Cash in the house for emergency

[Lonewolf]

I know this has most likely been asked in this forum in the past, but I just went through a Pandemic Flu exercise at work so the topic is fresh for me. While those plans describe what food/water items etc that you should have, I've also been through hurricane type planning courses where you have to assume that power is lost so the typical ATM might not be available.

Now that I have our Emergency Fund (i.e. for loss of job type purposes) fully funded for six months, considering actually having some cash to have in the house in case of "natural" emergencies. Understand I'm the type that uses credit card for EVERYTHING, so usually don't have much more then a few bucks on me, so I figured it might be nice to have something stashed away. Thanks for any feedback.

Lonewolf

[maat55]

I stash a little cash at home also, nothing wrong with having some just in case.

[aevans1206]

Where do you stash? We had a break-in about a month ago and I was so glad we didn't have cash in the house, but keeping cash is a really great idea.

[sounderella]

I've been thinking about doing this too. I'm a habitual debit card user and I rarely use cash. If I take it out and put it somewhere in the house I'm sure I won't use it....and of course if something catastrophic happened it'd be there. I think it's a good idea.

[sweeps]

Some cash is a good idea, but food and water is probably a better idea.

[AmbitiousSaver]

Food and water is definitely good... I guess it depends what kind of emergency it is

When a hurricane hit us... I don't think cash would have helped us much cause the gas stations were out of power too.

[neobudget]

I've found when I keep cash around, I'm more likely to spend it. That's why I use my debit card for everything, I think I would have a hard time actually leaving the cash alone.

[disneysteve]

We've always kept cash on hand. We've never had to use it, but there have been plenty of events in our country when phone service was down and power was out and cash was the only way to do business.

As for fear of theft, I really don't worry about it. If our house is broken into, the few hundred cash I keep on hand would be the last thing I'd worry about losing.

Keep cash in the house. Keep it in small bills as a $100 bill might not do you much good in an emergency.

[LuxLiving]

IMHO, a few hundred dollars travelling money in the house might have saved lives during Katrina. Depending on the size of your family, I'd say to keep anywhere from $400-1000 in the house. Like Disneysteve, it's the last thing I'd worry about during a break-in. A house-safe is not a bad idea. You are wanting enough cash to get you away from any possible natural catastrophe or other disastrous events, where other family could kick in or you could make use of CCs or debit cards. There are times when only cash is king.

[rennigade]

I have $250 in small bills stashed in the house, along with a p229 sig with 500 rounds in case of emergencies.

[sweeps]

But I think the thing you have to consider is in the event of a catastrophe, even cold hard cash won't do you much good. Stores will likely not be open, and even if they are, people will quickly clear the shelves of food, water and supplies. And then there is price gouging....

[LuxLiving]

Sweeps, I'd agree with you on a local level, but if you're able to travel outside your immediate area then normal electronic financial transactions might be available, so if you have some cash on hand you might be able to get out beyond the catastrophic area.

[Aleta]

I was in Andrew and I learned then how important cash was. There are those that will drive into the area and sell you ice. Ice doesn't last long. It's also good to keep alot of ones because there isn't any change. You want to have enough money to get around. During emergencies, alot of business don't want checks or credit cards.

Money at home is good for many things not just emergencies. I use cash money throughout the month and then write one check for it at the end of the month.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by Aleta

I was in Andrew and I learned then how important cash was. There are those that will drive into the area and sell you ice. Ice doesn't last long.

Also folks will bring in portable generators to sell. If you don't own one, you may find you want one and only cash will do.

[MelC]

Originally Posted by Aleta

I use cash money throughout the month and then write one check for it at the end of the month.

What do you mean, write one check for it at the end of the month?

Good to hear from someone who has actually been through a disaster.

[Aleta]

Instead of going to ATM's and taking out money, I use another method. From day 1 of the month, as I spend the cash, I write the category down and the amount. That is even things like birthday cards, movie rentals, food, etc. Let's say that I have spent $325.00 during the month. I will write a check for that amount at the end of the month or a few days into the next month. I'm just reimbursing my cash money that was used.

Also, something else that people don't think about is the run that the banks have on the ATM's when a disaster happens and there have been people who couldn't get money out of their accounts.

This saves me a lot of aggravation. You can even go to the ATM and withdraw your monthly expenses as well.

[myrdale]

I keep $200 in my truck. That should really get me though most anything that comes along. I've thought about keeping cash in the house but havn't yet. I would say $500 to $1000 would be more than enough to keep in the house.

[snafu]

At least $100. cash in small bills can instantly yank you out of an emergency situation. Everyone in our community were suddenly ordered out of their homes due to a train derailment [hazzardous materials] miles away! Cash gave security.

If you worry about break-in buy a small safe offers tons of security. They go on sale regularly under $40. and give a home for important documents as well as cash. It's imparative to bolt these small, portable boxes to both the wall and the floor or built-in shelf. Thieves go to the M/bedroom for treasure so choose another room! We bolted our safe in the closet of the kids rm. There is so much stuff in there it would discourage any thief!

[Reldon]

We always have some cash on hand. Having a small safe is a good idea but make sure it is bolted like snafu said. Getting a small safe and not bolting it in means that the safe will be taken as well.

[Aleta]

It's a good idea to make sure that it is fire protected as well.