Emergency fund in real emergency. Money makes huge difference.

[SavingSweetOneL]

I'm feeling very thankful for my current living situation.

SweetOneL

[Like2Plan]

Every so often, though, I do consider the value of keeping between $500-$1000 in cash available in my home, just in case it truly became required. What do you all think?

Yes. I think having some cash on hand is very prudent. I think a lot of businesses need electricity to run (gas station pump for example). But maybe you might find a business that has a backup generator, but no communications interface with the CC company. So, in that case the cash would make the difference between getting what you need or not. Maybe the ATMs are not working to get cash.

[MonkeyMama]

Another thought/question as far as emergency preparedness... Do you all keep some cash on hand? I'm of a split mind about this. I've often heard that you want to keep some cash on hand in case power knocks out access to ATMs and credit card machines. However, I NEVER have cash on hand, because I use my credit card for almost all purchases, and I prefer to just leave my money in the bank where it's safe, secure, and earning some interest (I know, that's almost laughable right now). Every so often, though, I do consider the value of keeping between $500-$1000 in cash available in my home, just in case it truly became required. What do you all think?

I personally would not keep $500-$10000 on hand, but we definitely keep about $200 on hand. Since we have several places we can evacuate too, my primary concern is just to get out of the area (not needing several days of hotel/food/gas money).

I never keep cash laying around and it does make me uncomfortable, but it makes me more uncomfortable to have "no cash" in an emergency situation.

I think you also have to consider the odds of catastrophic emergency. I probably would not bother, except we live in a dangerous flood zone. We don't get earthquakes, hurricanes, snow, tornados, tsunamis, volcanos, etc., etc. I know stuff happens, but if the chance is one in a million, I probably wouldn't bother with the cash. We could move 20 miles east to higher ground and probably never need to have cash on hand (more than $20 or $40).

[disneysteve]

We did fill our bathtub as well as several other large containers, both with drinking water and with flushing water. Fortunately, we didn't need either.

As for cash, absolutely. We always have cash on hand. When the power is out, cash is king. ATMs don't work. Credit cards can't be processed. Nobody is going to accept a check. It is cash or nothing.

[woodie96]

Speaking of cash on hand....I wonder how many places still have the old credit card imprinter that slid side to side....Like we had back in the 80s....
One of our local gas stations here still had it a few months ago when theri phone line went down, ahhhh that sound....

[disneysteve]

Speaking of cash on hand....I wonder how many places still have the old credit card imprinter that slid side to side....Like we had back in the 80s....
One of our local gas stations here still had it a few months ago when theri phone line went down, ahhhh that sound....

I'm surprised anyone would still use it. They have no way to verify if the card is valid. They are really taking a risk by doing that.

In some of the hurricane ravaged areas, keep in mind that cash wouldn't have helped a bit. There was nothing to buy. Gas stations were closed. Food stores were closed. Restaurants and other businesses were closed. All you had was whatever you had on hand when the storm struck. You couldn't leave the island to restock no matter how much money you had. If you didn't evacuate when you had the chance, you were totally cut off from everything for several days.