Cold, hard cash

[wincrasher]

I admit it. I love having a bundle of cash around that I can touch. Sometimes I just set it on the coffee table and look at it. I don't obsessively count it, so I'm not really sure how much is in there (exactly).

I find that my behavior is fairly predictable by the banks. If I have cash money in my pocket, I won't spend it. If I charge it, I buy all kinds of things and don't care as much about the prices.

Right now I have a bundle of hundreds in the house about 4 inches thick with a rubber band around it. All left overs from my ATM visits and emptying out the pockets each week. I keep doing this for some strange reason.

It's stupid, but I like it.

Eventually I'll end up carrying it down to the bank, suffer their judgmental looks and deposit it. But not today!

[cjscully]

Cash is king when it comes to saving money. I've read a few reports over the years that state people spend more when they're using plastic than they do when they're spending cash.

Good Job!

[nick__45]

don't loose it. i lost 46 bucks back in high school and it pains me to this day.

[gambler2075]

...Right now I have a bundle of hundreds in the house about 4 inches thick...

Where do you live again? and when are you out of the house?

j/k

let's see... a 1-inch stack is 233 bills, so you have almost 100,000$ in cash lying around? heheh

Answers.com - How many dollar bills in a one inch stack

g

[wincrasher]

LOL.

Only if you press them down. Loosely wrapped, they fluff up a bit.

It's more like $25k or so.

[cypher1]

If I have cash money in my pocket, I won't spend it. If I charge it, I buy all kinds of things and don't care as much about the prices.

I kind of have the same mentality also. I'm comfortable with having large sums of cash on hand. I used to write checks for everything I bought when I lived at home, made me more aware of everything I was buying/prices, meaning writing a check was more work. It's easy to simply swipe a debit/credit card and not think about the amount until you see your monthly statements. However I've given in to using my CC for every purchase, within the last two years. Which requires more discipline for tracking costs or prices for need vs want.

[JimInOK]

Having had credit card debt in the past, I now keep an excel sheet as my monthly budget. Anything I spend gets deducted from my free cash for the month, whether it's spent as cash or put on a credit card. Then I pay off all my charges BEFORE the month is over. So, I pay off THIS month's charges with THIS month's earnings (if I charge something for $40, I have $40 less in my free cash for this month and $40 less that can go toward savings for things I REALLY want). And I keep tabs on how much I have available to spend or potentially save every day.

Before I started doing that, I agree with your statement that I was less critical of money spent by way of the credit card. But since I started doing that, I look at every purchase and the price I'm paying very closely. Every cash outlay and every charge is subject to the same question: Do I want/need it badly enough to give up the chance to save more money this month instead? Nine times out of ten, the answer is no. As I get closer and closer to the end of the month, I actually get more tight-fisted as I start realizing how much I can put into savings that month.

[tulog]

Eventually I'll end up carrying it down to the bank, suffer their judgmental looks and deposit it. But not today!

If you do that, judgmental looks are not the issue. The issue is the mandatory generation of a financial reporting to the IRS for a cash deposit of $10,000 or greater, or an optional generation of a financial reporting for any 'suspicious transaction'. Depositing $3-6K per week might be safer.

[buildmybudget]

I'm sorry, this sounds completely ridiculous. Nevermind the risk inherent in having that cash laying around, but consider the value you are losing by having that cash sitting outside a tax sheltered investment. If you have maxed out your 401k, IRA, and EF and have money to burn--congrats!

[nick__45]

I'm sorry, this sounds completely ridiculous. Nevermind the risk inherent in having that cash laying around, but consider the value you are losing by having that cash sitting outside a tax sheltered investment. If you have maxed out your 401k, IRA, and EF and have money to burn--congrats!

tax shelter!!! yeah, playing black jack in vegas with the intention to loose all is also a tax sheltered activity. Don't convince the man to loose it all. U.S. Treasury is your best bet because if it tanks, everything else would too and it's time to lock & load. Of course, I would buy a short time CD if you can get above 1.5 for 6 months or just put them in ING. NO ****ING STOCK.

[nick__45]

If you do that, judgmental looks are not the issue. The issue is the mandatory generation of a financial reporting to the IRS for a cash deposit of $10,000 or greater, or an optional generation of a financial reporting for any 'suspicious transaction'. Depositing $3-6K per week might be safer.

That sounds like mother Russia to me.

[wincrasher]

Yeah, I really fret about that 1% (or less) return I could get. At least I don't have to pay that onerous 15% tax on that 1% by it not being sheltered!

[snafu]

nick, I'm guessing you've bought stock and lost value. Many of us have bought stock and had it escalate in value. Sold that stock when it reached the target 'sell' numbers, paid tax on the capital gain and invested the profit in another stock and so forth.

The banks most definitely ask questions about cash deposits, the government is trying to find drug/illegal activities profits.

wincrasher, you are taking enormous risk by leaving large sums in your home. Cash is not insurable should you suffer a break-in or fire. Perhaps you will take action by installing a good quality safe [bolt to structure] in an inconspicuous but accessible place in your home.
[DH initially bolted our small sized safe to the floor and wall in the closet. Adding or removing anything required lying prone on the floor with a flashlight...very awkward, as you can imagine]

[nick__45]

nick, I'm guessing you've bought stock and lost value. Many of us have bought stock and had it escalate in value. Sold that stock when it reached the target 'sell' numbers, paid tax on the capital gain and invested the profit in another stock and so forth.

The banks most definitely ask questions about cash deposits, the government is trying to find drug/illegal activities profits.

wincrasher, you are taking enormous risk by leaving large sums in your home. Cash is not insurable should you suffer a break-in or fire. Perhaps you will take action by installing a good quality safe [bolt to structure] in an inconspicuous but accessible place in your home.
[DH initially bolted our small sized safe to the floor and wall in the closet. Adding or removing anything required lying prone on the floor with a flashlight...very awkward, as you can imagine]

The only stocks I have is whatever my commie-back 401k and I don't look at its value because S&P 500 is not a short term investment. Outside of that, I don't buy a single stock so I haven't lost anything. I would never recommend people buying stock with their cash money. Just get some guns and ammo when the price is low and sit on them.

[wincrasher]

Oh, I have a nice safe, not to worry. Other than you guys, not another soul knows it's there.

At one point last year, I used to carry it in a pocket in my backpack all the time. Not only was it crazy, but I found out that if I had been pulled over for speeding or something, the cops could have just seized my money - without any cause!

Isn't it great how the government looks out for us?

A buddy had looked in my pack for an ink pen and gave me the old WTF? He shamed me into going to the bank.