How much liquid cash do you keep available?

[audreyh1]

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.

 

[Drake3287]

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.

 

[jazz4cash]

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.

 

[RunningBum]

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.

 

[street]

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

 

[Katoslake]

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.

 

[W2R]

50-60k in case something comes up.

+1 $53k

 

[Teacher Terry]

I keep 10k in my bank savings that I can access easily and only 100 at home.

 

[swakyaby]

$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.

 

[pb4uski]

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.

 

[Chuckanut]

The Witnesses Protection Program discourages flashing a lot of money around so I keep 32 cents in a sock.

 

[HarveyS]

I keep about 2 years of living expenses. No pension, no SS (yet).

 

[Smilinggirl]

+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.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

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.

 

[old medic]

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.

 

[Time2]

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.

When I retired a little over 4 years ago, I started with my yearly spend in my checking account and just let it dwindle down over the year,. Every year I made most of my withdrawals in December and could tax plan my withdrawal. Dec, 2022 I made a large Roth Conversion maxing out the 22% bracket and put it all in the Roth without any going to checking for 2023 spending. I started 2023 with $8k left over in checking and will probably just transfer $10k from Tax deferred accounts as needed trying to spend them down as low as possible before RMDs. We keep a few thousand in the safe and I try to keep one or two quad folded $100 bills under the credit cards in my wallet, just in case.

 

[DrRoy]

1.5 - 2 years spending in a money market account, replenished annually.

 

[OnTheBeach]

I have been retired for one year and keep about 1 year's spending in money market and about 1 month's spending in checking.

 

[jimbee]

The Witnesses Protection Program discourages flashing a lot of money around so I keep 32 cents in a sock.

All in pennies, so it's usable for self defense?

 

[jebmke]

Our checking account averages 2-4 weeks of expenses

 

[Car-Guy]

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.

+1, Absolutely agree...

 

[wmc1000]

We keep about $1K in Checking and $20-25k in Savings to replenish Checking as needed. $40k in bond ladder, (Cd's), split between 3,6,9 and 12 month maturities. Everything else is in long term investments.

When I retired the start of 2017 I took out $1k in cash to be used as needed and still have over $700 sitting around as I charge everything I can.

 

[Badger]

About 1k in cash. I just need to remember where I stashed it.

Cheers!

 

[DawgMan]

Right now, about 18 months of planned spend...
- 17 in MMKT
- 1 in checking
- $100 cash to tip golf kid/valets... the rare things it is helpful to have cash.

 

[dmpi]

We all got money. The question is how quickly you get at it. My Schwab Mutual Fund takes one day for settlement and one day to transfer it to my credit union. From that point on I have to physically go to the credit union since my cash machine is limited to $1500. If any of these days fall on a weekend or holiday nothing happens. Realistically I'd give it a week to get my money. I still remember in the 90s when we paid off our mortgage. Schwab set us a check, but my bank put a 7 day hold on it and I missed the cut-off date! Now I keep my 'cash stash' in my credit union's MM account earning a whopping 2%. I can get to it on that day, unless it falls on a weekend or holiday.