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Old 02-06-2023, 06:33 PM   #21
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Currently around $500k (a few thousand at home + rest in bank and MM accounts). We also have a home equity line of credit that we can tap.

I like having the extra liquidity that DW and I can draw on if we come across good RE investment deals. Also, it helps me to sleep better at night knowing I have enough ready cash to fund our annual spending for 4-5 years without having to touch any of our other assets.
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Old 02-06-2023, 06:46 PM   #22
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I keep at least $1K at home. There’s at least a year in liquid assets to tap at any time. I just don’t see much value in locking up money. The spread between 3 month CD’s and one year just isn’t that great. Also, there’s the ability to ladder so some could be coming due every three months. I’m at about 50/50 and the 50% that is not equities is very liquid. I don’t worry about it being totally liquid, as in cash in a checking account.
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Old 02-06-2023, 07:20 PM   #23
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6 months worth of expenses in checking/money market.

Enough cash/cash to last a few weeks if we have emergencies that prevent ATM access or power grid failures and the like.
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Old 02-06-2023, 08:09 PM   #24
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1 yr expenses in savings account, $50 cash at home.
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Old 02-06-2023, 08:15 PM   #25
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$50 cash at home in a drawer. Anywhere from 0 to $6,000 in our checking account. The rest goes into the stock market.
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Old 02-06-2023, 08:20 PM   #26
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I think we have a few hundred dollars at home. Been there long time.

This time I’m going to direct deposit my Costco VISA rewards because we simply don’t need any more actual cash.
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Old 02-06-2023, 08:39 PM   #27
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My apologies, I meant cash/funds still available in an account that's not a time deposit account such as a CD. Because of the low rates over the last few years I've always had $100k or so easily available in a low interest savings or checking account.

Now that rates around 5% I'd like to invest as much as possible while at the same time keeping cash/funds available for a rainy day or unexpected need.
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Old 02-06-2023, 08:42 PM   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FI_RElater View Post
I don't have to pull the entire CD and be subject to the early withdrawal penalty (if the funds were needed for say a new roof or vehicle)


I used to do that but now all my CD providers permit partial withdrawals. The penalties are not so severe and I can scrape off interest also in case of an emergency

I keep -2k liquid in checking but it has crept way up due to these high rates. I didn’t bother to roll the latest CD into a new note so currently have 20k in MM.
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Old 02-06-2023, 08:48 PM   #29
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Quote:
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i'm interpreting "liquid" to mean cash-in-hand without the need to visit a bank or ATM.
That's not at all what I understand. Liquid to me means money I can use without have to liquidate any investments and without going into debt. Checking account, savings account, MM, and actual cash I have at home.
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Old 02-06-2023, 08:56 PM   #30
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If we are talking cash, I have about 5K in Benjamin's at all times. I like to pay cash for gas and small things I do on a daily basis. Checking is about 5K and about 11% of portfolio is in CD ladders.

Not that many years ago I had 30K all in one-hundred-dollar bills. I called it my cold hard cash. I kept in in a tin can in the freezer.

Every time I have to break one, they check to see if it is a fake. Lol
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Old 02-06-2023, 08:57 PM   #31
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So last week we had ice storms and freezing rain. Tree limbs and electric lines frozen over with ice. Fast forward, some limbs and lines snapped and power went out. Some areas had no power for 4 days. Not a grid failure but an ice event that caused downed power lines. Power lines to banks, credit card machines, convenience stores etc. Many places only took cash, for several days.

Austin, Texas last week.
$50 in cash at home won’t sustain you.
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Old 02-06-2023, 09:14 PM   #32
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Quote:
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50-60k in case something comes up.
+1 $53k
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Old 02-06-2023, 09:40 PM   #33
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I keep 10k in my bank savings that I can access easily and only 100 at home.
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How much liquid cash do you keep available?
Old 02-06-2023, 10:26 PM   #34
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How much liquid cash do you keep available?

$40 in my wallet, $50K in my low interest bank checking account, $400K in several brokerage money market accounts, $50 at home, whatever DH carries in his wallet I don’t know.
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Old 02-06-2023, 11:07 PM   #35
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When I do my year end rebalancing, I replenish our online savings account that currently pays 3.3% to an amount equal to 1) our gap between spending and my pension and DW's SS for 12 months and 2) $25k of emergency funds. That is roughly $60k and it decays down towards $25k over the course of the year and is then replenished.

I usually keep a couple thousand in cash for emergencies.
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Old 02-06-2023, 11:57 PM   #36
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The Witnesses Protection Program discourages flashing a lot of money around so I keep 32 cents in a sock.
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Old 02-07-2023, 02:53 AM   #37
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I keep about 2 years of living expenses. No pension, no SS (yet).
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Old 02-07-2023, 03:46 AM   #38
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HI Bill View Post
+1. After last year with almost $0 earnings, I was shocked that for
January, we received almost $900 (VMFXX).
I have 40k sitting in a MM at my local bank and I'm barely earning anything (still!). Apparently I need someone to explain how to benefit from MM better. I like the idea of having money in a brick and mortar local place in case of an emergency, but I don't need more than 10k or so for that.

I usually keep a few hundred in my house, I've got 40k in savings and another 20k in CDs. I live a fairly modest lifestyle.
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Old 02-07-2023, 04:00 AM   #39
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I've kept a bit of cash, several thousand after selling a lot of stuff on Craigs List when I downsized a few years ago. Used it for cash discounts and to avoid ATM as well as always having cash for emergencies. With inflation raging these last few years I've been spending it down and will probably maintain around $500 of currency on hand for civil emergencies.



Cash doesn't do any work for me so not interested in holding a lot. If I need funds, I will sell some taxable and I have a HELOC in place if the market seems to be too low and I'm feeling like deferring the sale. Of course I could reimburse from HSA as well. Except for some extreme situation where currency is required, I charge almost everything so I'll have 20-50 days to figure out how to pay the bill when it comes in so immediate liquidity is not necessary.


Cash equivalent deposits (including T-Bills and CDs) are about 1.2x annual expenses and will be spent down throughout the year until I refresh.
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Old 02-07-2023, 04:09 AM   #40
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Liquid cash on hand, always try to keep 2 or 3 hundred in my wallet, A thousand in the checking, and about 12 months emergency funds in savings.
Couple K in in SHTF valuables in the safe.
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