Help..Mom is hiding money in her house

Thats a great idea...and so is the $500 increments.
Now I have to ask...has she ever had to open one?
Did the plastic bag hold up well in the concrete?
Hubby Tom is a mason and sometimes that concrete really makes dry patches on his hands. I'm wondering if it could eat thru plastic bags?

In one of my relative's house, my brother made a false kick board on the front of a kitchen cabinet that held pots and pans. The kick board had little hinges so it could be opened in a downward direction, and cabinet magnets held it closed along the top edge. This was where jewelery was hidden.

Now if a house burns, or floods, there aren't many areas that are going to be safe, regardless.

Nothing is really "fireproof" but concrete can absorb a lot of heat so I think a couple inches of it would protect cash from the average fire. If you keep the jewelry in a metal box, I think most of it would survive a fire intact. 18K gold, for example, doesn't melt until around 900 degrees. Even if it melts, it still has gold value, and the jewels will still be intact.

I wasnt going to post this
But Mom lives in a mobile home...and you know how quickly they can burn to the ground.
Thats why I really think to be safe, its going to have to be somewhere outside.
I think thats more of a worry then theft at this point.
But then again..not to hard to find something in a place so small neither..so...

Suggest a better place to hide it in her home, that way you will feel better and she still gets to keep it in her home.

__________________

Postal money orders are a good way to have almost instant cash around safely.
Separate the money order from the receipt. She could give you the receipt to keep and she could get them replaced if stolen or burned. Any bank or post office or store will take them in smaller amounts.

That does make a difference. Mobile homes burn pretty fast, meaning the exposure to extreme heat would be short, so I still think jewelry would be OK inside, but you're right in thinking that outside is better. Another idea that may or may not apply to your circumstances is hollow fence posts, like in a chain link fence. You can take the top off and drop something down there. Maybe a short section of 1" galvanized pipe with caps on both ends. Not much cash could fit, but jewelry could. I guess you don't really want to bury anything because you might need it when the ground is frozen.

Unknown strangers are better people to tell than people you know. Who of us is willing or even able to find out nanadeb's real name, then find out where her mother lives? And then go there to steal five grand?

You could send it to me to hold for her.

LOL just kidding. I think some place out in the yard would be good. Maybe she needs one of them Red umbrellas.. I love that ad.

Dave

Even if the bank is closed, the FDIC will find you. Really. This isn't the 30;s. We have technology now.

__________________
Critical thinking -- the other national deficit

They make small fire proof lock boxes. One would fit in the ductwork in the basement, you would have to take a section apart, put in box then seal duct back up.

Outside is best. Vaccumn seal a wad of cash. Stick it in a plastic jar and bury it in a corner of the garden.

Plastic jar and plastic lid OK. Glass jar with a metal lid, maybe OK if buried upside down so even if the metal rust through, still will be relatively airtight.

Problem with hiding something and only you know where it is at, you become mentally disabled or die, it says hidden.

Reminds me of my Mom, I was always hearing from her abt during the depression time, and all the what-if's can happen again. She was always trying to prepare me for anything on a disaster scale. Oh how I miss her dearly.
Every time she/we'd leave for any extended amount of time she had me go outside and bury jars of money and small keepsakes in different spots. Then when we returned, I'd go out and dig it all back up for her. This worked well for her, and gave her the peace of mind she was seeking.
Years later, after being in a natural gas pipeline explosion (reaching 2500 degrees) and living in mobile home, we discovered when using fire boxes they; bend when trees fall, and roofs cave in; important papers, money inside all burned, and jewelry melted into one big glob. If you do not disturb the ashes of money (as I did) I "think" I recall being told a bank can inspect the remains and reimburse you. I know this was an extreme example of a situation, but never thought it would ever happen to us either.

I'd go with securing it and burying it outside! Mom knows best

I was going to leave this alone....but....

Ask anyone who has been in a natural disaster how that worked for them when they really needed it!




The best place to store money and valuables is a floor safe set in concrete.....very hard to break into and very easy to hide.

Thats not always a option for everyone, but is about as good as it gets...for a relatively cheap price...

Next best bet is to have a safe soo big that it is virtually impossible to move due to the weight.....this usually entails a crane setting it in your basement before construction starts on the house, leaving only the option of breaking into it......and a good safe is out of the leauge of most petty criminals.

A decoy stash is always a great idea as most criminals of that type are only in it for a quick buck and a couple of gold necklaces and 500 bucks would have them running for the door with thier bounty fast....

Protecting your valuables with a camera that links to the web is also great for catching petty thieves and securing your insurance claim as it leaves no doubt to what has happened and who did it......as is a cheap alarm system...most will move on to a house that has no alarm just because so many do not have one......

This does not cover everything, but just some of the chart toppers

Hope this helps some.....

I have a vision of someone seeing a "suspicous" short pipe with end caps and calling the bomb squad, lol. They do not care if PVC would make a poor bomb, they will blow it up without inspecting just to be safe.

I am a good deal younger than your Mom and I have been hiding money in the house for 20+ years!!
Don't forget, she was born around the time that the depresion was on and banks had failed, so i think she is doing okay.

I have a safe in a floor in a certain place in my house. The floor has a loose tile that is hidden in the rest of the house and under that loose tile is a metal safety box......there is a hollowed out place in the foor ti fit the box.

Even more good ideas ... And some really funny comments...
I got a kick out of the ones about hunting me down all over 5,000. And the one who says they'll keep it for her...And cant forget the PVC pipe bomb and calling in the bomb squad.

The ones with the basement is out with it being a mobile home as I posted.
BUT there was a couple really great idea's...but out of the fear that one of you may be a crook and hunt me down...forcing me to tell you where Mom lives I think I will keep the couple ideas I really liked to myself.LOL ~!!! (JOKE)

I will mention the money orders to Mom...but I doubt she'll want to do that. She wants cash on hand.And I will not push her to do anything.

And to the person who said
I think we all know that.
And the bulk of Moms money IS in the bank.
Shes very trusting of the banks.BUT it may take weeks or even months to be able get cash. And the way the government is run anymore...I doubt they're going to rush to take care of anybody , except themselves

And yes...We have technology now.....that's whats scary....so many things you thought would NEVER happen have...and will

Thanks for the PM's and idea's here...Much appreciated !!

I have a friend who's home was burglerized & along with electronics they took everything from the freezer. So I would never hide something in a freezer.

If someone took everything from my home what would be left? I heard storys of moving vans moving people out when they really werent moving. Neighbors thought nothing of it & the people would come home from wherever to an empty house.

That is where I would begin. Inside of the hollow metal closet rod. Fake ceiling in a closet. Open molding on the inside of a closet. Openable ceiling tile in the middle of the room. You got woodwork? - Then you got hiding places. You dont have woodwork? - Make some.

Myself I like the hide plain site approach. When I was a kid I hollowed out a piece of 2x4 and painted it the same color as the walls in the basement family room & jammed it up between some similar looking painted 2x4 studs. My snoopy sister and my own parents never even found it.

Kind of defeats the purpose of emergency money. This would be money you need now.

My Dad keeps a stash. He needed help a couple years back and had no access to his accounts. He was able to tell me where the stash was so I could use it to help him. Had I needed to use legal recourses to access his account, the help would have come very slowly indeed.

You can stand outside a bank or government office for hours yelling "It's my money and I need it now!" untill your face is red. You won't get it if the bank is closed nor will you get it from gov for several weeks.

Money in the bank or a deposit box is not emergency money.