Boulder Instagram Account Hides Money for People to Find Throughout Colorado

Since July, @miraclemancash on Instagram and @spreadinglightcash on TikTok have been dropping money around Colorado for people to find.

The Instagram account posts videos showing hints about where the money might be hidden, then celebrates by putting up stories when people come and snag the cash.

Although the account owner isn’t ready to reveal his identity, he tells Westword that the word "miracle" in his Instagram username is a reference to a brush with death he had ten years ago before being revived by doctors. He describes himself as someone who has always loved to give, but says a recent trip to Bali prompted him to start this cash-dropping project.

“Every person I met in Bali was so incredibly sweet, and it inspired me," he says. “The goal is to bring people together who may never, ever meet but can now suddenly have something that's positive, something that is healthy, to get out of the house, to move around and meet new people.”

So far, he says, those who play along have been kind and encouraging to each other no matter who secures the cash.

He tried to start the project earlier this year, but because he used a pre-existing Instagram account, it struggled to gain traction. He started this new account on July 31, his mother's birthday; it already has over 37,000 followers. According to the account holder, his mother is another inspiration. Before her death, she told him he needed to learn to take joy in other people’s happiness, he says, and this is one way he does that.

In his regular life, the man behind @miraclemancash runs a holiday lighting company in Boulder. When it isn’t holiday season, he says he struggles with losing his sense of purpose. This project helps him find fulfillment, he says.

“I’ve had people who say, ‘What do you get out of this?’” he recalls. “I get joy. I get happiness.”

The account owner says he wants the drops to feel like a treasure hunt, harking back to The Goonies or the more modern Outer Banks Netflix show. The cash is an incentive, but the fun is the main draw, since the amounts typically aren’t super high, usually around $50.

“People are playing because they want to win, but at the same time, they're playing because it's fun,” says @miraclemancash.

The account owner says that he’s already had people asking him to make the cash harder to find, and that there are repeat people who try to find the money; he reports that some treasure hunters have even formed friendships after being on the quest.

People play by following either account and checking their stories for drop announcements and written clues. When the drop is made official, followers check the video posts for visual clues and head out hunting.

While popular Denver locations like Casa Bonita have been featured locations, cash drops aren’t limited to Denver. This past weekend, @miraclemancash was placing money around Boulder for a back-to-school cash event, including a $150 grand prize to cap off the weekend. Golden, Lafayette, Longmont, Aurora and Colorado Springs have all been spots for cash drops, too.

“I believe that everybody should have an opportunity to come together, that everybody should join the fun,” he says of the locations included in the hunt.

Although he expects the hunt might slow down during the fall, when he needs to devote more time to his holiday light business, @miraclemancash is currently trying to hit as many places as he can, teasing Greeley, Fort Collins and Loveland as future drop spots.