How much Cash at home?

How much cash is enough to keep at home? I initially thought $1,000 would be enough but now I'm thinking I should bump it up to $5,000.

I'm thinking anything over 5k I would want to be earning interest on.

This is purely for shtf and 4am cash deal purposes.

Edit: Defining shtf as blizzard or other natural event that takes down atm's and cash withdrawals for a few days, maybe a week. True shtf is a whole different discussion.

Used to keep cash in my safe for an emergency, about $2000. Well emergency came and went, so now there is ZERO in there. Working on trying to build that up again.

Presume that there will be a bank holiday and that you will need three months supply of cash to cover your expenses. Someone in Manhattan is likely to need more than someone in Cleburne, Texas. So, figure money to pay for your home loan (if any), gas, electric and heating bill, water bill, food, medicine and other necessary expenses. Cut out the luxuries.

I have failed

i use to keep 1k at home and then it went down to $500bux and ive slowly over the past 4-6 months treated it as an ATM machine, Id withdraw 20-100bux and it never got replaced.

I just pulled my last $20 from it.


Yea economy.

Other than spare change, I generally dont have any cash on hand these days. If, as mentioned above, I cant get money from the bank then I sure as fuck aint gonna be paying any bills, so that scenario does not concern me. Not even considering 3months worth of bill would be alot of fucking cash on hand, which would better suit me in a low risk account earning some type of interest.

I try to keep 2-3K on hand....not sure if there is any scientific reason around that amount, but it works for me

I agree with this. If there is a long term disruption and I can't get access to the cash I have in the bank then the bills are not getting paid. Everyone can suck it. Open the safe and prepare for anarchy.


For short term disruptions and emergency situations I feel pretty comfortable with 1k to 5k in the safe. Think I'm going to shoot for 5k just to be safe

Currently 5k distributed through out the house.

remember that cash burns in a fire.... I would reccomend keeping it burried in the yard, or cement it in a concrete block etc.

$5K-$10K

I prefer to do it pharoah style and soak my cash and innards in honey. That stuff never goes bad.

Dollars are really worthless for a real SHTF event. Your best bet is stockpiled food, water, possibly precious metals, and ammo. (Also meds if you have access) These are goods that retain value relative to the given market. If the monetary system were to completely break down, only these items will really have any value. Your dollars could end up worth less then the paper they are printed on.



ETA: Also note that if you really want to keep cash, then you need to add between 4-6% a year to account for the average inflation rate. (In our current economy that could swing drastically higher or lower either way.)

I keep approx $2,000 in my safe and approx $300.00 in my pockets at all times.. I'll try and add more once I find a better job..

10k total 5k of which are in smaller bills

With my bank you can not walk in and withdraw more then 2k at one time,it takes a one week notice to get more,money more then that has too be ordered,so with that said i try too get some each time i go to the bank,3-5k will not last long when in need.

Back in the day, Gramps used to keep $500 in the house "in case one of you kids need
bailed out". As with much of his wisdom I try to follow that thinking now that I am the old
man. I keep $5k minimum in the safe.
DanM

He double tapped his way to infamy....

3 months of living expenses + some cushion in cash, in a fire proof safe... not buried in the yard.

1500 or so in silver in case the cash loses it's value.

More than enough in brass and lead if plan A and B both prove unworkable.



That's what helps me sleep at night anyway. YMMV.

It'd be interesting to compare all your ages to the amount of money you keep at home. I can't see how anyone could have 5-10k just sitting at home. That seems a little excessive to me, but I'm only 26 and the only cash I have at home is what's in my wallet and it's usually less than 100, sometimes nothing at all.

I don't pay any bills in cash. I could get away with not having any cash for a long time. I use my credit card for everything and pay it off every month electronically with my checking account.

I'm around your age. I don't keep nearly as much in cash as some of the people here claim, but I do like to have a decent amount in the safe for events where credit might not be accepted (from buying during a power outage to buying something off of Craig's List). Like you, I use my CC for everyday purchases and pay off the balance in full every month. To me, keeping 5k+ in cash at home would deprive me of interest on that money, which I wouldn't like. But then, my expenses are low, and 5k is a lot of money for me, so I guess it's all relative.

I'm 34 and to be honest, I keep the money for both emergencies, and in the event a good deal comes around and I need cash today.

I currently have $46 in my wallet and an emergency $20 bill in my vehicles. Never felt the need to keep cash at home. That's money that could be earning interest. I suppose I could throw a couple hundred bucks in the gun safe, but it would only be of any use if all three of my banks have all their ATMs go down, and every business I use stops taking credit cards. Very unlikely.

I usually keep $500 or $700 handy, but then I find a Great Deal-Must Have (tm) on the local EE.....

I typically keep a few twenties (under $100 total) on my dresser, easy access plus if someone breaks in hopefully theyll grabd a few twenties and some of my wifes necklaces and leave thinking they got a good deal. I keep $500 hidden for emergencies. Some people sweat on more but honestly the real rate of inflation is around 5-10% so having that kind of cash sit and not earn interest or not invested in something is insane imo. if you want to store large amounts of wealth in your home and not have it loose buying powe ri would recommend gold or silver, it will keep up with inflation and in the even of hyperinflation it will be one of the few things you own thats worth anything.

Double post *rolls eyes*

Someone mentioned keeping some in "small bills" but there hasn't been any discussion of exact denominations. For people that are keeping $2K+, what denominations are you keeping? 100's makes the most sense due to bulk but some of it would need to be 5, 10, or 20s for easy trade when the world ends(r) I would think.

$10,000 scattered around my neighbor's house

I keep it in ammo cans.

i keep 1 $50 gold coin
bulk silver valued at 100.00 plus
cash 100-500 at all times

Copyright © 1996 - 2013 :: AR15.Com LLC :: All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.