Author Topic: Cash Shortage  (Read 6072 times)

phildonnia

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Cash Shortage
« on: July 22, 2020, 10:11:59 AM »
On my local Nextdoor.com, someone helpfully notified everyone that the BofA branch nearby was out of cash. 

What followed was a flurry of responses noting that other BofA ATMs around town were experiencing problems, and some branches were closed, and there were withdrawal limits, and so on.  Being the cynic I am, I thought: This is how it starts.

Sure enough, people are beginning to tell tales of long lines at ATMs, and how their cousin knows someone who works at BofA and says the bank is running out of money.  Who knows if any of it's true, but as we know, it doesn't necessarily matter.

It doesn't help that 1) there has been a disruptive decrease in the circulation of coins 2) banks have fewer personnel available due to Covid-19 restrictions and 3) nutters are muddying the waters with conspiracy theories about how the world government is making its move to give us all the mark of the beast.

I am simultaneously amused, puzzled, and alarmed by all this.  On the one hand, what is more likely: that a major bank is ready to dramatically fail, or that the dude who stocks the ATM called in sick?  On the other hand, a cash run is a cash run, and even if it has an completely irrational basis, rational people should take it seriously. 

Many months ago, in a thread here about "things that aren't coming back", I mentioned cash.  As for myself, I literally haven't seen a Federal Reserve note since March, and I don't invest in dollar bills. It is my hope that people will notice that physical currency isn't really all that important to the economy, or necessary for daily living in the modern world. 

The last thing I want to do is give any credence to this "cash shortage" idea.  So very gently, without suggesting that anything is wrong, I'd like to know if anyone has experienced problems getting cash; if so, has it been a problem in your life; and might there be a more serious societal problem lurking here? 
My own suspicion, by the way, is that it is all bullshit.  But I'd like other perspectives.
« Last Edit: July 22, 2020, 10:26:43 AM by phildonnia »

ender

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #1 on: July 22, 2020, 10:13:37 AM »
Let me know when there's a virtual cash shortage.

Honestly, wanting to use cash (which then means change) in the middle of a pandemic seems completely stupid to me.

phildonnia

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #2 on: July 22, 2020, 10:31:17 AM »
Honestly, wanting to use cash (which then means change) in the middle of a pandemic seems completely stupid to me.

I'm with you there.  I was even beginning to question whether physical cash was such a good idea in any time.

But there is some kind of weird logic to it.  Hoarding toilet paper was stupid too, but people did it.  Toilet paper and cash are both reassuringly physical tokens of safety, preparedness, and normalcy.

Goldielocks

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #3 on: July 22, 2020, 10:46:31 AM »
Nothing like that here.   Probably the delivery driver or ATM operator called in sick and they are short of people to cover.  It's a distribution problem in other words.

Boll weevil

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #4 on: July 22, 2020, 11:08:08 AM »
Even if the bank fails, the customers are all insured up to $250,000, and my guess is that most Nextdoor.com readers have nowhere close to that deposited. Tell them to read up on what happened after Washington Mutual failed.

phildonnia

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #5 on: July 22, 2020, 11:11:26 AM »
Even if the bank fails, the customers are all insured up to $250,000, and my guess is that most Nextdoor.com readers have nowhere close to that deposited. Tell them to read up on what happened after Washington Mutual failed.

WaMu is my go-to example for this topic.  The ATMs were working all weekend, and the branch offices were open the following Monday.  Not bad for the greatest bank failure in history.

ender

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #6 on: July 22, 2020, 11:19:16 AM »
Even if the bank fails, the customers are all insured up to $250,000, and my guess is that most Nextdoor.com readers have nowhere close to that deposited. Tell them to read up on what happened after Washington Mutual failed.

To be fair, what happens if more than 1 bank fails?

kanga1622

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #7 on: July 22, 2020, 11:40:25 AM »
I haven't used cash on a routine basis in almost a year. Last time I physically had cash on hand was when someone gave it to me to reimburse me. It took me about 6 weeks to figure out how to use it as I wanted it all in one go. So I had to wait for a really big grocery stockup that would need all that cash. I would love to take my kids' piggy banks in to the bank and have that money deposited in their accounts. But I don't want the exposure. And frankly, that change has been sitting in my house for YEARS. Once we got a good handle on our variable budget categories and tracking, we went all digital to pile up cc rewards and avoid having large sums of cash on us or in our house.

It would not surprise me if there was a (few) ATM fillers out sick with COVID and they just aren't being filled in some areas as routinely as they were. And if notes are coming out of circulation due to tearing/age but not an equal amount is being printed due to COVID delays, that would certainly explain why a few areas might be seeing an issue.

Let's just say we have extended family believing in the conspiracy theory that all cash/change will become extinct shortly when we move to a virtual currency. They also believe this will devalue the dollar so now is the time to withdraw/spend down for any big purchases you were planning. I can see this conspiracy group causing some supply/demand inequality. :rolleyes:

Boll weevil

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #8 on: July 22, 2020, 11:53:55 AM »
Even if the bank fails, the customers are all insured up to $250,000, and my guess is that most Nextdoor.com readers have nowhere close to that deposited. Tell them to read up on what happened after Washington Mutual failed.

To be fair, what happens if more than 1 bank fails?

Same thing, different names. Lots of banks failed during the Great Recession. It’s my understanding that all the account data is transferred and you’re now a customer of whichever bank agreed to take over. Limiting factor as to how many banks can fail at a time is probably the number of FDIC teams available since they physically go in on a Friday to shut things down and work the transfer of assets. Another limiting factor could be how many banks are in a position to pick up the pieces.

I’m under the impression there’s a little bit of latitude in the process. Washington Mutual claimed they never actually crossed whatever threshold there was and shouldn’t have been closed. My sense was they had been flirting with the line a bit and the trend line wasn’t looking good, and the FDIC could have acted a little earlier or a little later. If the demarcation were really that clear, then I would think teams would be deployed any day of the week, not just on Fridays.

trollwithamustache

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #9 on: July 22, 2020, 12:06:16 PM »
For all you homeowners, its a great time to be holding physical cash. If trade peoples are less busy in your area, good cash prices can likely be found for your project work.

Sibley

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #10 on: July 22, 2020, 12:20:41 PM »
Even if the bank fails, the customers are all insured up to $250,000, and my guess is that most Nextdoor.com readers have nowhere close to that deposited. Tell them to read up on what happened after Washington Mutual failed.

To be fair, what happens if more than 1 bank fails?

There were a lot more than WaMu that failed, though mostly they were smaller banks. Lehman went down though, and they weren't small.

Realistically - if enough banks fail all at once and FDIC can't cope, we've got much bigger problems cause that means the Federal Reserve and/or Federal Government are also out of commission.

trollwithamustache

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #11 on: July 22, 2020, 12:55:37 PM »
Even if the bank fails, the customers are all insured up to $250,000, and my guess is that most Nextdoor.com readers have nowhere close to that deposited. Tell them to read up on what happened after Washington Mutual failed.

To be fair, what happens if more than 1 bank fails?

There were a lot more than WaMu that failed, though mostly they were smaller banks. Lehman went down though, and they weren't small.

Realistically - if enough banks fail all at once and FDIC can't cope, we've got much bigger problems cause that means the Federal Reserve and/or Federal Government are also out of commission.

The FDIC will never fail because the Fed will buy whatever funding the FDIC needs to issue. there is potentially some irony there.

bluebelle

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #12 on: July 22, 2020, 01:05:33 PM »
we use so little physical cash.....haven't withdrawn physical cash since before this pandemic started.   There is usually $20-40 in my wallet, DH likes to have $100-200 in physical cash.   Even before Covid19, we were very CC based, easier all around (since we don't have a spending problem).   I'm enjoying the higher limits that allow tap, so I don't even have to touch the pin-pad.

But as others have said - a perceived shortage will create a short term shortage, just like it did with TP and frozen vegetables (and flour - but that's still on-going a little)

Fishindude

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #13 on: July 22, 2020, 01:11:36 PM »
I have a friend at a local bank that told me quite a few people were coming in to get cash out of their accounts, maybe $1-2,000 to have on hand.
Most of this was occurring a couple months ago when people were getting crazy hoarding TP and such.    The bank never got short on cash however.

Sibley

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #14 on: July 22, 2020, 01:48:08 PM »
Even if the bank fails, the customers are all insured up to $250,000, and my guess is that most Nextdoor.com readers have nowhere close to that deposited. Tell them to read up on what happened after Washington Mutual failed.

To be fair, what happens if more than 1 bank fails?

There were a lot more than WaMu that failed, though mostly they were smaller banks. Lehman went down though, and they weren't small.

Realistically - if enough banks fail all at once and FDIC can't cope, we've got much bigger problems cause that means the Federal Reserve and/or Federal Government are also out of commission.

The FDIC will never fail because the Fed will buy whatever funding the FDIC needs to issue. there is potentially some irony there.

Well of course. Which is basically what I just said.

SunnyDays

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #15 on: July 22, 2020, 08:23:20 PM »
Most of the stores I have gone to have signs saying they don’t want to accept cash.

friedmmj

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #16 on: July 22, 2020, 11:39:44 PM »
For all you homeowners, its a great time to be holding physical cash. If trade peoples are less busy in your area, good cash prices can likely be found for your project work.

I really don’t think it’s good to encourage tax dodging among trades people.

Missy B

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #17 on: July 23, 2020, 12:11:57 AM »
On my local Nextdoor.com, someone helpfully notified everyone that the BofA branch nearby was out of cash. 

What followed was a flurry of responses noting that other BofA ATMs around town were experiencing problems, and some branches were closed, and there were withdrawal limits, and so on.  Being the cynic I am, I thought: This is how it starts.

Sure enough, people are beginning to tell tales of long lines at ATMs, and how their cousin knows someone who works at BofA and says the bank is running out of money.  Who knows if any of it's true, but as we know, it doesn't necessarily matter.

It doesn't help that 1) there has been a disruptive decrease in the circulation of coins 2) banks have fewer personnel available due to Covid-19 restrictions and 3) nutters are muddying the waters with conspiracy theories about how the world government is making its move to give us all the mark of the beast.

I am simultaneously amused, puzzled, and alarmed by all this.  On the one hand, what is more likely: that a major bank is ready to dramatically fail, or that the dude who stocks the ATM called in sick?  On the other hand, a cash run is a cash run, and even if it has an completely irrational basis, rational people should take it seriously. 

Many months ago, in a thread here about "things that aren't coming back", I mentioned cash.  As for myself, I literally haven't seen a Federal Reserve note since March, and I don't invest in dollar bills. It is my hope that people will notice that physical currency isn't really all that important to the economy, or necessary for daily living in the modern world. 

The last thing I want to do is give any credence to this "cash shortage" idea.  So very gently, without suggesting that anything is wrong, I'd like to know if anyone has experienced problems getting cash; if so, has it been a problem in your life; and might there be a more serious societal problem lurking here? 
My own suspicion, by the way, is that it is all bullshit.  But I'd like other perspectives.

I do know that the IMF would like to see cash gone globally because it supports the introduction of negative interest rates. They had a whole thing on their website a while ago.  I was surprised to see it, stumbled on it while looking for info on negative rates.
Essentially, if cash money exists, people will pull money out of their banks accounts instead of losing money every year if rates go negative. If there is no cash, they can't do that and just have to eat the loss.
The IMF was of the opinion that neg rates are a wonderful tool during bad economic times (not everyone agrees with them on this, I've read articles that disprove their effectiveness. eg, Japan).
Given the disaster the IMF has made of many countries economies with their policies, I wouldn't trust them on this. Insisting on cash money is one way to prevent the eventual introduction of neg rates.

NorthernMonkey

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #18 on: July 23, 2020, 02:10:09 AM »
I keep just short of 2 months of expenses in cash notes at home. I very rarely use cash, but it’s a fall back position that helps me sleep when I get money anxiety.

Dicey

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #19 on: July 23, 2020, 05:13:00 AM »
On my Next Door, people are seeking coins, saying banks don't have inventory. People with coins are swapping with people for paper currency. I have a few rolls of quarters, so I plan to do a swap with someone in the police station parking lot later today. What seems funny about this is I'm sure we'll both be wearing masks.

kanga1622

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #20 on: July 23, 2020, 06:58:17 AM »
On my Next Door, people are seeking coins, saying banks don't have inventory. People with coins are swapping with people for paper currency. I have a few rolls of quarters, so I plan to do a swap with someone in the police station parking lot later today. What seems funny about this is I'm sure we'll both be wearing masks.

Yes, please are posting on our local Facebook group asking for quarters to use at the laundromat. Apparently the machines there are empty and no business are willing to exchange paper for quarters right now in our area.

I'm a red panda

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #21 on: July 23, 2020, 07:08:06 AM »
For all you homeowners, its a great time to be holding physical cash. If trade peoples are less busy in your area, good cash prices can likely be found for your project work.

Trades people are not less busy in my area. They can barely keep up with demand if they can find supplies.  (Deck builders for instance are freaking out due to a shortage of ground contact lumber.)  The building work in my area is insane- tons of houses and commercial parks still going up.

I'm a red panda

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #22 on: July 23, 2020, 07:09:23 AM »
On my Next Door, people are seeking coins, saying banks don't have inventory. People with coins are swapping with people for paper currency. I have a few rolls of quarters, so I plan to do a swap with someone in the police station parking lot later today. What seems funny about this is I'm sure we'll both be wearing masks.

See this is actually true. The mint has been running below capacity due to covid-19, and coins are recirculating at a slower rate.  Some grocery stores are not giving coins as change anymore, instead offering a reloadable gift card. Some banks are offering a 10% incentive to deposit coins.

I'm a red panda

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #23 on: July 23, 2020, 07:10:43 AM »
Even if the bank fails, the customers are all insured up to $250,000, and my guess is that most Nextdoor.com readers have nowhere close to that deposited. Tell them to read up on what happened after Washington Mutual failed.

To be fair, what happens if more than 1 bank fails?

There were a lot more than WaMu that failed, though mostly they were smaller banks. Lehman went down though, and they weren't small.

Realistically - if enough banks fail all at once and FDIC can't cope, we've got much bigger problems cause that means the Federal Reserve and/or Federal Government are also out of commission.

The FDIC will never fail because the Fed will buy whatever funding the FDIC needs to issue. there is potentially some irony there.

Well, I mean the FDIC COULD fail- but then, so has the USA.  So that would be a good time to be holding another currency- as dollars aren't going to help you anyway

Dicey

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #24 on: July 23, 2020, 07:12:07 AM »
On my Next Door, people are seeking coins, saying banks don't have inventory. People with coins are swapping with people for paper currency. I have a few rolls of quarters, so I plan to do a swap with someone in the police station parking lot later today. What seems funny about this is I'm sure we'll both be wearing masks.

See this is actually true. The mint has been running below capacity due to covid-19, and coins are recirculating at a slower rate.  Some grocery stores are not giving coins as change anymore, instead offering a reloadable gift card. Some banks are offering a 10% incentive to deposit coins.
Really? Details, please. Quick, before I give up my coin for face value.

Edit: Sir Google says a bank in Wisconsin is offering a 5% premium, but that's all I can find. Not a cost effective trip to the bank for me, lol.
« Last Edit: July 23, 2020, 08:41:17 AM by Dicey »

TeresaB

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #25 on: July 23, 2020, 08:41:42 AM »
The BofA near me had all the ATMs down a few weeks ago. I thought it was a software problem. We went across the street to the gas station.

I'm a red panda

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #26 on: July 23, 2020, 10:23:05 AM »
On my Next Door, people are seeking coins, saying banks don't have inventory. People with coins are swapping with people for paper currency. I have a few rolls of quarters, so I plan to do a swap with someone in the police station parking lot later today. What seems funny about this is I'm sure we'll both be wearing masks.

See this is actually true. The mint has been running below capacity due to covid-19, and coins are recirculating at a slower rate.  Some grocery stores are not giving coins as change anymore, instead offering a reloadable gift card. Some banks are offering a 10% incentive to deposit coins.
Really? Details, please. Quick, before I give up my coin for face value.

Edit: Sir Google says a bank in Wisconsin is offering a 5% premium, but that's all I can find. Not a cost effective trip to the bank for me, lol.

In addition to the one in Wisconsin, I read Amarillo National Bank was offering 10%.  (I don't know if they still are)
I'm taking an economics class right now, and we talked about this and a few other people mentioned their local banks were doing this as well.

Dicey

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #27 on: July 23, 2020, 01:52:56 PM »
On my Next Door, people are seeking coins, saying banks don't have inventory. People with coins are swapping with people for paper currency. I have a few rolls of quarters, so I plan to do a swap with someone in the police station parking lot later today. What seems funny about this is I'm sure we'll both be wearing masks.

See this is actually true. The mint has been running below capacity due to covid-19, and coins are recirculating at a slower rate.  Some grocery stores are not giving coins as change anymore, instead offering a reloadable gift card. Some banks are offering a 10% incentive to deposit coins.
Really? Details, please. Quick, before I give up my coin for face value.

Edit: Sir Google says a bank in Wisconsin is offering a 5% premium, but that's all I can find. Not a cost effective trip to the bank for me, lol.

In addition to the one in Wisconsin, I read Amarillo National Bank was offering 10%.  (I don't know if they still are)
I'm taking an economics class right now, and we talked about this and a few other people mentioned their local banks were doing this as well.
I saw another mention of this later today and read it with interest. Alas, it seems not to be a thing yet in my state. I did sell three rolls of quarters. At face value to someone on ND who needed them to do laundry. I think it makes me happier to help an individual at face value than a bank. But if someone nearby starts offering 10%, I'll probably give it a shot with the rolls I have left.

By the River

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #28 on: July 28, 2020, 12:56:32 PM »
On my Next Door, people are seeking coins, saying banks don't have inventory. People with coins are swapping with people for paper currency. I have a few rolls of quarters, so I plan to do a swap with someone in the police station parking lot later today. What seems funny about this is I'm sure we'll both be wearing masks.

See this is actually true. The mint has been running below capacity due to covid-19, and coins are recirculating at a slower rate.  Some grocery stores are not giving coins as change anymore, instead offering a reloadable gift card. Some banks are offering a 10% incentive to deposit coins.
Really? Details, please. Quick, before I give up my coin for face value.

Edit: Sir Google says a bank in Wisconsin is offering a 5% premium, but that's all I can find. Not a cost effective trip to the bank for me, lol.

In addition to the one in Wisconsin, I read Amarillo National Bank was offering 10%.  (I don't know if they still are)
I'm taking an economics class right now, and we talked about this and a few other people mentioned their local banks were doing this as well.
I saw another mention of this later today and read it with interest. Alas, it seems not to be a thing yet in my state. I did sell three rolls of quarters. At face value to someone on ND who needed them to do laundry. I think it makes me happier to help an individual at face value than a bank. But if someone nearby starts offering 10%, I'll probably give it a shot with the rolls I have left.

Now people will wait for a bank in their area to offer 5 or 10% so there will be even fewer coins in circulation.  (I have a jar that I would bring in if offered an incentive.  Not rolled so cannot sell to an individual like Dicey did.

PDXTabs

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #29 on: July 28, 2020, 01:17:12 PM »
Honestly, wanting to use cash (which then means change) in the middle of a pandemic seems completely stupid to me.

I don't disagree, but cash is how a lot of people do their laundry. Not doing your laundry in the middle of a pandemic also seems ill-advised.

seattlecyclone

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #30 on: July 28, 2020, 01:33:37 PM »
For all you homeowners, its a great time to be holding physical cash. If trade peoples are less busy in your area, good cash prices can likely be found for your project work.

I really don’t think it’s good to encourage tax dodging among trades people.

While I realize that contractors offering a significant cash discount are often doing it to avoid creating a paper trail for taxes, it's also really not my problem whether they pay their taxes or not.

habanero

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #31 on: July 28, 2020, 01:47:36 PM »
The probability of one of the largest US commercial and retail banks running out of liquidity is pretty darn close to zero with the Fed backstopping everyone + their grandmother. ATMs empty? Could happen, but the bank itself out of liquidity? No way. The US tried a major bank default once, I don't think the powers that be are overly keen on repeating that experiment, not to mention how much more vital BofA is than Lehman was.

In the picture dictionary, under "too big to fail" there is probably an image of JPM Chase with BofA just below.

teen persuasion

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #32 on: July 28, 2020, 01:48:03 PM »
I'd heard about the coin shortages, but was surprised there IS also a shortage of paper cash.

DS4 was buying a used car, private sale, and had to find a time to get to a bank to withdraw $4k cash.  The teller reprimanded him, you are supposed to call ahead to schedule something this BIG!! (DH used to work in a bank, he scoffed at the attitude, $4k in cash isn't big).  They were scrambling to find enough bills, ran out of hundreds so some were fifties.

Dicey

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #33 on: July 28, 2020, 02:29:48 PM »
Related Update: I sold three rolls of quarters to the person I mentioned above. A couple of days later, she asked to buy some for her mom, so I sold her four more rolls. Four days later, she pings me asking if I have any more. Um, no. Sheesh, after seven rolls, maybe she's found somewhere to sell them for more than face value. All done, sorry. Glad I met her at the Police Station parking lot.

Plina

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #34 on: July 28, 2020, 02:44:33 PM »
I'd heard about the coin shortages, but was surprised there IS also a shortage of paper cash.

DS4 was buying a used car, private sale, and had to find a time to get to a bank to withdraw $4k cash.  The teller reprimanded him, you are supposed to call ahead to schedule something this BIG!! (DH used to work in a bank, he scoffed at the attitude, $4k in cash isn't big).  They were scrambling to find enough bills, ran out of hundreds so some were fifties.

Maybe there has been a change in attitudes related to what amount of cash is considered big. Here older people are complaining about cashfree banks. If you deposit more than 1000 usd, you have to prove were you got the money from so you can deposit them so the bank will be in compliance with the moneylaundring legislation. Cash is disappearing due to cost of use and the hassle associated with using it.

trollwithamustache

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #35 on: July 28, 2020, 04:20:06 PM »
For all you homeowners, its a great time to be holding physical cash. If trade peoples are less busy in your area, good cash prices can likely be found for your project work.

I really don’t think it’s good to encourage tax dodging among trades people.

While I realize that contractors offering a significant cash discount are often doing it to avoid creating a paper trail for taxes, it's also really not my problem whether they pay their taxes or not.

1. just because you pay cash doesn't mean they don't report it.

2. if they are dodging taxes right now, I'm totally OK with it. With a near moratorium on construction work in my area, I understand why they want/need some cash income. The guys and gals taking your cash to diddle with your s#%t under your house are not in the 1%.

ender

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #36 on: July 28, 2020, 05:24:44 PM »
Honestly, wanting to use cash (which then means change) in the middle of a pandemic seems completely stupid to me.

I don't disagree, but cash is how a lot of people do their laundry. Not doing your laundry in the middle of a pandemic also seems ill-advised.

Something tells me all the ATMs running out of cash are not being used primarily for laundry

Fomerly known as something

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #37 on: July 28, 2020, 05:42:40 PM »
Honestly, wanting to use cash (which then means change) in the middle of a pandemic seems completely stupid to me.

I don't disagree, but cash is how a lot of people do their laundry. Not doing your laundry in the middle of a pandemic also seems ill-advised.

Something tells me all the ATMs running out of cash are not being used primarily for laundry

Hmm, but it could be the same production problem.  The average lifespan of a $20 is 7.9 years, if the bureau of printing and engraving is running a reduced schedule more $20 bills might be getting destroyed than produced.

PDXTabs

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #38 on: July 28, 2020, 05:52:21 PM »
if they are dodging taxes right now, I'm totally OK with it. With a near moratorium on construction work in my area, I understand why they want/need some cash income. The guys and gals taking your cash to diddle with your s#%t under your house are not in the 1%.

I'm not. I've paid every single penny of tax that I've ever owed, including when I made minimum wage. If you are going to cheat on your taxes you may as well cut out the middle man and start burglarizing your neighbors.

FINate

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #39 on: July 28, 2020, 06:42:56 PM »
I'm fine with people hoarding physical cash/coins if this means they stop hoarding TP and instant yeast.

Always curious about the next hot hoarding trend. I'll make a fortune if it's ever paper grocery bags.

Dicey

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #40 on: July 28, 2020, 10:32:32 PM »
I'm fine with people hoarding physical cash/coins if this means they stop hoarding TP and instant yeast.

Always curious about the next hot hoarding trend. I'll make a fortune if it's ever paper grocery bags.
Yeast isn't so hard to get these days. In the early days of the pandemic, I had good luck at catering and restaurant supply stores. I even sent some to two different people in NYC! Yes, you can mail yeast. Need some?

FINate

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #41 on: July 28, 2020, 11:04:35 PM »
Yeast isn't so hard to get these days. In the early days of the pandemic, I had good luck at catering and restaurant supply stores. I even sent some to two different people in NYC! Yes, you can mail yeast. Need some?

Thank you, that's very thoughtful. But yeast is finally back in stock... for now at least. I have to actively resist the urge to hoard it for fear that there will be shortages again if/when shelter in place v2 happens. Just keep telling myself that I should probably lay off the baked goods anyway :)

Paper Chaser

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #42 on: July 29, 2020, 06:21:19 AM »
DS4 was buying a used car, private sale, and had to find a time to get to a bank to withdraw $4k cash.  The teller reprimanded him, you are supposed to call ahead to schedule something this BIG!! (DH used to work in a bank, he scoffed at the attitude, $4k in cash isn't big).  They were scrambling to find enough bills, ran out of hundreds so some were fifties.

I had a similar experience recently. We had some work done around the house. My spouse and I were going to split the cost (separate accounts at separate banks). We each needed about $4100. I called my bank to make sure it wasn't a problem and they said that I didn't really need to call ahead for amounts under ~$6k.

My wife went to her bank and was told there was a $1k daily limit on withdrawals, even if you call ahead. So, I got to go back to my bank the next morning and pull another $4100. They had a couple more questions for me the second time around, and had to get a few $50s but it happened.

Just thought it was an interesting dichotomy between current banking limitations.

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #43 on: July 29, 2020, 09:59:47 AM »
I can't even remember the last time I used cash, unless you count my Aldi quarter.

Saffron

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #44 on: July 29, 2020, 10:49:11 AM »
Honestly, with the inflation from the last century the US needs to make some changes with coinage and paper notes.

Get rid of pennies, nickels, and dimes. Keep quarters. Buff production of $1 coins. Begin production of $5 coins. Get rid of $1 and & $5 paper notes. Start producing $500 and $1000 notes.

The beautiful thing is, if people use credit then you can do the transaction with full fidelity, down to the cent. Or if you use cash then just round up or down to the nearest coin without having to fumble with essentially worthless coins. It will make cash transactions so much faster, making cashiers more efficient too. 


 

I'm a red panda

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #45 on: July 29, 2020, 12:28:16 PM »
Start producing $500 and $1000 notes.


How much demand do you really think there is for these?  They stopped printing those a long time ago. I cannot see how they would be useful in today's world. It's hard enough to get a store to take a $100 bill, I can't imagine getting one to accept a $1000 bill.

If you are so anti-credit card, just write a check.
(I have a hard time believing someone who is unbanked will have a lot of thousand dollar bills laying around.)

Saffron

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #46 on: July 29, 2020, 12:56:36 PM »
Start producing $500 and $1000 notes.


How much demand do you really think there is for these?  They stopped printing those a long time ago. I cannot see how they would be useful in today's world. It's hard enough to get a store to take a $100 bill, I can't imagine getting one to accept a $1000 bill.

If you are so anti-credit card, just write a check.
(I have a hard time believing someone who is unbanked will have a lot of thousand dollar bills laying around.)

Future proofing currency? The price of USD has inflated 15-fold over the last century. 

Where did I imply that I was anti credit card or one of those unbank loons?

teen persuasion

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #47 on: July 29, 2020, 01:23:27 PM »
New twist on cash crunches.

My car's check engine light is on, and I need an inspection.  DH had our local mechanic run the code - O2 sensor.  They are $350 each, there are 2, so $700 just for parts.

After discussing it with me, DH called him to order the parts, and schedule a time around me working next week.  Turns out he might get the parts soon and can do the work tomorrow.  Do we have $700 in cash lying around the house?  Um, no.  Chitchatting, mechanic had visited a bank for cash for some other issue, could only get $1500 of the larger figure he needed.

He's going to have to go back to accepting credit cards again in this environment.  We will pay him with a check if there's no other option, and he knows our checks are good, but needing cash for the parts to begin a job he'll get paid for tomorrow?  No, that's your self inflicted problem.

Tigerpine

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #48 on: July 29, 2020, 02:08:12 PM »
I just went to a BoA branch today in Boston.  All the ATMs were out of service.  Every single one.  I actually went to make a deposit, but I couldn't even do that at the ATM.  Crazy.

I'm a red panda

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Re: Cash Shortage
« Reply #49 on: July 29, 2020, 02:57:33 PM »
Start producing $500 and $1000 notes.


How much demand do you really think there is for these?  They stopped printing those a long time ago. I cannot see how they would be useful in today's world. It's hard enough to get a store to take a $100 bill, I can't imagine getting one to accept a $1000 bill.

If you are so anti-credit card, just write a check.
(I have a hard time believing someone who is unbanked will have a lot of thousand dollar bills laying around.)

Future proofing currency? The price of USD has inflated 15-fold over the last century. 

Where did I imply that I was anti credit card or one of those unbank loons?

I was actually worried more on behalf of those who are unbanked due to poverty, rather than the crazy ones.

It just doesn't even seem like there was much demand for $100 bills already, and many merchants are against them, so going even higher seemed crazy.