Keeping Cash Around

In a house I lived in years ago, there was a wall safe hidden behind a picture in an upstairs hallway. I didn't have any "extra" cash to stash back then, but it seemed like a good place to hide some.

If all of the banks fail do you really think that cash would be worth a hill of beans?

Too bad fuel wont last forever. That stuff makes great cash in a SHTF scenario.

__________________
Thomas Jefferson had a very distinct fear of the uneducated masses. Gee wasn't he a smart guy.

I like the idea of stashing enough cash to see you through should something unforeseen occur. I also think other items (expensive jewlry, quality coins, etc.) would be good to stash. If something did happen, you could probably "barter" this for what is needed.

As for where to stash these items, I know of one friend who created a concrete floor and anchored a bucket with a lid in it. This was his safe place. I would advise more than just one person know where this stash is and what it is in case something happens to you.

__________________
I am what I am! Acknowledging this is the beginning; and my growth is yet to end. http://motdaugrnds.com/farmsales ~~~~~ http://motdaugrnds.com

Ha, ha. Did you ask your friend "where" his can was buried???

I think having cash is a good idea but I'd be more inclined to buy a small fire proof safe and put it in there.

__________________
DeeDee
Rockwall, TX

As Dogbert said..."all in Mercury dimes, please..."
Matt

Trust me when your neighbors wife gets a bad case PMS after the end of the world as we know it happens and you are the only person with a supply of chocolate anywhere around he will trade you all sorts of good stuff for some!

Why would cash be of any worth if the SHTF?

__________________
I'm running so far behind I thought I was first!

http://hickahala.blogspot.com/

I used to keep quite a bit of cash around the house. Finally did a little more thinking and decided to only keep a little silver and coins. Too many things can happen to paper money. My house has several hiding places built in and completely unknown by anyone besides myself. If something happens to me anything hidden in my house will not be found unless the house is destroyed.

If something happens to all of the banks paper money will be just about useless. If it is a true SHTF situation you won't need money for a while.
Any problems that has any effect on large numbers of people will make people forget to pay bills and make people forget to try to collect.
Like I said, there is little reason to keep much paper money hidden.

Well...I'm struggling to grasp the original intent of the thread. Was the question intended for being prepared for some post-apocalyptic event, where the banks fail and cash is king? Or is the question intended to ask about having a reasonable amount of cash on hand for emergencies/oppurtunities?

If the former; it's important to recognize that if/when banks fail, the value of the $$ would be so worthless, it would virtually do you no good to hord it, as it would literally be worth pennies of the $$ or less. Then the hard work of investing in 'liquid assets' would have done you no good.

If the latter; my g-grandparents used to call this seed money. In the days before being hooked into savings accounts, poundwise folks used to squirrel money away in jars, walls, mattresses...etc. The money would thereby be available for emergency expenses, or oppurtunities - such was the case when the family chose to expand their humble acre lot into a 15+ acre farm, when oppurtunity came knocking.

Of course the right answer is probably diversifying funds. While the greatest yield is had by putting all your eggs in one basket - when systems fail, you lose big. Having split your assets into cash, savings, credit, land...etc. provides for well-balance.

Just a few thoughts this morning.

Paul B.

Wish I had some, to hide, or not.

__________________
http://mmsmiracle.com/EnjoyBetterHealth

Well we have all discussed at earlier times the advantage of having cash after a natural disaster. Here there are hurricanes, with a certain regularity. When the ATM's don't work afterward due to a lack of electricity, and the banks are closed (a month after Katrina), its nice to have cash for all the things that come up: gas, food, bills, rx's and repairs. That said, most here only have $ in the house during hurricane season; there's too much robery! Cash is part of prepping. ldc

Hey Paul B.

Putting your money in "savings" and "credit" are DANGEROUS, always were and still will be. People don't get any decent return in savings accounts. And credit can be good or bad depending on who you ask. I say stay with tangibles, land, gold, silver, stored seed and food crops.

Borrower nor lender be.....

As the govt has several protections and coverages for money one puts in the bank - it is fairly 'safe' these days. As banks crash, your assets are covered ultimately by the USA government.

While the USA govt can crash itself, at that point there would be many, many issues more pressing than the value of bits of paper.

At this time, it would seem money sitting in a bank drawing a tiny bit of interest is going to be a safer/ better investment than paper money sitting in a coffee can in your back yard?

Either case has a bit of risk, but we have to be real, if you have some cash sitting around then you have more than your basic needs (good!) and so you can surely apply some small risk to it, and weigh the risks & rewards of different stratigies with it.

In any assessment, it would seem having $5000 burried in a tin can is about the worst risk, with the least return, of any use of that money.

Gold & silver can be good long-term investments, but as happened in the past it can become illegal to own gold and have a fixed value on it; thus making it a poor investment if you will plan to use it for trading in tough times. In tough times, the value of the gold might be high, but you'll need to find someone willing to deal in it. Long term you will, but short term in times of need it may not be worth much either. Having some precious metals as part of a plan probably is a good idea.

And so on.

Diversity is a good thing. I sure wouldn't want every dollar I had sitting in one bank either.

--->Paul

And limit who you tell just what money you do have around the house. I certainly wouldn't want to mention to a neighbor, "Oh, I have $5000.00 in the house in a safe in case I ever need money quick." No matter how good of neighbor or "friend" if they tell someone else and then word gets around . . . . .
_____yeah like maybe on the computer_____________

__________________
LIVE LIKE SOMEONE LEFT THE GATE OPEN

puddlejumper007 - Point taken. But of course some people on the computer are not who they really are in real life. Course - that goes both ways.

The person saying they have $5000.00 in a safe in their house could very well be a person who barely has two nickles to rub together. Of course, the "honest" person here could also be a thief looking for an easy theft too!

Here's a story. My Step-Mother who always had money in her purse and was known to put it around the house died. The house was left "as is" until after my Dad passed away. When we went in and started to clean up for the upcoming auction - we knew we had to be careful of looking in things, under things, and everywhere for money.

Not only did we find your typical $20.00's & $100.00's in shelves, drawers, and the step-Mother's clothes pockets - when all was said and done, we had found over $6000.00. We found close to $1000.00 inside a recipe book - just your typical recipe book sitting on the book shelf.

Like I said, "what we found". I wouldn't be too surprised if some of the auction people who bought "junk" boxes didn't find a bit of cash in a book, or something similiar that we DIDN'T find!

The point is, the money was "squirreled" away and not even in places the Step-mother would have remembered either! Time has a way of making you forget things.

__________________
Michael W. Smith in North-West Pennsylvania

"Everything happens for a reason."

this is such a great thread.

i love it

my dad taught me when i was a child to invest in stuff and people rather than cash..cash always always always always loses value in savings..interest rates never beat inflation.

always best to purchase things that increase in value (here at my home that has been permaculture: fruit trees, nut trees, perennial fruits and vegetables and ornamentals, herbs, flowers, building a pond to hold water, firewood, windbreaks, insulation, products that are useful to have on had in large amounts when they are really cheap on sale, like toilet paper, laundry supplies, deoderant and soap, and i still put up a lot of things that are in my eating plan in cans or dried to have as an emergency food supply but remember to rotate out of those supplies so you aren't eating stale or spoiled food when the shtf

I am the original poster. The person who told me about their $5000, undoubtedly has it and it is in their backyard. Her husband went through a terrible divorce years ago, and lost everything, bank account cleaned out, etc. He literally had the clothes on his back and nothing else. I'm sure that has led him to be almost paranoid about losing everything without a backup plan. They have one very close friend who knows how many feet this way and that way to dig up the cash if something happens to them. Anyway, it just really got me to thinking, we raise all of our meat, dairy, veg, fruit, etc here on our 5 acres, but we have never considered any type of on-hand cash for "just in case". You all have raised great points and I think having some cash is a good idea, but also some things of value in case cash isn't.

10kids, that's a little different perspective that I can see as well. Going through a personal thing, as opposed to regional or national disaster.

--->Paul

10kids, I am on my way with metal detector and shovel. tell me neighbors address.