zero to One Million Challenge – Haha, yeah – but it’s not YOUR money yet! I guess worst case *no one* would get it, but at least you’d fooled the show ;)
@michelle – Haha, good call. And sucky about the car :( Though, I guess if they already thought about it (and you did, and others too) it wasn’t a tremendously great idea to begin with. Booooooo….
@Jeff Reed – HAH! Now *that* is funny.
@Paula @ AffordAnything.org – Oooooooooooh I LIKE THAT!!! A LOT!!! How sneaky would that be?
@Financial Success for Young Adults – That’s hilarious :) Haha… I wonder what DID happen to him??
@Donna Freedman – Haha, you better hope they don’t find the receipt :) Though I’m pretty sure mailing it isn’t allowed anyways, which sucks cuz that would be crazy easy! (if they didn’t catch you)
Huh…I’d have the other person drive to 20 locations all around town in two circles with the cell. They can make a call every 5-10 minutes to our family members. I’d get out at one stop towards the beginning of the first circle, go and bury the money somewhere or hide it somewhere that’ll be there in 3 days that I have no personal connection to, meet my ride towards the end of the second circle and hopefully end up miles away at the end of the hour. My ride would only know where I got out and met them and our plan would be to say nothing. At all. Ask for lawyers and use our right to remain silent. :-)
If you read the rules…. They can only hide the money in a location that does not move. So good idea but not allowed.
I say go to a house & stuff it in the freezer. They would not think to look there.
Oh & the two contestants have to remain together during the time they have to hide the case. So separating is also not allowed.
Interesting show; I was watching a good movie the other night “Get Low”. He had to hide tons of money and he put it in a casket in a funeral home. Who would look in a casket?
Next they’ll have a reality show: Where would you hide the $100,000 plus a cake and something about a family of 35, and probably, just for good measure, include some hoarding stuff too. The thing I don’t understand is, how do they afford to do shows like this? If we are in such an economic pickle, how are these reality shows throwing $100,000 for each contestant that wins?
Interesting.
Go to the Mall and buy 4 briefcases identical to the one they have the money in. Fill them with something that is the same weight characteristics as the money.
Call 3 devious people you can trust (and don’t know each other) and have them meet you at Kmart at 15min intervals. Give them each a locked suitcase telling them about the money that is inside. Ask them to hide it in their home and promise to give them a few thousand dollars if they are successful at keeping it away from the investigators.
As each friend gets there you both go into the Kmart (each with a briefcase) and buy a suitcase that the briefcase fits into. And you both walk out with a suitcase and go your merry way. Well, two times you meet the next friend and repeat the process.
After you’ve handed off the other 3 briefcases this way, go into an Ikea with the last suitcase and stash the briefcase into a display office cabinate that has a lock and key when nobody’s looking. Lock it and hide the key somewhere else in the store. The locked display probably won’t be noticed for a while.
The investigators only have a couple of days to find it. How can they chase down every lead from all your friends?
After the 48 hours is up, go back to the Kmart and finish purchasing the office safe that you put on layaway (containing the real briefcase with the $$). During one of the trips into the Kmart you went in with a briefcase and came out with an empty suitcase. Before putting the safe on layaway, you take it out of the box and make sure it works locking the briefcase in it and memorizing the combination (just in case) and hiding the combination paperwork in the store (so it’s not on your person while they have you in “custody”, you would also tape the layaway reciept to the underside of a drawer in a display before you leave for the same reason)
Ka-CHING!
Wow that was good
I’d put it in a banana stand :)
For real though… If I had 100k to hide, I’d put it in the car as well. I dunno if disassembling the car is allowed or if the detectives know how long you spend at each spot, but, assuming they don’t, I would shoot for a friends house and place the briefcase below the transmission or in the gas canister.
too bad it can’t be in a moving location… I’d have my friends do a car shuffle with it so it would get passed from car to car and just be on the move the whole time.
My sister-in-law works at Disneyland so I would call her AT WORK and have her hide it on a ride somewhere. *cue evil laughter*
J. Yeah, I could get it done in an hour. The ground in that area doesn’t hold footprints that well, so they would need a bloodhound or expert tracker to follow…in which case, I’d spend some time in the stream.
I challenge you to try ME out!!! I will make your best people and your best efforts look like a silly joke. You couldn’t crack me if you had 10,000 years to try. BRING IT !!!!!!!!!
CHALLENGE!! You hear me???? CHALLENGE!!!! You just got smack talked in your face and youre GOING to take it because you have NO CHOICE!!!!
@Crystal – Haha, a lot of the contestants TRY that! :)
@PokerBabyy – Ahhhh, yeah – that def. makes sense. Though is much harder ;)
@Darwin’s Money – Oh that’s a good one!! I like that!
@Natalie @ Mango – Oh man, that’s easy — They spend $100,000 a show, but make $1,000,000 in advertising revenue! :)
@Gene – HAH! Now *that* is a plan, sir. I can totally get down w/ that. Not sure you could pull it off all within an hour, esp since you can’t pre-plan ahead of time (like, all 3 of your friends would a) have to pick up the phone, and b) Get to where they need to be, and back, all in time) BUT if it all went smoothly it’s a helluva good idea :) I like that a LOT. You win the most creative so far!
@Basil Siddiqui – Yeah, looks like the rules say it can’t move now – so there goes that :(
@South County Girl – Right? That would def. do the trick.
@20 and Engaged – Haha, esp if she puts it in one of those haunted houses or something ;)
@Edward Antrobus – Maybe we’ll find out one day? ;)
@Scott – Haha, I’d challenge you just to watch how crazy it would be ;) Maybe you’ll get lucky and the producers are reading this?
If the show was still on and my husband and I were picked, and we knew enough ahead of time, I would call my brother who lives in cotton, have him meet us either at San dims canyon or azusa canyon. We would give him the case to take and put it in our house and lock our door. We would then drive around up in the canyon. During the time that we were in custody we would just tell them that we had it when we went up in the canyon but that we did not have it when we left the canyon. We would certainly not be lying.
Haha, indeed…
I would bury it in Santa Rosita State Park near the Mexican border under “… a big W”.