How much CASH or liquid do you have?

[NW-Bound]

As far as cash/near cash is concerned about 8 years of living expenses ( I consider my short term bond fund as being near cash). As for liquid assets, my well is only 25 gpm which seems to be ample for our needs but my neighbors well is 100 gpm so I guess he is the wealthier one by far (although he's still working ?).

Just happened to be mulling a bit about your 25-gpm flow rate. That's darn impressive. In the city, I may get that if I open the garden hose full-blast. That's torrential flow.

Up in the boonies, I get water from a co-op, hence have no well. But my neighbor has a well, and he said it's 750-ft deep. Out of curiosity, I worked out the power it takes to bring 25 gpm up to the surface from that depth. Assuming 100% efficiency, that's still an impossible 4.5HP pump. So, my neighbor must be getting a lot less. I will need to ask next time I see him.

So, what's the depth of the water table at your place? I know it's the difference between Oregon and the high plateau of AZ, but man, you are water rich.

 

[ikubak]

Liquid, as in anything I can sell today without penalty and have the money available in my checking account within 3 business days:

Using this standard, 3 yrs....2 yrs is in cash or bond fund

Using the wine standard, 100 or so bottles....wine fridge that holds 36 bottles where I keep some of my high priced wine that I want to age and some of the stuff I want temp ready for quick consumption. Also have an earthen cellar in my crawl space which fluctuates between 45 and 72 degrees.

 

[HFWR]

Eh, booze is just as important as cash, you know? Look how popular your thread has become.

Hey Audrey, you are not supposed to "age" beer as long as a year, are you? Better drink it up.

Isn't that past the "born [-]again[/-] on" date?

 

[ejman]

Just happened to be mulling a bit about your 25-gpm flow rate. That's darn impressive. In the city, I may get that if I open the garden hose full-blast. That's torrential flow.

Up in the boonies, I get water from a co-op, hence have no well. But my neighbor has a well, and he said it's 750-ft deep. Out of curiosity, I worked out the power it takes to bring 25 gpm up to the surface from that depth. Assuming 100% efficiency, that's still an impossible 4.5HP pump. So, my neighbor must be getting a lot less. I will need to ask next time I see him.

So, what's the depth of the water table at your place? I know it's the difference between Oregon and the high plateau of AZ, but man, you are water rich.

My well is 70 ft deep. I live in SW Oregon and we normally get about 30-35 inches of rain a year. And yes, we are definitely water rich although we haven't had any rain at all for almost 3 months now.

 

[REWahoo]

Just happened to be mulling a bit about your 25-gpm flow rate. That's darn impressive. In the city, I may get that if I open the garden hose full-blast. That's torrential flow.

Up in the boonies, I get water from a co-op, hence have no well. But my neighbor has a well, and he said it's 750-ft deep. Out of curiosity, I worked out the power it takes to bring 25 gpm up to the surface from that depth. Assuming 100% efficiency, that's still an impossible 4.5HP pump. So, my neighbor must be getting a lot less. I will need to ask next time I see him.

Note the depth of the well doesn't necessarily dictate the pump depth setting. Placing a pump at the bottom of a well frequently guarantees heavy sediment content and problems.

For comparison, my well is 800' deep and the water table is around 400' (had to go to 800' to penetrate the aquifer). I have a 2hp pump set at 540 ft and, according to the well company, I'm pumping 8 gpm into my storage tank.

 

[eytonxav]

Note the depth of the well doesn't necessarily dictate the pump depth setting. Placing a pump at the bottom of a well frequently guarantees heavy sediment content and problems.

For comparison, my well is 800' deep and the water table is around 400' (had to go to 800' to penetrate the aquifer). I have a 2hp pump set at 540 ft and, according to the well company, I'm pumping 8 gpm into my storage tank.

Sounds like an expensive proposition if one has to redrill a new well, so liquid asset could become quite costly

 

[REWahoo]

Sounds like an expensive proposition if one has to redrill a new well, so liquid asset could become quite costly

Yes, unless you are like a guy I know who lives nearby who got a free one. His submersible pump failed and they were unable to retrieve it from the hole. He ended up having to drill an entirely new well, and decided to spend the bucks to also install a holding tank, as not having one puts extra wear on the submersible pump. The quote for the job was over $20K, but after drilling his new well and installing everything, the well company never billed him.

 

[psweath]

Wife and I both retired - she's 56, I'm 57. We keep 4 buckets.

Bucket 1 = the next 3 years of living expenses. All cash in a MM account at the CU.
Bucket 2 = the next 4 years after B1. 20% Equities in Fidelity account.
Bucket 3 = the next 3 years after B2. 30% Equities in 401K

So...that's 10 years worth of conservative funds.

Bucket 4 = ATR (All The Rest). 50% Equities in 401K and Fidelity accounts.

I manually monitor and rebalance the buckets. If any one is underfunded, I transfer money from the most profitable bucket.

I hope I haven't made things too simple!
Pete

 

[mickeyd]

I consider local savings and VG short term bond fund as my cash reserves. I guess it amounts at a bit less than 2 years of expenses. I am currently in the process of several home improvement projects that will be paid from this pool of $.

I often add to this pool of money as well as scoop up some of it for various projects, cruises and other vacations.

 

[obgyn65]

I guess I am at about 95% cash. I know, I know... We have had these conversations before, but I have no time to look at equities until I finally retire. Too busy now.

 

[eytonxav]

36% cash at the moment, pretty high, but we all know the sky is about to fall

 

[jayc]

5-7 yr Cd ladder that contains 14 years of current expenses.

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

I haven't started the fall brewing season yet, so I think there is only about 20 gallons of beer in the house. Have been running down the wine, so maybe a half a case on hand. Given the ample amounts of chokecherries, mint, etc. I have had handy, I have made several homemade liqueurs as well.

Pretty much all my net worth is liquid (tradeable). That said, I keep about 2 years worth of living expenses in CDs, I bonds and the like. I also have buit up a 10+% portfolio position in cash as I have sold out of some stuff that got excessively valued. It will be redeployed as I see opportunities (like the slug of OLN I bought last week).

2 full kegs in my keezer + 1 being dry-hopped = 15 gallons. Plus a hundred or so bottles from prior batches (plus some commercial stuff).

In terms of non-liquid assets I have north of 1000# of grain of various types (for brewing), along with a bunch of vacuum sealed and frozen hops and assortment of yeast (some dry, some "washed"). Yes, I'm also looking to brewing season as I haven't done much over the summer.

For financial assets, I also have a good "liquid" supply, enough for a couple of years w/o any other income. With my pension, considerably longer.

 

[freebird5825]

Cash? plenty for steak, shrimp and beer, on a whim. For lobster, I have to wait for my next annuity check.

Liquid ? It all depends on how long ago I finished my last brewski.

 

[Enuff2Eat]

liquid I just added another case of Corona into my assets column.

 

[brewer12345]

2 full kegs in my keezer + 1 being dry-hopped = 15 gallons. Plus a hundred or so bottles from prior batches (plus some commercial stuff).

In terms of non-liquid assets I have north of 1000# of grain of various types (for brewing), along with a bunch of vacuum sealed and frozen hops and assortment of yeast (some dry, some "washed"). Yes, I'm also looking to brewing season as I haven't done much over the summer.

For financial assets, I also have a good "liquid" supply, enough for a couple of years w/o any other income. With my pension, considerably longer.

Why in Gawd's name do you have so much grain on hand? Does it go bad or lose flavor?

 

[haha]

I guess I am at about 95% cash. I know, I know... We have had these conversations before, but I have no time to look at equities until I finally retire. Too busy now.

I thought you had a lot of annuities and bonds. Is it all cash now?

I have 21% cash, 14% very short duration bonds or bond funds, and 65% equity.

Ha

 

[haha]

I have a 2hp pump set at 540 ft and, according to the well company, I'm pumping 8 gpm into my storage tank.

Do you have to chlorinate that holding tank? Then pressurize your home plumbing system with a surface pump? I had a deep well that pumped straight into my pressure tank. I figured a system like yours would wear better, but wondered about the need for chemical treatment of the water.

Ha

 

[REWahoo]

Do you have to chlorinate that holding tank? Then pressurize your home plumbing system with a surface pump? I had a deep well that pumped straight into my pressure tank. I figured a system like yours would wear better, but wondered about the need for chemical treatment of the water.

Ha

Other than pouring in a half gallon of bleach once or twice a year just for the heck of it, no, I don't chlorinate the tank. Never had a problem but we don't drink the well water as the taste isn't to our liking - with or without the bleach.

Yes, I do have a separate pressure pump to send water from the tank to the house. In the 14 years we've lived here I've had to replace each pump once. The submersible pump ($2K) failed after five years and showed damage apparently caused by a lightning strike. The pressure pump ($400) lasted ten years before before giving up.

 

[obgyn65]

Annuities and non cash products represent about 5%...

I thought you had a lot of annuities and bonds. Is it all cash now?

I have 21% cash, 14% very short duration bonds or bond funds, and 65% equity.

Ha

 

[ejman]

Other than pouring in a half gallon of bleach once or twice a year just for the heck of it, no, I don't chlorinate the tank. Never had a problem but we don't drink the well water as the taste isn't to our liking - with or without the bleach.

Yes, I do have a separate pressure pump to send water from the tank to the house. In the 14 years we've lived here I've had to replace each pump once. The submersible pump ($2K) failed after five years and showed damage apparently caused by a lightning strike. The pressure pump ($400) lasted ten years before before giving up.

Our pump sends the water to a pressure tank at the house and I must say it's the greatest tasting water I've ever had. This sytem does require a great deal of maintenance though. My house is on a hill and there's about 1000 ft of pipe from the house to the well. The pipe is buried about 2 ft underground and it's made up of 20 ft sections joined by a little plastic bell coupling where the next section is inserted and glued.

The reason I know this is that so far, in the 12 years I've lived here, I've replaced about 20 of those bell couplings. The symptom is air in the system, then I walk over the buried pipe line and usually find a geiser of water, start digging and there is the bell fracture. Since I've fixed about 400 ft of pipe I'm almost half done! Hurrah!

 

[NW-Bound]

The deep-well water at our place is very hard. I guess that is to be expected with water that percolates through several hundred feet of rock.

It does not taste bad, but leaves "rings around the tub", the kitchen sink, pots and pans. One of these days, I will overcome my laziness and install a water softener.

 

[REWahoo]

Our pump sends the water to a pressure tank at the house and I must say it's the greatest tasting water I've ever had. This sytem does require a great deal of maintenance though. My house is on a hill and there's about 1000 ft of pipe from the house to the well. The pipe is buried about 2 ft underground and it's made up of 20 ft sections joined by a little plastic bell coupling where the next section is inserted and glued.

The reason I know this is that so far, in the 12 years I've lived here, I've replaced about 20 of those bell couplings. The symptom is air in the system, then I walk over the buried pipe line and usually find a geiser of water, start digging and there is the bell fracture. Since I've fixed about 400 ft of pipe I'm almost half done! Hurrah!

Lucky you.

Our well and pump house containing the pressure pump and tank are only 60 feet from the house. Never had a leak that I'm aware of - certainly no geysers. That 60 feet of pipe is only about 8 inches underground, in a shallow trench cut into our limestone hill with a rock saw.

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

Why in Gawd's name do you have so much grain on hand? Does it go bad or lose flavor?

You can never have too much grain or hops.

For base grains, I store it sealed in 5 and 6 gallon food-grade buckets, some with gamma seal lids and some in mylar bags. By base grains, I mean things like: 2-row, Maris Otter, Vienna, Munich, Pilsen, Golden Promise, Wheat, Flaked Corn, Rice. The same kinds of process folks use for emergency food prep can be used for grains, i.e. use mylar with oxygen absorbers and you can store it for a long long time, and use gamma seal lids for stuff you are accessing more often. So far, I haven't had an issue even without using oxygen absorbers. But, I will be shortly sealing some of my new grain using mylar + oxygen absorbers as I don't expect to use it for a while.

For specialty malts, I measure them into 1 or 2# amounts and vacuum seal them. I do this because most recipe's use anywhere from a few ounces to a pound or so. I've used sealed grains recently from September 2011 without any problems at all...great smell/flavour when I took them from the sealed bags. I have a bunch of these, things like Crystal 15/40/60/90/120/150, carapils, honey malt, smoked malt, aromatic, spelt, amber, chocolate, roasted barley, flaked wheat, ...

I have some much grain because I participate in group buys where we buy grains by the (multiple) pallet, as much as 4 pallets at a time (4 pallets * 42 sacks * 55 #/sack = 9,240# of grain...WOW.) The price is SO much cheaper it is hard....to.....resist....

I also trade/sell a bit to a couple other local brewers, but not to make a profit. I must admit that with my latest buy I have enough grain for quite a while...

Similar deal/issue with hops. When you're buying them for $6-$10/pound vs $2+ per ounce, it's hard to resist buying a little "extra". For these, I typically seal them in 8 ounce amounts and keep them in a freezer. When I use them part of a bag, I usually reseal.

Looking at it, I guess it *is* a bit wacky.

1000#/12# per 5 gallon batch = 83.3*5 = 417 gallons of beer. It's really not all that much?

 

[NW-Bound]

And here I am, too lazy to just throw some wine bottles down in a dark cool place for a few years to improve them.