Cash at Home?

MommyLiberty5013 · October 2013

Not including the cash in your wallets or purses, how much cash do you and your family keep at home in a safe and/or hidden place?

DH and I have $400-500.

anssett · October 2013

A jar of loose change. I only have cash if it has a purpose. At most I'll carry $100. Usually less. Have you ever needed this cash? For what?

ta78 · October 2013

Maybe $30 in change in the house. Usually only 20-60 in our wallets. What do you keep cash at home for?

ta78 · October 2013

Maybe $30 in change in the house. Usually only 20-60 in our wallets. What do you keep cash at home for?

brij2006 · October 2013

Hah! None. I think sometimes we will have about $20 laying somewhere, but that's it.

MommyLiberty5013 · October 2013

Nope never needed all of it. We sometimes use a portion if we cannot get to an ATM due to time constraints. I've paid dog sitters out of it. But basically, it's for an emergency in which the electronic system in the U.S. is upset and we cannot access our funds.

I'm thinking like 9/11 - when the country shut down some aspects of itself. Terrorist attack. EMP. Solar flare.

Yes, these are very unlikely. But like life insurance, we figure, better to have and not need than not have and need.

I think the world in which we live - so unknown in many ways, means that the heavily relied upon technology could potentially be out of service for some time.

An example of this, but on a smaller scale is that the major airline DH works for is giving its pilots all tablets. The tablets will be used for manuals, charts, maps, and all their flight docs that pilots use in the flight decks. But what happens when the electronic computer systems of the airplane or the ground service or the nation are out? Well, there will be paper hard copies stored in the flight deck too. Just in case.

We see some cash on hand as the same thing. A paper hard copy back up.

Another example, natural disaster in your area. No one pumping gas could pay with DC or CC if the card readers are out. And no gas station is going to give away gas for free. You need cash on hand in case of an emergency when no one accepts electronic forms of payment.

Rainzzzy · October 2013

MommyLiberty5013 said:

Nope never needed all of it. We sometimes use a portion if we cannot get to an ATM due to time constraints. I've paid dog sitters out of it. But basically, it's for an emergency in which the electronic system in the U.S. is upset and we cannot access our funds.

I'm thinking like 9/11 - when the country shut down some aspects of itself. Terrorist attack. EMP. Solar flare.

Yes, these are very unlikely. But like life insurance, we figure, better to have and not need than not have and need.

I think the world in which we live - so unknown in many ways, means that the heavily relied upon technology could potentially be out of service for some time.

An example of this, but on a smaller scale is that the major airline DH works for is giving its pilots all tablets. The tablets will be used for manuals, charts, maps, and all their flight docs that pilots use in the flight decks. But what happens when the electronic computer systems of the airplane or the ground service or the nation are out? Well, there will be paper hard copies stored in the flight deck too. Just in case.

We see some cash on hand as the same thing. A paper hard copy back up.

Another example, natural disaster in your area. No one pumping gas could pay with DC or CC if the card readers are out. And no gas station is going to give away gas for free. You need cash on hand in case of an emergency when no one accepts electronic forms of payment.

I keep planning to do this but want to find some place sneaky enough. Hard to do since we live in a small apartment and maintenance workers are in and out all the time. But I do think it's a good idea. I always keep at least half to 2/3 a tank of gas just in case (I live in harsh winter area and fear getting stuck somewhere, and also worry about mass power outages where pumps won't work). I should keep some water on hand but don't (again because of lack of space) and plan to do this once we live in a house. I don't stay up at night worrying what if, but I also think it's good to prepare somewhat just in case something random happens.

Mom987 · October 2013

None. Kids piggy banks.

vlagrl29 · October 2013

2-3k in our safe in the basement. DH is always putting extra cash in there.

HoneyBee973 · October 2013

We have about $100 in cash. It comes in handy when we are running late meeting friends and want to have cash to pay, or lazy nights when we order pizza for dinner.

CuriousKiddosMama · October 2013

We keep about 2-3 K in our safe too, just in case. For the person who didn't know where to store it in an apartment, buy one of those fake can safes- the things that look like a pop can/ hair spray can, but they untwist on the bottom to let you store stuff in. That would most likely protect it from maintenance people.

MommyLiberty5013 · October 2013

Don't hide money in the fridge, freezer, clothing drawers or jewelry boxes...these are all the typical spots.

If you don't want to buy a safe (for your important documents), look in your closets or cabinets in the bath and kitchen. Many times there are small spaces between them that are not visible to someone who is very unfamiliar with the space. If finding spaces to put cash is truly hard, then be creative. Tape bills to the top sides of your ceiling fan blades...tape bills to the underside of your desk or table...many drapery rods are hollow...roll up the bills and put some in there. Just don't forget where it is!

vlagrl29 · October 2013

and don't dig holes in the yard to put cash in or you will never find it. sounds ridic but I know someone who did this and can't find it.

katlizabeth · October 2013

MommyLiberty5013 said:

Nope never needed all of it. We sometimes use a portion if we cannot get to an ATM due to time constraints. I've paid dog sitters out of it. But basically, it's for an emergency in which the electronic system in the U.S. is upset and we cannot access our funds.

I'm thinking like 9/11 - when the country shut down some aspects of itself. Terrorist attack. EMP. Solar flare.

Yes, these are very unlikely. But like life insurance, we figure, better to have and not need than not have and need.

I think the world in which we live - so unknown in many ways, means that the heavily relied upon technology could potentially be out of service for some time.

An example of this, but on a smaller scale is that the major airline DH works for is giving its pilots all tablets. The tablets will be used for manuals, charts, maps, and all their flight docs that pilots use in the flight decks. But what happens when the electronic computer systems of the airplane or the ground service or the nation are out? Well, there will be paper hard copies stored in the flight deck too. Just in case.

We see some cash on hand as the same thing. A paper hard copy back up.

Another example, natural disaster in your area. No one pumping gas could pay with DC or CC if the card readers are out. And no gas station is going to give away gas for free. You need cash on hand in case of an emergency when no one accepts electronic forms of payment.

We keep 3k in a safe for all of these reasons. It wouldn't last us that long if something huge happened, but in e case ofnatural disasters, banks closed due to electricity/electronic records being down, we have something.

hoffse · October 2013

I have about $2 in my purse, and that's it. I tend to fritter money away more quickly when it's in cash than on credit cards - I check the credit cards every day... cash feels like it's "free" to use.

Wulfgar · October 2013

I pull roughly $380 twice a month to fund my envelops for gas, groceries, and misc expenses.

That is not counting my coin collection which is small.

cordsniper · October 2013

I always have $300 on me. Just in case something goes wrong, it's usually enough to get you through an emergency.

SURFERxGIRL · October 2013

H insists on keeping a change jar at home, but if I have cash on me I tend to spend it really quickly. . We used to contribute to our change jar fairly often but neither one of us really cash these days. We have maybe $150 in coins and another $100 in small bills (which H uses for the vending machines at work.). I like to keep $100 locked away in the glove compartment of my car for emergencies too, just in case.

Beads921 · October 2013

We keep about $300 on hand. Every so often we add to it if we find we have more cash than usual in our wallets, and we always replace it if we take from it for whatever reason. I also keep $20 in my car and $40 in a separate compartment in my purse that I don't ever touch.

mrsschrager · October 2013

About $100

LadyG · November 2013

I keep planning to do this, and haven't yet. Well, we did have a few hundred dollars on hand for a while, but then it got used for the Farmers Market.

Ideally, I would love to have $2-3k stashed at home, but might just start with $500. Natural disasters that affect electricity and therefore electronic transactions are very real possibilities.

It is also important to me that this cash be in many different denominations, not just large bills.

Belthil · November 2013

MommyLiberty5013 said:

Nope never needed all of it. We sometimes use a portion if we cannot get to an ATM due to time constraints. I've paid dog sitters out of it. But basically, it's for an emergency in which the electronic system in the U.S. is upset and we cannot access our funds.

I'm thinking like 9/11 - when the country shut down some aspects of itself. Terrorist attack. EMP. Solar flare.

Yes, these are very unlikely. But like life insurance, we figure, better to have and not need than not have and need.

I think the world in which we live - so unknown in many ways, means that the heavily relied upon technology could potentially be out of service for some time.

An example of this, but on a smaller scale is that the major airline DH works for is giving its pilots all tablets. The tablets will be used for manuals, charts, maps, and all their flight docs that pilots use in the flight decks. But what happens when the electronic computer systems of the airplane or the ground service or the nation are out? Well, there will be paper hard copies stored in the flight deck too. Just in case.

We see some cash on hand as the same thing. A paper hard copy back up.

Another example, natural disaster in your area. No one pumping gas could pay with DC or CC if the card readers are out. And no gas station is going to give away gas for free. You need cash on hand in case of an emergency when no one accepts electronic forms of payment.

I hadn't actually thought about doing something like that but it is a very good idea. I'll have to sit down with H to discuss it, but I don't see him having a problem with it. Thank you for the idea

Sisugal · December 2013

Every emergency kit should have cash enough to last a minimum of 3-4 days for food, gas, and lodging.

cbee817 · December 2013

We are lucky to have a few $ in the house- it's a good idea to keep some in a safe though. Will have to discuss with DH tonight.

jtmh2012 · December 2013

Just a thought. Don't keep any money in the house you can't afford to lose. Fire, theft, etc....

Erikan73 · December 2013

Just a change jar but that is going to be changing. I'm doing the Dave Ramsey envelope idea starting with the new year, I think it will be easier for me to keep track on certain expense what we have to spend each month. But should anything happen like the electricity goes out & we can't access money in bank, that money could potentially be used for emergency cash too. But to be honest, if the power goes out in our area, everything will be closed anyways so it won't be too much of an issue.

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