Author Topic: Do you keep cash at home?  (Read 19058 times)

mustachepungoeshere

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Do you keep cash at home?
« on: June 03, 2015, 10:24:37 PM »
I'm curious if anyone keeps a small (or large) stash of cash at home for emergencies.

Yes, it should be invested. Yes, temptation and accessible cash are a bad idea. Yes, telling the internet about it is even worse.

But do you keep cash (e.g. a couple of hundred dollars) hidden in a drawer or a jam jar in case you can't access your bank account? And have you had to use it?

LeRainDrop

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #1 on: June 03, 2015, 10:34:54 PM »
No cash at home, though I guess I have a few old savings bonds sitting in a drawer.  Otherwise, I try to keep $20-40 in my wallet.

Squirrel away

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #2 on: June 04, 2015, 02:52:55 AM »
Not really, we normally have about £10 in cash at home. It probably is a good idea to keep more for emergencies. There was a time that I had to go out on an emergency and it was a Saturday night and all the bank cash points near me were empty.

Janie

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #3 on: June 04, 2015, 04:24:09 AM »
no

Mikhial

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #4 on: June 04, 2015, 05:10:10 AM »
Nope. Why would a couple hundred dollars be better than have a credit card or the money in the bank instead?

nereo

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #5 on: June 04, 2015, 05:41:44 AM »
We keep a change jar with enough money for a few bus trips, and then I generally have $20-30 in my wallet.  Otherwise, no cash. 
We do make sure we always have enough food, water and other supplies to last several weeks through any natural disaster.  Being backpackers this really isn't very hard for us to do.

Carless

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #6 on: June 04, 2015, 06:01:03 AM »
Yes, there have been a lot of occasions where I needed $20-40 quickly, didn't have time/access to a bank machine, and had to pay cash.  I like having some $ on hand in case of that. 

matchewed

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #7 on: June 04, 2015, 06:01:49 AM »
$100 for a quick grab if needed in an emergency situation. It'll probably sit there forever.

2Birds1Stone

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #8 on: June 04, 2015, 06:32:05 AM »
I always have ~1000 on my person at any given time.

It has come in handy quite a few times when getting stranded while traveling, during a power outage, and a few times when I had an opportunity to make a cash only purchase on something unexpected and later resell for a tidy profit.

ZiziPB

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #9 on: June 04, 2015, 07:01:27 AM »
Generally, I have less than $40 in cash on hand at any given time.  When I travel, I get some extra cash (around $100) to have on hand in case I need it. I also keep some foreign currency in cash for the 3 foreign places I visit on regular basis (pounds, euros and zlotys) just so that I have some money on me when I first arrive and don't have to look for an ATM or currency exchange right away.  I make it a habit to bring some cash in the foreign currency back whenever I travel so that I have it for next time (usually about $100 worth).

kpd905

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #10 on: June 04, 2015, 07:02:18 AM »
I think we have around $200 in a safe.  We never use cash so it has been sitting there for almost 2 years.

ysette9

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #11 on: June 04, 2015, 08:01:59 AM »
We keep about $2000 in our safe for emergencies, most likely when "the big one" hits (we live in earthquake country). That is probably excessive but we get cash gifts regularly and don't have a local bank so it has just sort of accumulated over the years. It is not a lot of money compared to our net worth so I am not losing sleep about lost investment returns. We will probably never use it but we do need it one day, I am sure I will be grateful.

Retire-Canada

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #12 on: June 04, 2015, 08:20:35 AM »
I'm curious if anyone keeps a small (or large) stash of cash at home for emergencies.

Yes, it should be invested. Yes, temptation and accessible cash are a bad idea. Yes, telling the internet about it is even worse.

But do you keep cash (e.g. a couple of hundred dollars) hidden in a drawer or a jam jar in case you can't access your bank account? And have you had to use it?

My Cash:

- $200 in wallet replenished at start of month
- $20 in my mountain bike pack for emergencies
- $20 - $30 in change in my office

Stachetastic

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #13 on: June 04, 2015, 08:25:45 AM »
We keep a couple hundred for weekend craigslist purchases, etc. We've run into issues when an appliance has shit the bed at one of our rentals and we had to scramble to replace it and needed more cash than we could have gotten from an ATM.

Rubic

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #14 on: June 04, 2015, 08:45:32 AM »
There are occasional opportunities that arise when there is no substitute for cash.  A few weeks ago Office Depot was giving back $20 cash when purchasing $300 worth of Visa Gift Cards, but would only accept cash (not even debit card payment).  I rode my bike back home, came back to the store with $600 (limit 2 per customer), then later loaded my Target Redcard with the VGC's for a quick $40 profit.

Syonyk

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #15 on: June 04, 2015, 08:46:09 AM »
Yes.  Plus a non-trivial amount on me (my coworkers think I'm /nuts/).

Nope. Why would a couple hundred dollars be better than have a credit card or the money in the bank instead?

In case the credit cards and ATMs stop working for some reason.  If you want to buy something from an individual who doesn't take credit cards, or if there's an area wide power outage, or one of a wide variety of things that can happen in which the electronic value transfer systems stop working for a while.

I always have ~1000 on my person at any given time.

It has come in handy quite a few times when getting stranded while traveling, during a power outage, and a few times when I had an opportunity to make a cash only purchase on something unexpected and later resell for a tidy profit.

I don't keep quite that much on me, but I do try to ensure that I leave on any road trip with enough cash to cover expected fuel expenses (if it's beyond one tank).

MayDay

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #16 on: June 04, 2015, 08:50:46 AM »
Not intentionally because I always spend every last penny of cash before bothering to go to the bank for more.

But H has a stash of birthday gift money that he never spends.  I have occasionally raided it (an paid it back of course!) when I have no money to pay the babysitter, and if there was ever some major disaster and CC networks were down, we could use it.

Killerbrandt

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #17 on: June 04, 2015, 08:57:16 AM »
No actual cash on hand other than about 60 in my wallet for weekend use. Now I do have a huge US Currency collection and a ton of silver coins, so in a real life emergency (zombies kill all), then I will trade silver coins :)

Jesstache

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #18 on: June 04, 2015, 09:09:29 AM »
I have a jar that I keep all my Craigslist sale profits in.  I use it to pay babysitters and make CL purchases of my own.  It also catches all the change that ends up in my washer/dryer.  I've been on a tear selling things lately and I sell much more than I buy or have need for a babysitter so it's built up quite a bit.  I plan to buy a new dishwasher with it when the current one finally cr@ps out and there are several planned babysitter nights coming up this summer.  I probably still won't completely drain it though.

Bob W

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #19 on: June 04, 2015, 09:32:27 AM »
Not really but I used to.  Thinks I will start again after reading this.   I used to have a hard and fast rule of never having less than $300 in my wallet.   

I'm also thinking about doing the envelope system, so that would entail a bunch of cash.   

I know most folks are into digital money these days --- but I'm pretty sure that people spend less with cash than digital. 

I'm a red panda

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #20 on: June 04, 2015, 09:58:13 AM »
No.

I think I have $3 in my wallet. My husband might have about $40.

JLee

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #21 on: June 04, 2015, 10:05:13 AM »
Not generally, no.

Retire-Canada

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #22 on: June 04, 2015, 10:11:47 AM »
There are occasional opportunities that arise when there is no substitute for cash.  A few weeks ago Office Depot was giving back $20 cash when purchasing $300 worth of Visa Gift Cards, but would only accept cash (not even debit card payment).  I rode my bike back home, came back to the store with $600 (limit 2 per customer), then later loaded my Target Redcard with the VGC's for a quick $40 profit.

That $600 would have earned you $40/yr [@ 6.7% return] if you had it invested and then when you factor in your time to bike to and from the store and then use the VGCs it doesn't sound like such a great deal to be honest.

AlanStache

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #23 on: June 04, 2015, 10:44:58 AM »
I had for a long time keep a few hundred at home, probably should again.  Just sort of got out of the habit.  After huricanes power can be down for days, while I have ermgancy supplies, specially printed green slips of paper could get me other needed items.

I also always get a few hundred in local currencty when traveling, dont like landing somewhere without it.  Never know what might happen and cash will get me a cab to my hotel and dinner in most any case.

I also keep 100$ in my car, the original bills eventally faded and I had to rotate them out.

Norrie

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #24 on: June 04, 2015, 10:53:09 AM »
We do always have some, just accumulated from cash gifts, etc. We don't think of it in terms of emergency money though. It's more used for the never-ending stream of cash that the kids need for various school activities, but forget to tell us until morning of. We've also used it for buying furniture from Craigslist.

It's rare that I have more than about $6.00 in cash in my wallet at any given time.

catccc

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #25 on: June 04, 2015, 10:54:33 AM »
Nope.  I rarely have cash on me.  If anyone does keep cash at home, check your homeowner's/renters insurance on liability limits on cash.

I know someone with a small seasonal biz that stashed cash at home and someone (possibly someone he knew) ransacked his place and took it while he was on vacation.  That sucked.

I've never needed cash in such a hurry that a trip to the ATM or bank didn't suffice.

RunHappy

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #26 on: June 04, 2015, 10:58:14 AM »
I keep 10 - $1 bills in my car and about 8 - quarters.  For tolls and parking meters.  That is about it.  I've had the quarters for almost a year, but the dollar bills I'll need to replenish every 3 months or so.

Occasionally I will need to take money from the ATM, then I might have more on me, but that is about it.

Sailor Sam

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #27 on: June 04, 2015, 11:10:09 AM »
Started keeping cash in the house about 2 years ago. I lost my wallet, which contained my credit card, my debit card, and most of my identifying documents. I had checks, but no local bank would exchange them for cash. Eye opening 10 day experience.

WranglerBowman

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #28 on: June 04, 2015, 11:20:29 AM »
I buy and sell things a fair amount with cash, so my cash stache ebbs and flows from a few hundred to 10k.  It's in a big fire safe that's bolted to a concrete floor.  This is just kind of my doomsday preper survival box I guess...not that I'm a dooms day prepper, I just try to always be prepared for anything.

WerKater

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #29 on: June 04, 2015, 11:49:48 AM »
I usually have between 0€ and 100€ in my wallet. When it gets close to zero, I go to the ATM and get another 100.

Blonde Lawyer

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #30 on: June 04, 2015, 12:45:19 PM »
No, but I intend to.  My neighbor's kids sell produce from their garden and I hate when I don't have cash on hand to buy it.  Also, we woke up one year to a freak fall snowstorm that knocked out power all over town.  You could only buy groceries if you had cash and we had very few groceries in our house.  It was pretty scary.  If you don't have cash, at least have a few day's worth of survival supplies.

TN_Steve

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #31 on: June 04, 2015, 12:52:31 PM »
Yep.  $1000 in 20s and smaller bills.  Tornadoes, ice storms, edge of New Madrid fault zone, etc.  Plus, it is conceivable that we might need it for some last minute private transaction even if the area has electricity.

forummm

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #32 on: June 04, 2015, 02:32:55 PM »
I keep a few hundred bucks around. Probably not needed.

Guesl982374

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #33 on: June 04, 2015, 02:45:19 PM »
$3-400 for emergencies (power loss, can't run a CC, etc) and for the "Oh shit, I have to go to a graduation and have $20 in my wallet. Oh well I'll grab some cash and throw it in a card."

AJ

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #34 on: June 04, 2015, 02:48:26 PM »
Keeping some cash on hand is an important disaster preparedness step (like having flashlights and band-aids). In the event of a disaster, it is not uncommon for credit card systems to be unavailable. The opportunity cost of a couple hundred bucks is minimal, and it could make a huge difference in an emergency.

Red Beard

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #35 on: June 04, 2015, 03:34:44 PM »
We pull cash out each week for the food and entertainment portions of our budget and have two rules. We never spend $1 bills and we never count them. Yes, its not earning interest. Yes, it makes us sound a bit crazy. But there is just something satisfying each time we move a dollar from our wallet to the drawer - plus one day we will have a nice little surprise for whoever gets our estate :)

dunhamjr

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #36 on: June 04, 2015, 09:24:05 PM »
nope. Just the $40 or less that I carry in my wallet and some spare change in the kids piggy bank.

Annamal

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #37 on: June 04, 2015, 10:17:09 PM »
Yes because we live in an earthquake prone area and the last big one down south meant that a lot of people couldn't buy things for a few days because electronic payment methods and ATMs were down.

Not a huge quantity of money, just enough for a few days worth of supplies if we are forced to abandon our house.

FIRE me

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #38 on: June 04, 2015, 11:47:28 PM »
I'm curious if anyone keeps a small (or large) stash of cash at home for emergencies.

Yes, it should be invested. Yes, temptation and accessible cash are a bad idea. Yes, telling the internet about it is even worse.

But do you keep cash (e.g. a couple of hundred dollars) hidden in a drawer or a jam jar in case you can't access your bank account? And have you had to use it?

I like to keep a few hundred in cash. It has been convenient from time to time.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #39 on: June 08, 2015, 12:09:28 PM »
I keep a bit in my purse, but not in my wallet - it is there for occasions where I didn't expect I would need cash but I do.

I keep any left over US currency when I get home from a vacation, so I need less the next time I go.  I also save US coins when they show up in my change, for when I travel.  It is easier to get bills than coins at the bank.  I find I use more cash (not a lot, but more) when I travel in the US, no Tap & Go.

cynthia1848

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #40 on: June 08, 2015, 12:14:46 PM »
We have around $1000 in cash for emergencies (if the power goes out, etc.).

Iron Mike Sharpe

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #41 on: June 08, 2015, 12:22:09 PM »
Yes.

I play poker recreationally, so I often have a lot of cash either on me or in a drawer. 

music lover

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #42 on: June 08, 2015, 12:33:27 PM »
I carry about $100 walking around cash and the coin tray in my car has about 30 - $2 coins in it. No real money in the house other than a pile of loose change worth about $10.

chicagomeg

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #43 on: June 08, 2015, 01:24:55 PM »
I try to keep $100-200 in our house. It does get raided from time to time for an "emergency" run to our favorite cash only Pakistani restaurant though. We started doing this after the derecho hit the east coast just before the 4th of July in 2012. So many places around us had their credit card processing down, even after their emergency generators came back to life. It's enough to get a couple tanks of gas & a couple of meals in an emergency. More than that seems silly to me, but everyone is different.

worms

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #44 on: June 08, 2015, 01:35:19 PM »
I don't usually keep local currency (ie UK £s) but I do have some Euros and some US $ and reckon if I really needed to I could find someone that at the very least would take these as collateral until I came back with £s.  This way I know I am not going to use them casually, but could (albeit with a bit of effort) in an emergency.  Nuts or what?

Rubic

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #45 on: June 08, 2015, 04:33:39 PM »
There are occasional opportunities that arise when there is no substitute for cash.  A few weeks ago Office Depot was giving back $20 cash when purchasing $300 worth of Visa Gift Cards, but would only accept cash (not even debit card payment).  I rode my bike back home, came back to the store with $600 (limit 2 per customer), then later loaded my Target Redcard with the VGC's for a quick $40 profit.

That $600 would have earned you $40/yr [@ 6.7% return] if you had it invested and then when you factor in your time to bike to and from the store and then use the VGCs it doesn't sound like such a great deal to be honest.

Interesting point, though not really a fair comparison unless I put every last dollar in the stock market.  My funds are only invested in the market with a 5-10 year horizon.  Since I'm going to keep some emergency funds liquid, a more apt point would be to compare against putting the $600 in Ally Bank and drawing 1% interest of about $6.  I do have plenty of funds that can be withdrawn from an ATM (even directly from my investment accounts, if necessary) but sometimes that's inconvenient, especially in difficult circumstances (power outages, identity theft, etc.)  Also consider there may be multiple opportunities to use cash, so a second opportunity within a year would double my return to 13.4%.

As for the time back and forth to the store on my bicycle ... I don't weigh riding my bike as time to be remunerated.  My point was I spent a half hour on a weekend doing some cash arbitration -- an interesting and somewhat fun diversion -- probably less time than I've spent posting on this forum today.  ;-)


Wilson Hall

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #46 on: June 08, 2015, 06:35:00 PM »
$50-100 stashed in the house; generally not more than $20 on my person unless I'm traveling.

GetItRight

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #47 on: June 09, 2015, 07:59:32 AM »
$300-$600 in my wallet at most times. At home is just a change jar that is deposited when it gets full. Started carrying more when gas stations began charging more to pay with a card, but also when you need cash you simply need it. It does no good in the bank or at home.

rmendpara

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #48 on: June 09, 2015, 10:11:31 AM »
If I was at the bank, I'd withdraw enough cash to keep ~$100 in my wallet (big bill folded away somewhat hidden), and probably 2-300 to keep in a drawer somewhere at home.

Every now and then, it's used, but probably goes 6 months - 1 yr without being fully used up since I rarely use cash. If I can pay with credit, I do. Mostly I keep cash with me as a backup or when I'm going somewhere that credit is not an option... although that's becoming less frequent.

irishbear99

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Re: Do you keep cash at home?
« Reply #49 on: June 09, 2015, 05:06:02 PM »
Yup, we keep cash in the emergency kit along with water, food, etc. A large enough hurricane could knock the power out for days and I'd hate for us to go without something we might need just because we can't swipe our cards.