Abolish Cash?

[W2R]

Banks have hated dealing with cash for many years. It costs them money to keep it on hand and most bank branches built in the last decade have comparatively tiny vaults versus the branches of yore. Since our gubmint wishes to ever tighten the screws on the populace, it is very easy for the banks to go along with gubmint/regulator pressure and discourage customers from handling cash (after all, doing so helps minimize cash-related losses).


Outside of the banking system, it isn't clear that cash is trash. I still see a cash register at most every retail business I frequent. Lots of people prefer to receive cash over other forms of payment. Lots of people outside the US must prefer cash as well, because 5 years or so ago I was told by an executive of the NY Fed in charge of the operation that distributed the actual bills and coin that roughly 50% of all US currency is overseas. If anyone would know, I presume it would be him.


A modest stash of cash is something I have always thought would be a prudent preparation against messy circumstances (big power outage, storm, whatever), along with food, water, booze, ammunition, etc. Nothing new.

+1 on everything you said.

Best to keep that modest stash of cash ("hurricane cash" in my case) somewhere where burglars won't find it if they get inside and quickly toss all your stuff around looking for it. Definitely not in closets, cabinets, or drawers, because so often those are the first places they toss.

As I search for my dream house, a pantry for food storage would be a nice bonus, in my opinion. The house that I made that offer on last fall, but didn't get, had a nice big one with slide-out shelves. (wistful sigh)

 

[John Galt III]

quote : financial institutions are positioning themselves to handle the fallout of the next economic crash – at the expense of customers.

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I'm sure the banks would love to get us all to pay off their debts for them. They still owe how much money in those "derivatives"? A couple $googol?

 

[Badger]

I also like to use cash wherever I can, simply to not have my cc number floating around. But I never see the "cash discount" anymore. Seems like the incentive is to use cc to get "points" or "cash back", etc. Gas has been the same price for cash or credit for years now. Don't stores still have to pay a fee when a customer uses a credit card?

+1
I also wonder about anything that is in a bank box. If I was to buy the farm then how are important papers, jewelry, money, etc. accessed for settlement and inheritance?

Cheers!

 

[MichaelB]

A modest stash of cash is something I have always thought would be a prudent preparation against messy circumstances (big power outage, storm, whatever), along with food, water, booze, ammunition, etc. Nothing new.

+1

Hurricane Wilma knocked out power for 2 weeks in South Florida, and then cash was king, as the few places open couldn't all take electronic payments.

I lived through the '94 banking collapse in Venezuela. About 1/3 of all funds on deposit across the entire banking system were unaccessable for at least 3 months, and at least half that amount was frozen for over a year. In that same period inflation was a bit over 60% and the currency lost half it's value. Cash back then got lots of very good deals.

It is good to have a bit of cash stashed away in a safe place. As for banks not wanting cash in safe deposit boxes, that's all it is.

 

[harley]

+1
I also wonder about anything that is in a bank box. If I was to buy the farm then how are important papers, jewelry, money, etc. accessed for settlement and inheritance?

As long as the will isn't in the box, there's no problem. The executor has to get certified (paperwork PITA), then they have access to any accounts, boxes, whatever. As long as the key is findable and there's something showing the existence of the box it really isn't a issue.

 

[meierlde]

+1

Hurricane Wilma knocked out power for 2 weeks in South Florida, and then cash was king, as the few places open couldn't all take electronic payments.



It is good to have a bit of cash stashed away in a safe place. As for banks not wanting cash in safe deposit boxes, that's all it is.

I suspect that after Wilma you could not get at a safe deposit box either as no power at the bank.

 

[samclem]

+1
I also wonder about anything that is in a bank box. If I was to buy the farm then how are important papers, jewelry, money, etc. accessed for settlement and inheritance?

It can be difficult as (in my experience) the bank restricted access to the box when they knew one signatory had died. Awkward moment in my small-ish hometown when my mom died and I went to the bank to clean out the box to get what we needed before the S&L had been officially notified--some of the tellers knew what was up, but we just didn't say anything.

Best to keep that modest stash of cash ("hurricane cash" in my case) somewhere where burglars won't find it if they get inside and quickly toss all your stuff around looking for it. Definitely not in closets, cabinets, or drawers, because so often those are the first places they toss.

As I search for my dream house, a pantry for food storage would be a nice bonus, in my opinion. The house that I made that offer on last fall, but didn't get, had a nice big one with slide-out shelves. (wistful sigh)

It's a tough call. This is how big wads of cash wind up at the dump every year when heirs throw out Grandma's old coffee cans, clean out the freezer, etc.
A well-hidden small safe seems like a good belt-and-suspenders approach.

 

[W2R]

It's a tough call. This is how big wads of cash wind up at the dump every year when heirs throw out Grandma's old coffee cans, clean out the freezer, etc.
A well-hidden small safe seems like a good belt-and-suspenders approach.

Yeah, I haven't really figured out the ideal place to keep it. I am keeping it someplace else that is probably not as good an option as a safe, but it's a little bit better than drawers, cabinets, and closets. Not much.

The reason I mention it is that when the burglars tossed my house last year, they focused on closet shelves, cabinets, and drawers, every single one of which was tossed and the contents strewn about on the floor. Police said they were searching for cash, guns, or illegal drugs and were in and out in just a minute or two. I guess they picked the wrong house because they found none of that in my closets, drawers, or cabinets.

 

[MichaelB]

It's a tough call. This is how big wads of cash wind up at the dump every year when heirs throw out Grandma's old coffee cans, clean out the freezer, etc.
A well-hidden small safe seems like a good belt-and-suspenders approach.

+1

 

[Mulligan]

Banks have hated dealing with cash for many years. It costs them money to keep it on hand and most bank branches built in the last decade have comparatively tiny vaults versus the branches of yore. Since our gubmint wishes to ever tighten the screws on the populace, it is very easy for the banks to go along with gubmint/regulator pressure and discourage customers from handling cash (after all, doing so helps minimize cash-related losses).


Outside of the banking system, it isn't clear that cash is trash. I still see a cash register at most every retail business I frequent. Lots of people prefer to receive cash over other forms of payment. Lots of people outside the US must prefer cash as well, because 5 years or so ago I was told by an executive of the NY Fed in charge of the operation that distributed the actual bills and coin that roughly 50% of all US currency is overseas. If anyone would know, I presume it would be him.


A modest stash of cash is something I have always thought would be a prudent preparation against messy circumstances (big power outage, storm, whatever), along with food, water, booze, ammunition, etc. Nothing new.

Banks may not like cash, but the Tellers certainly hate coins....You should see the look on their faces when I bring in a big plant pot fill of coins every few years and have them deposit it into my account.


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[harley]

Banks may not like cash, but the Tellers certainly hate coins....You should see the look on their faces when I bring in a big plant pot fill of coins every few years and have them deposit it into my account.

One of our banks has a coin sorter/counter in the lobby, similar to the ones in the grocery stores but without the 9-10% vig. All I do is haul my coins in, feed them to the machine, take the slip to the teller, and get my cash. DD and SIL just counted their big jar of coins and came up with $225. I told them to bring it with them on their next visit and we'd go to the bank. I bet DGD would consider it fun to put all the money in.

 

[Mulligan]

One of our banks has a coin sorter/counter in the lobby, similar to the ones in the grocery stores but without the 9-10% vig. All I do is haul my coins in, feed them to the machine, take the slip to the teller, and get my cash. DD and SIL just counted their big jar of coins and came up with $225. I told them to bring it with them on their next visit and we'd go to the bank. I bet DGD would consider it fun to put all the money in.

That would be convenient. I cant believe all the people who use those grocery store ones. I wish I could have made a career out of that.... You give me a $1.10 in coins and I will give you a dollar bill in return.


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[imoldernu]

quote : financial institutions are positioning themselves to handle the fallout of the next economic crash – at the expense of customers.

------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm sure the banks would love to get us all to pay off their debts for them. They still owe how much money in those "derivatives"? A couple $googol?

Umm... yeah, my take.
I think of it as keeping the "cushion" in the "cloud". Look at the Washington side of a dollar bill... to the left of his head.

The paper money we trade every day, pales into insignificance compared to the global exhange of value in world banks. Weakening of any one of these produces stress in the relative value. As value changes negatively so does pressure increase on associated banks. Thus the concern for liquidity... and thus the suspicions about "cash".

 

[sengsational]

That would be convenient. I cant believe all the people who use those grocery store ones. I wish I could have made a career out of that.... You give me a $1.10 in coins and I will give you a dollar bill in return.

I think the one at WallyWorld gives you a store credit without taking vig.