Lately there has been talk about keeping cash in hand versus in banks. Personally I think that is extreme but I have been known to be off base and try to stay aware of that. It makes sense to live off of cash but at what point is too much to keep on hand safely. I can't imagine having my entire life savings in my mattress but with the rapid changes in the world economy self preservation is numero uno.
I believe in keeping an emergency stash hidden in your house but I would never have my savings in the house. I just wouldn't feel comfortable with it being there in case someone broke in.
I believe it is very important to have cash on hand. The way the economy is going and banks closing, it doesn't seem safe to have cash in the banks anymore. If for whatever reason credit cards or atm cards stop working, alot of people will be in trouble! Just my feeling though.:skept:
DH has always kept a cash stash at home for emergencies. It's usually around $500-$1000. His parents always did this, so he does it too. I would never keep more than that in cash, it would make me too nervous lol.
I agree. We keep some cash for emergencies but I could never keep all of it at home. This being said, I have talked to a lot of people lately who say they have stopped trusting banks and keep it at home. I think it is too risky.
I don't like having much cash around - not just because of theft, but other things can happen as well - fire, tornado (in our part of the country). I can even imagine myself forgetting where I hid it.
I don't worry about money in the bank, so long as it is within FDIC limits - and believe, it is. WELL under the limits. If the government so completely collapses that FDIC can no be longer honored, we will have a lot more problems than that to worry about.
I'm with The Muse on this one. As for those that keep all of their money at home because they don't trust banks anymore they are really losing out on compounding interest. Like one poster said, if the FDIC fails, then we have more than our money to worry about.
I don't keep any cash at home except what is in the piggy bank, which is only change and gets taken to the bank when it's full. As long as you bank in a solid bank and it is FDIC insured you shouldn't feel the need to worry, and you are missing out on the interest you could be earning. I would think the chance of a burglary or natural disaster is much higher than a bank failing.
I have all my money at home , with that said I believe it amounts to $12.33
Okay not really. I have a cash stash but I don't think I would want to have all my money at home too many things could happen to it and then what.
We pay all our bills online. For everyday things like gas, groceries, toiletries, entertainment etc. we use cash. I have a set amount that I take out each week for each category. Right now it is $250 a week that I take out. Sometimes we have money left from week to week, but I would seldom have more than $300 in the house at a time. All my other money can stay in the bank and earn interest.
i dont keep much cash on me i keep it in the bank, most of which in hight savings accounts like ING so as soon as i here tht my bank is going under i will transfer everything out but until it happens its staying where it is.
However whilst i am at work i see many many people coming up to pay for items brining out big wads of cash out sometimess in hundreds of pounds from their pocket just to pay for something and im wondering how they can do that, i wouldntfeel safe doing that. Who knows who is watching them and could easily get robbed. i didnt feel safe having 450.00 on me leaving the bank so i can deposit into my savings account (the branch is only 4 doors down from the bank) but still rushed to get off the street.
Thanks everyone for all the input -- I completely agree with the FDIC insured accounts, getting interest and having a set amount on hand for odds'n'ends.
I don't carry much cash, or none. Don't have any stashed at home. It's to easy to think "I just need a little for..." and then suddenly it's all gone. That's one reason I have a certificate of deposit at the bank. It's locked up, making it more of a bother than just going to the bank is bothersome sometimes.
I don't think it's practical to maintain your savings in cash. You'll lose money continuously not just because of lost interests but also because of inflation. I'm starting to wonder if that's by design.
Could be - considering that because of how our monetary system is set up, there is almost no chance of there ever being deflation to make our cash worth more.
For emergency purposes only we have always kept a few hundred in the house and it has always been useful in last minute things we needed to do.
Our real EF is in a MMA. All the rest is in checking accts., IRA's and mutual funds. Things are changing so fast day to day we just feel better having the house cash just in case.
With banks only paying 1-2% we're not really missing that much for peace of mind.
My grandfather was one of those that didn't trust banks after the depression. I remember as a child I always thought he was poor, but now I can see that he was just frugal and how I wish he was alive now to share his words of wisdom with me. He did when I was a teenager, and I remember when we cleaned out his house we found several hundreds of thousands. As an adult I cannot imagine I could sleep easily with that much cash around the house.
I do agree in keeping a couple hundred for emergency use in cash. After the hurricanes in Florida in 2004 the banks where I lived were closed for several days, there were no ATMs (no electric) to get cash from, and the few gas stations and stores that were open were only accepting cash for payment.
We keep a few hundred at home. But most of our transactions are done via bill -pay on our bank account, or by credit card. (Relax. We pay it completely each month). There's not a lot of need for having cash. But at the same time, we realize that the unthinkable can happen, and we want the security of having some cash on hand.
I knew a couple who had their entire life savings in their house. The cops raided the house out of suspicion of possession for marijuana and they seized all of the money, implying it was drug money.
I wouldn't want my life savings in my house, even with an alarm system. There's always that chance of burglars breaking in and taking it. Unless you hide it behind a shower wall or something that's also layered with tile, I wouldn't do it.
I have money stashed away in our safe. We keep some cash in there along with important papers. I think it is important to have some cash available incase something does happen but not all of it.
Yes I believe it's important to keep cash on hand .
FDIC insured... hmm.. U.S. goverment corporation. Nope that doesn't impress or instill any trust whatsover in me these days....
However ,at this point I still use the bank for bill paying and the majority our savings, such as that is ;-) Doesn't mean I feels secure about it, just means I can't come up with a better solution I guess.
In the instance of a bank holiday ( not out the realm of possibilites I don't think) it would be a good idea to have cash on hand till you were able to tap into bank funds again. Just sayin..... Not trying to start a debate lol
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