Keeping emergency cash at home

[MRG]

I have one of those toys too;

Les Baer Premier II

Nice. Les makes a great 1911.

We used to shoot next to a guy and we'd swap our Wilson for his Les. Nice weapon.

 

[brucethebroker]

Anyone doing this for emergency spending would be wise to keep a mix of denominations so that you don't have to spend a whole $50 for a loaf of bread because the merchant has nothing smaller with which to return change.

Don't know about during an emergency, but I carry 50's and find they are very easy to change. Nearly every cashier has numerous 20's in the drawer, since they are rarely given in change.

(I would gladly take two twenties in change if that was the only way to get a loaf of bread during an emergency.)

Years ago I had a bit of a cashing problem since cashiers suspected 50's of being counterfeit, but now anything over a $5 is suspect anyway.

 

[audreyh1]

Anyone doing this for emergency spending would be wise to keep a mix of denominations so that you don't have to spend a whole $50 for a loaf of bread because the merchant has nothing smaller with which to return change.

My emergency cash is for the scenario where networks are down, but cash registers still have cash. This seems to be the more common bad weather scenario where power is off for a while, or maybe intermittent by networks are down, and some stores still open.

 

[97guns]

My emergency cash is $1800 in nickels, no paper bills except for a couple of $2 bills, currently have a $1400 balance in my checking, the rest of my savings is in

Silver and platinum

 

[Retiredmajor]

What is king is a way to get out of the disaster area such as a fueled-up SUV and maybe a chainsaw.

Unless you want to stay in your home and take care of it. Not every crisis results in total destruction of the area that requires fleeing. Often times, it's very spotty but enough destruction to cause outages. As I worked to restore power in those areas I've used cash at numerous places that stayed open but didn't have electricity. Others here have had the same experience. Cash gives you options.......more options are always better than fewer option.

 

[bingybear]

as 2008/9 I took out about 2k just in case. I just keep a few bucks that happen to be in my wallet now.

 

[Badger]

A stash of cash is good for emergencies when hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, etc. get bad in your area but does not affect the entire country. Any major damage to the economy and you may want to buy a lot of dried beans and rice. Money may not be the preferred medium of exchange.



Cheers!

 

[audreyh1]

A stash of cash is good for emergencies when hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, etc. get bad in your area but does not affect the entire country. Any major damage to the economy and you may want to buy a lot of dried beans and rice. Money may not be the preferred medium of exchange.



Cheers!

Dried beans and rice and figure out where you are going to get water and how you are going to boil water to cook them in!

 

[LOL!]

^That's why I like canned beans and minute rice for such emergencies. Water is easy to get from the local ponds. We have camping stuff including water filters, camp stoves, camp fuel, so warming up a can of beans and cooking rice a few minutes (not tens of mintues) is trivial.

However, I will admit that we have never had to cook food despite power outages lasting a week. For Ike, Rita, and Harvey, we sheltered in place then left. For Sandy where I was trapped in NY while travelling, I was fortunate to be in a place that served as the meeting point for first responders and all meals were free. For the tornado that destroyed the neighborhood, nearby fast food places gave away free food to the victims.

My biggest worry is fire through the area. We're getting out ahead of time if we can.

 

[Red Badger]

A Benjamin in my cell phone case most always. A few grand in the house.

Lots of camping gear to help when SHTF. Of course, a fully stocked wine fridge. We've had hurricanes, snow/ice storms where we used that stuff. Definitely more useful than cash. A bunch of guns we can use to help retain the aforementioned.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

A stash of cash is good for emergencies when hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, etc. get bad in your area but does not affect the entire country. Any major damage to the economy and you may want to buy a lot of dried beans and rice. Money may not be the preferred medium of exchange.

True, and in a postapocalyptic world, guns might be valuable but I wouldn't trade mine! And precious metals might just be pretty shiny bricks....

That's why I have a liquor cache. Even if people start distilling moonshine, I'll bet these would be worth something in trade:

(Seriously though, it's just because when I see a really good price on something we like, why not buy a few years worth? It's not like it'll ever go bad. Also, note the porcelain water filter in the back, recommended by friends who served in the Peace Corps.)

 

[MichaelB]

I keep $2K (or so) in cash, done this for many years, and have had to dig into it more than once. Even when we travel, I bring along extra cash.

The first real use was in '89 in Venezuela when we were under martial law for 3 days and stores only took cash. Many more opportunities followed, and this was our "training ground". Hurricane Wilma left us without power for 2 weeks, and it was cash only then. That was exciting.

I probably have a couple of hundred $$ in multiple foreign currencies, left over from travel, each not enough to exchange or discovered in my briefcase after a trip.

In the early '00's we traveled regularly to Venezuela, and I always had a couple of '000's in local currency. We stopped going, I still had that cash and was unable to use it, so there it sits, now worth at least US $0.01 - $0.02. Or maybe twice that.

 

[Mulligan]

under the carpet is not good for paper notes ( stains and water damage ) i have not tested the polymer notes in the same place .



near HOT appliances is not a great idea either but might work for coins .



vary hiding places ( more than one ) should fit various needs quick emergencies .. something that needs immediate cash recovery , and 'rainy day ' where you might take say up to an hour to recover the cash ( normally a larger amount stored )

I read an article on places to hide cash. Many I might forget I had it there. One example I definitely had not thought of was unscrewing light switch covers and shoving it in there. The doorbell ring cover box was another one.

 

[cooch96]

Usually about $250 is all I keep in cash.

I have accumulated about 400 oz. of silver bullion coins. They're locked in a gun safe.

Rather than keeping a lot of cash on hand, I try to keep the items on hand that I would need to use the cash on.

+1. I’m within $50 and maybe 40oz. of Stormy. I only have a couple weeks of food in the house and maybe 3 days of bottled water, and I think that would be with strict rationing. But we have one of those survival, camping straws that can (slowly) purify up to 20 gallons of water. I’d get more of those before stockpiling pallets of water bottles.

 

[Badger]

Dried beans and rice and figure out where you are going to get water and how you are going to boil water to cook them in!

If water is unavailable then you are going to die anyway in a few days.


Cheers!

 

[Gallaher]

Always keep a few weeks of rice and beans in the pantry, store plenty of water in the holding tank, about $5k in the gun safe as well as a loaded firearm.....one in the safe, one outside.
Just because it hasn’t happened doesn’t mean it never will.

 

[Walt34]

One example I definitely had not thought of was unscrewing light switch covers and shoving it in there. The doorbell ring cover box was another one.

Being an ex-refrigeration tech I always thought a good place to hide cash would be inside the refrigerator or freezer, between the inner "tub" where the food is and the insulation. One has to know how to get the plastic trim off and on without breaking it though.

Make sure to tell the spouse or SO about that one, I doubt many would think to look there!

 

[erkevin]

+1 on the 1911's. I have 2 series 70's Gold Cups. Looks like they could both be NIB's, except I do shoot them from time to time. Pic's on request!

I love that weapon. A friend of mine has one- got to take it to the range 1x. Beautiful 1911

 

[Red Badger]

I read an article on places to hide cash. Many I might forget I had it there. One example I definitely had not thought of was unscrewing light switch covers and shoving it in there. The doorbell ring cover box was another one.

The legs of an ironing board work well. In a burglary, ironing boards rank fairly low. Big, bulky, and worth zero at most pawn shops.

 

[Ronstar]

I just checked with DW. She keeps around $100 in ones in the house for whenever she wants to go to exercise class. Not sure if this can be considered emergency cash though.

 

[Mulligan]

Being an ex-refrigeration tech I always thought a good place to hide cash would be inside the refrigerator or freezer, between the inner "tub" where the food is and the insulation. One has to know how to get the plastic trim off and on without breaking it though.

Make sure to tell the spouse or SO about that one, I doubt many would think to look there!

That is true. At least if you stuffed the money in a wall or ceiling the second or third generation homeowners of the homestead may get an unexpected bonus. But there is a good chance in the fridge it may never get spent, ha.

 

[Out of Steam]

The $150 or so in my wallet, plus a couple of coffee cans of change.

Camping gear, including a stove and fuel, ten gallons of bottled water, firewood, and nonperishable food seem way more useful than cash.

 

[Winemaker]

Under $10,000 in safe. Usually $20 in pocket. Saw the necessity of cash when 85 yo MIL, DW best friend, and DW's cousin was stranded without power for 15 days. No power to pump gas in local area, other gas stations sold gas with hand pumps and cash only sales. Cash registers took cash only on crank, no access to internet, WIFI, or any thing electronic. Had to take gas with us to guarantee a return trip home with MIL, it was a real eye opener.

 

[6miths]

True, and in a postapocalyptic world, guns might be valuable but I wouldn't trade mine! And precious metals might just be pretty shiny bricks....

That's why I have a liquor cache. Even if people start distilling moonshine, I'll bet these would be worth something in trade:

(Seriously though, it's just because when I see a really good price on something we like, why not buy a few years worth? It's not like it'll ever go bad. Also, note the porcelain water filter in the back, recommended by friends who served in the Peace Corps.)

And in a pinch most of that stuff can double as fuel or if the zombies are coming, pretty effective weapons when combined with a rag!

 

[gretah]

I've lived in towns that have lost power for a week. Cash only at the grocery & hardware stores and gas stations.

I even experienced lost power in a high rise condo in a big city. The entire neighborhood lost power so my building of 1,000+ people all needed to buy water plus hibachis and coal to cook on the balconies. Luckily, that city was in a warm climate.

So, yeah, I keep a few hundred cash in small bills. Hidden.

So if you need to sell that Maker's Mark, I'll have cash for ya ;-)