Emergency cash at home - how much? denominations? ever use it?

[Denvergirlie]

So I am thinking of starting to keep some emergency cash at home and am having a hard time with it.

For those of you that do this also, I have some questions for you.

How much to you keep on hand in cash (not counting anything in a bank)?
What demonimations do you keep? all in 100's or 20's or a mix of small and larger bills?
Has having this cash on hand helped or hindered you?

I have emergency money in the local bank as well as in ING online, but have found that sometimes this is not cool to have to wait a few days or run into withdrawal limits thru an ATM on the weekend. Sure, it hasn't been all that hard, but it's popped up over the years as a real drag and we've missed a fews opportunites because of it.

So I am now seriously considering having some cash at home, tucked into the safety deposit box. I am pretty good about impluse purchases, I learned the hard way about debt, but do spend on occasion more than I am really comfortable with. I am not overly concerned about it just "wandering away", but also recognize that it might be something that I am not 100% strong on yet.

However, I really feel the need to do this, also from a prespective of being able to leave the house on a moments notice (Working on BOB's (bug out bags) as well) and in case of an emergency, power outages, forest fire, etc would like to have this added security blanket.

Any thoughts or comments from those that have BTDT, or have thoughts along my own?

thanks

[velochic]

We only keep about $1500 in cash max. All in $20s. I add to this on payday (my payday... I work only 15 hours a week, so it's not a lot) and pull from it for groceries. It fluctuates down to about $1200 on days like today, when I'll get paid, tomorrow. I never buy on impulse, so that's not an issue at all.

We've had storms that have knocked out the power for days and any transactions had to be in cash, so it's handy to have around. We also, here and there, probably have another couple hundred in smaller bills (wallets, piggy banks) and coins. I think it's good to have a variety of denominations. HTH!

[JTA Mom]

Originally Posted by velochic

We only keep about $1500 in cash max. All in $20s. I add to this on payday (my payday... I work only 15 hours a week, so it's not a lot) and pull from it for groceries. It fluctuates down to about $1200 on days like today, when I'll get paid, tomorrow. I never buy on impulse, so that's not an issue at all.

We've had storms that have knocked out the power for days and any transactions had to be in cash, so it's handy to have around. We also, here and there, probably have another couple hundred in smaller bills (wallets, piggy banks) and coins. I think it's good to have a variety of denominations. HTH!

Similar numbers here.

From a btdt perspective, smaller bills are a LOT better than bigger ones. Nothing bigger than a $20. I find having lots of fives and ones and tens is nice. For one, popping out a $100 bill is a bit 'wow' as in it catches attention. Second, the person, in an emergency situation might not have enough change for a big bill. What good will $100 get you if what you are buying totals $50, kwim?

Even during 'normal' times, whenever I've paid for groceries with a hundred dollar bill, the clerks have been a bit surprised. $100 is a lot of money, and not often seen.

As for where to stash it, I'd break up the amount into a couple areas. That way, if, God forbid, there is a robbery, they won't hit the 'jackpot' so to say.

ETA: I have heard that it's a good idea to keep a month or two of bare expenses in cash on hand. That way, if a huge disaster hit, you'd be hopefully able to ride it out a bit more comfortably--just think of all the Chileans after all these earthquakes. The ones with fluid cash on hand are probably doing better than those with nothing.

Ami

[sunnysandiegan]

We have a variety of bills in the house in a variety of places. We do not use this cash on a regular basis, but it is there if we do need it. We probably have around $2K.

We live in earthquake and fire zones. Evacuations have occurred. There isn't really a lot of time to go to the ATM and get supplies, etc. during an evacuation. You pretty much throw things into a box or laundry basket, shove it into the trunk, grab the pets and children, and GO! We went to friends who lived in our city but away from the danger. They fed us and gave us a bedroom for a few days. We didn't actually need cash or food or water or anything except some clothes and toys. Local hotels were giving rooms to evacuees free of charge. Most places of business were closed during the crisis. Slowly, things returned to normal.

The first time, we were actually out of town for a long weekend and could not even get to our house to rescue our cat or get anything out of our house. We just had one duffle bag of dirty clothes and a few toys. We went to the friends mentioned above and were able to do laundry, etc.

The second time, we were at home and had everything packed into a laundry basket and a crate and a box within minutes (no pets at this point, cat passed from severe illness between evacuations), but we were just on watch for a few days and never had to actually evacuate.

The best course of action for planning depends on what type of emergency is most likely to occur. ATMs don't have an endless supply of cash in them and everyone runs to the ATM in the "warning" and "watch" phases. Businesses close down, so getting cash over is not realistic. Then again, you don't need much cash if the businesses are closed.... In both of our situations, the emergency was wildfire and we simply did not need cash. We have it anyway.

[Chicky2]

We keep up to several thousand, in small bills. Depends on the time of year. My dh gets paid cash for alot of his side jobs, so that goes into the 'stash spot' (of which we have 3). Also my dd pays her bills to me in cash so that goes in, too. Nice to know it's there in an emergency. And there have been times my oldest dd would have my debit card and dh had the one for our other account and he's an hour away. So I am never stuck w/out. We live in the country, too, and sometimes neighbors combine trips to town or for hay or feed, etc...I use it for that, too. Oh, and for buying milk from a neighbor, lol.

[mtm]

we keep around $200 in cash, maybe another 100-200 in change jars. We started keeping cash around after there was a big blackout and we couldn't access bank machines. I'd like to add to it but worry we will spend it on takeout, fritter it away.

[Denvergirlie]

Thanks ladies.

So I did it, I got the deposit back on the rental we moved out of on Feb 28th, that plus another $100, has me now the nervous owner of $1K in cash. I did get a few large bills, just because I acknowledge that sometimes our most pressing need for cash is for a great deal on something expensive, like needing $600 in cash on a Sunday morning, etc.
But most is in $20's. I'm going to add to it more $10 and lower bills, a bit each month.
We just cashed in the change jar, so are down to $40 or so in change, I never count that as money, it's just there. But we rarely use cash on a daily basis, so the lack of cash all together has been an issue.

I posted this to my "preparedness forum" as well, something a person suggested was having a few rolls of those $1 coins. Apparently they come $25 to a roll, and can come in useful as well. I think I just might add a few of those as well.

thanks so much for your input

[velochic]

Originally Posted by Denvergirlie

Thanks ladies.
I posted this to my "preparedness forum" as well, something a person suggested was having a few rolls of those $1 coins. Apparently they come $25 to a roll, and can come in useful as well. I think I just might add a few of those as well.

thanks so much for your input

One thing to consider about those coins (I use them, but only keep about $25 at any given time) is that they can't be used in vending machines. Most likely if you are needing to use your cash for an emergency, there might be a power outage or something so the machines wouldn't be working either, anyway, so that might be a moot point.

Also, I have had a lot of people question if it's real legal tender. If there is a crisis and people haven't seen them, they may not accept them as legal tender. Just a thought on that. Of course it depends on the reason you have the $$ on hand anyway. For us, it's because we live in areas prone to natural disaster such as tornado, snowstorm, icestorm, flooding. Anyway, thought I'd throw those thoughts out there.

[Maluhia]

I have about $200-300 in the house in 1s and 5s. Small bills matter in an emergeny where like flood, etc. where you are buying goods and no one has change. Learned it in an emergency preparedness class.

[bigteamug]

Scanning the thread, I don't remember seeing this, but keep your cash somewhere fireproof, if you can - many homeowner's policies limit the amount of cash they cover if you have a fire/burglary etc. I'd rather not lose that amount of money if I can....