I currently keep some silver in various forms on hand.  I would guess current dollar value at around 2k?  maybe a bit less.
I guess my guns and maybe ammo i could trade pretty quickly for fuel or something important.  Even just a trip to the pawn shop?

If the banking systems shut down, all atm's, accounts inaccessible,  etc etc
how quickly or seamlessly could you make a transition to various forms of barter or trade.

granted if the banks had a major problem so would pawn shops and the like.  I could see a mass rush to the pawn shops for cash?  maybe???

this doesnt have to be on a national level, something like this could ruin alot of peoples days really quickly in just a small area.

Now the reason I bring this up.   I bank with wells fargo.   at 4pm yesterday i tried to make a cash withdrawal of 40 bucks from the teller using the drive thru
she said my accounts have been locked for suspicious activity.

my wife freaked out.   i am going to fix it today.   i just wonder how bad that would hurt your average joe if the banks said this to all their customers.

I work in a business that is cash transactions about 30% of the time so It would not be the end of the world.   My wife is the opposite.  she gets paid every two weeks
direct deposit.   She got paid yesterday.....    I am guessing that why she freaked.

this is a ramble and I apologize but it brought up some thoughts about timing.  

How many people could transition from normalcy to shtf with no bumps in the road.

thanks for your ears/eyes.

I think you need to come up with a spectrum of financial SHTF events.  From "very likely" to "Unlikely".  Prep for "very likely" first...

LIKELY:Financially, there are several very likely events.  Major storm or electrical outage causes banks to physically close and ATM's are temporary shut down.  Perhaps credit card systems are down too due to no power.  You need cash, actual green folding money.  I keep a fair bit, in mixed denominations on hand.  Silver and gold is useless for this.

MODERATE:Then start moving down the spectrum to moderately likely.  Example:  Inflation starts going 8,10,12, 14% and more.  This isn't an overnight deal.  Folding money drops in value, but its something that starts to ramp up.  There is a little time for reaction.  Any sound investment strategy likely includes some response to this;  This isn't about wealth creation, its about some wealth preservation.  Precious metals, commodities, physical assets all help.  Low or no debt helps too:  Interest rates skyrocket during these kinds of events.

UNLIKELY:The we get to unlikely.  Think like you are a Jew living in Warsaw in 1938.  You need to pick up and move now, taking some wealth with you.  What can you move portably, that is highly negotiable.  And what could be used for bribes, fees, etc if necessary???  Gold helps.  Or perhaps its a very severe economic collapse.

If you've got a lot of wealth, having some in precious metals likely isn't a bad idea.  Unfortunately, I think there are a lot of people who try to hoard silver and gold for highly unlikely events, but they also run considerably day-to-day debt and have near zero actual cash reserves.  Its the financial equivalent of having 10,000 rounds of ammo for your three AR15's incase of zombie apocalypse, but not having 72 hours worth of food and water incase of storm or power outage.

I your case, having silver, gold or diamonds is an inappropriate response to the WellsFargo ATM denial.  Your appropriate response to this likely event is two fold:  Having a couple thousand at home in cash so ATM withdrawals are not important, and secondly, running enough of a financial 'buffer' in your budget, accounts, and lifestyle that a missing paycheck isn't critical.  You should have enough cash on hand that you can easily get through a couple weeks while Wells Fargo gets sorted out....

ATMs will shut down.  Credit card and debit card systems shut down too.  Power fails, stores close, computers fail, and all your 'digital' money ends up frozen.  Count on it.  The appropriate response to this is three fold:  Enough basic supplies at home to carry you through the short term event, enough folding money on hand to cover day to day needs for a few weeks, and enough of a financial buffer (and emergency fund and low debt life) to carry you through until normalcy returns.  None of this involves gold or silver, and all of this is far more likely than any event requiring precious metals.  Once these are 'done', then its time for prepping for the highly unlikely.

Basically, you need the financial equivalent of water, beans, bullets and bandaids, BEFORE you prep for mountain top retreats, underground bunkers, and hazmat suits for zombie invasions.
Fro

Definitely a good idea to have a significant amount of cash on hand. That doesn't mean in the bank.

"Significant" means different things to different people. Someone freaked on here when I suggested more than an emergency $20. tucked away in their wallet. I don't know if mommy doesn't "let" them have money but $20. ain't gonna get you far and may not even buy a "favor" of a tow now a days.

Six months living expenses in cash may not be too much. How long were accounts screwed up in Greece?

The "PM's only" types will be HAVING to sell -perhaps at a down time- if they have no cash on hand. Ditto with the everything in the market types.

We need a good mix for a plan. You may wake up one morning and find that because your a gunowner, constitutionalist, whatever that your accounts are frozen and it's time to leave..... Stopping by Joe Joe's pawnshop to sell at a loss some Kruggerands might not be a good time. Having some cash might help you get away.

For the "only drug dealers have any cash" swipe your ATM card for a snickers and soda at the convenience store types, you really need to get used to operating outside of that very narrow spectrum wherein every single transaction you make can be tracked. Not for any "nsa" boogeyman BS, but for other reasons.

It really all just boils down to OPTIONS. If you have cash, you have some options. Their is a psychological power in flashing cash when making a larger purchase. THAT is how you get the best "discounts" in person. Whether it's the guy at the county road department that says "pull your truck around back" and sell you a $500. culvert for $100. cash, or the guy that comes out on a weekend to help you fix a tractor cause he remembers you pay cash and he's short of funds for the week- cash talks, BS walks.

I keep about $5k in cash in the house, about 20k in gold and silver.  No, I wont be giving out my address.  Every weekend in Prescott Valley, there is a Flea Market.  Every weekend there are people there with guns on the tables.  It really is like a mini gun show every weekend.  I always bring a couple grand in cash just so I have the money right there to buy that great deal.  I have found numerous deals on guns there, but you have to have cash.  If you have to go hit up an ATM, that good deal wont be there by the time you get back.  Also, when you have the money under the guys nose, he sits up and takes notice that you are a serious man.

Ok, kind of silly, but if someone asks $450 for a gun and I offer them $400, most will bite.  I just picked up another Glock 19, gen 3, brand new, no box, 3 mags for $350.  

Arizona is a great state.

First, why would you bank with a rip off company like Well's Fargo?

Get an account with a local credit union. Then get a 2nd account with another local credit union.

Have enough money in them so that if one screws something up, you can use the other one.

That won't help you in a worldwide collapse, but it will get you through the much more likely scenario that you experienced.

Excellent advice!!! All spot on except the debt in an inflationary economy thing (but I won't argue that here; that's more of a long-term financial benefit, not a "survive this situation" type of thing).

Some people recomend having 2 bank accounts at very seperate institutions.  Some like a credit union and a bank and some like a big nasty too big to fail bank and a little local bank.



If one got shut down for suspicious activity, the other is probably ok.



If there is a bank holiday, both are probably down.



Someone who knows you need to convert items into cash quickly will not be paying top dollar, or even reasonable dollar, for that item.



If you got it for next to nothing, then goody.



Depending on how much silver or gold you have to change out at once you should read up on paperwork for large transactions and see if you fall into that category or not.  With how gold and silver go up and down I don't look at them as quick things to sell.  Silver has had a big high and a low in what I consider recent history.  Gold won't go up or down as drastically it seems, but I don't consider gold very easy to convert.  



Cash on hand to handle a major supply issue with the banks or work messing up a few checks or whatever.  A week for some, a month for others, some keep their 6 month emergency fund on hand in cash.



And I like to have some rolls of quarters and a bunch of 1s and 5s on hand as well, during some ice storms in the past some local rural stores were open and dude was able to sell stuff for cash and he really needed some change.  All I did was help change out some of his larger bills for him, I was helping a friend out.  Not looking to make money on having small bills.



He said it was coming close to where people were going to have to buy enough to use up their bill if he ran out of change.  And this fella kept a fair bit of change at the house, but the ice storm shut things down for a few days.



Now if you have friends who know you have x item and they would buy it from you, perhaps that is easily convertable if they have cash when you need cash and they still want the item.

Keep cash on hand. We keep an undisclosed amount of cash on hand.


I use credit cards to auto pay my bills.


I use my bank account to auto pay my credit cards.


Unfortunately, 95% of my business is all credit card income, so all the business funds are tied up electronically.

You need at least a month's worth of expenses in cash. That's what I would go for. Your wife freaked out (rightfuly so) but imagine what would happen if banks just shut their doors ATMs run dry and that's all there is to it? That's waht I saw in Argentina and that's what a lot of people are seeing right now in Eastern Ukraine, exact same thing actually based on what several people are telling me. They are in the middle of a Russian invasion and, at least as of right now, what they are worrying is getting hold of cash and inflation. Of course that could change, but thats where they are at the moment. They even have curriers going back and forth to unocuipied towns to get money from ATMs. Imagine folks earning a living by going from one town to the other with a stack of cards from different people to make withdrawls for them. You saw this a lot going on in Uruguay, where people from Argentina went there to get us dollars from certain ATMs at a much better exchange rate than the unoficial one in Argentina.
PM have a place as well. I'd go for smaller gold coins, say 1/10 of an ounce, for a number of reasons. Samller denomination, harder and less profitabel to counterfit, easier to hide and cross borders with, and its a lot less bulky than silver. Let me tell you, bugging out with silver SUCKS. Its not just heavy, its bulky and a lot more noticeable than gold for the same amount of wealth.
Finally, the best financial tool you can have, get an off sohre account. I know its hard for Americans but its still possible if you look around. This just saves you when your own country goes to hell. Cayman island, Isle of Man,even better Luxembourg or Ireland in some cases. I cant explain how great it is to go to certain ATMs and get as much cash as you want while everyone around you is literally screwed because the country's banking system has collapsed. This is without a dobut one of the best assets you can have. You see the economy going to hell? You move some more of your savings abroad, you protect your money. Everything looks cool? you bring more of it back. If you have a second citizenship its of course much easier to  open an offshore account because more foregin banks dont want to deal with US citizen's bagage, at least not if you're not bringing in considerable funds to make it worth their trouble.
FerFAL

When the US goes to Hell ---in the context we're discussing...

Europeans will already have eaten each other.

the less the feds know the better....

Link?



I think the right mix will be different for each individual.  The more cash on hand, the more the equation tilts to it being a more risky situation.  Right now, cash in the bank is safer than cash on hand. That can change so it is best to "get both."  Like an investment strategy, you need to constantly evaluate the risks associated with you mix.



Using an ATM card is the worst of all possible options (well, except for putting it on a CC and not paying it off), but I really disagree with the worries about transactions being susceptible to tracking. Yeas, for some people that might be an issue, but it the grand scheme of things, I have yet to hear a valid argument against using a credit card for daily purchases.

As for discounts on big purchases, that is entirely situational. Personally, I'm not going around buying stolen or "fell off the truck" goods, but in that case, it's definitely the way to go. I rarely use cash.  I can't remember the last time someone actually was willing to drop the price for using cash.  After seeing all the talk here about "cash is king" I started asking about cash discounts again.  No one cares.  It probably has a lot to do with where you are and what you want or need done.  I do most of my own work on the house and vehicles.  When I have a big job to be done, it is usually a larger company that has the best bid and they don't care about cash.  

Bottom line is that a good mix of cash on hand, investments, and savings is an absolute must to be properly prepared.  The devil is in the details.

Yeah well last longer due to caloric intake....1- European is what 1500 Max....vs 1 American is 4500.... right?


Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

RE: cash discounts for services: Taking a credit card for payment means that the credit card companies get 3-5% off the TOP.


Pay cash and the shop owner is more likely to give a discount, and possibly "forget" about the sale. I know some local mom/pop shops that offer decent discounts when paying with cash and not wanting a receipt.




Just working on taxes now, and Credit card processing fees for my business were into the tens of thousands last year. Money right out of my pocket vs cash.




Oh, I officially LOATHE American Express. Greedy bastards <no longer accepts AE>


 

Well sure, the cashier at Walmart doesn't really give a rats arse if you use Cash or CC. Hell she probably prefers CC cause she doesn't have to make change.

Outside of that narrow window....

Let's see, EVERY single contractor that did anything on our house took at least 10% off for being paid with cash. Adding 1,400 square feet on to the house, all masonry, etc. We are talking easily $4-5K saved with that sort of negotiating.

I guess you really have to be in business or DIRECTLY responsible for money in a business to really get this anymore. The "I get a check on Friday whether I do crap all week or not" types probably will never get this.

Amex are the crookedest lot out there. Total POS, I dropped them in 2002.

+1,000,000   If people ever paid out $50K a year in CC processing fees for a business, they would start to get this.  That 3% is a discount THEY could get (and then some usually).

Considering you can usually get a better price through the volume purchasing achieved by big box stores, I wouldn't call it a narrow window. Food and utilities are rarely affected by method of payment.  The gas stations around that have different cash and credit prices are usually more expensive than the ones wiht only one price.  Saved a penny a gallon by going to one today.

I had a new driveway pured last year, and a porch wall rebuilt.  $9000 was the cheapest bid by several hundred.  I asked about cash discount and he said it didn't matter, cash or credit were fine. Knocked off $500 for repeat business for the two jobs at once and I paid via credit card.

Having been involved in business, I can't imagine someone knocking off 10% to save 3%. We certainly never gave an extra 7% to have more cash in the drawer to count or drop.  The CC tabs always came out even while the cash drawer would often be off. There really wasn't any benefit at the store, and at the bars I worked at, they increased sales when they started accepting credit cards.

I'm sure this has been mentioned above, but tell no one if you keep cash or other portable assets in your home.

After drugs, cash and PMs are the main targets for home invasions and burglaries.

Firearms as well, unfortunately.

This is interesting and from a different perspective, I travel a lot for the military and use the gov’t credit card for the big items like flight tickets, hotels, rental cars and a few small things like parking tickets.  I always take cash with me for everything else, meals, incidentals and emergencies.  Not always knowing the area, I definitely want to avoid tracking down ATM machines or bank.  

Additionally, after using a personal my debit card (avoid this!) when I did a trip back home and took my parents to dinner, someone at that restaurant ran up a nice $1000+ bill at a nearby Costco.  Sure, everything got straightened out, but it locked up my account, had to get a new card and the hassle with dealing with the situation.  Every meal or bar visit is with cash when I’m TDY and I typically carry enough cash to easily get me out of town (with a rental car).  I need to strongly putting a small PM-travel stash together…???

Plastic is great for “normal” emergencies, but when power is down, few businesses have the manual charge forms (you know, the carbon-copy versions!), and regardless of how much credit or cash you have available, it most likely won’t be accessible.  Hurricanes, ice-storms, power-plant failures (like just what happened in MD this past week) are all regional problems that can limit your immediate access to cash.  

ROCK6

I do like the idea of two different "banks"  



I do need to get a more substantial pile of cash on hand.  

Good points, thanks! Glad to see some people still get it!

We have some accounts with a large national bank and a smaller state wide bank.

The smaller more local type bank is helpful at times, more of a community type feel to it, people you know from church, business, etc. working there.

Having also accounts at the larger national bank has helped at times when we were out of state doing shows, etc.

Bought a truckload of gear one time in another state. Guy had already came down in price a good bit, THEN I offered cash and got a further discount (you know, that's what happens when you know how to NEGOTIATE and do that sort of thing for a living). I drove one block down to the BOA, went in cashed and check and put the $600. cash savings in my pocket.

If I only had the account at the local bank, I wouldn't have been able to make that happen cause the closest one was 500 miles away.

I doubt the two accounts give you a boatload of diversification in case of bank failures, well in a true collapse anyways.  

But then again, their is TARP, "too big to fail" etc.

Cash is king. I keep $5k in my gun safe and will likely increase it.
People that talk gold and silver: how in the hell do you verify it, value it, weigh it, etc if the "shtf". I would rather have tried and true paper and coin that sheeple are used to on a daily basis. After that, it is food and water, gas, electric and comfort items, not your colored metal!

Don't be skeered....There's nothing wrong with multiple accounts.  We have four that we use for different purposes.

there are quite a lot of fairly easy ways to tell if gold is gold.   tried and true paper is almost an oxy-moron.  

Maybe, but you will only be able to deal with the small minority that understand and trust those ways to verify.  In an already bad situation not many are going to be trusting colored metal or the person offering it.

We have had some major banking disruptions where I live.  I am about 60 miles outside of Las Vegas, and there is ONE fiber optic line carrying 99.9% of the ATM, Banking, internet and phone out of the valley here.  Its been cut two times in the 11 years I have lived here.





One time it was while I was shopping in Walmart.  Now, I always keep a few hundred hidden away for emergencies on my person as well as a decent sized cash stash at home in a safe, so I was good, up to the register, they were on backup power so I paid cash instead of my Debit card, and I was out the door.. but the chaos that broke out once people found out their SNAP, Debit or credit cards would not work was worth watching.  No one seems to carry cash anymore.





That outage lasted about 48 hours.





Another time was just for about 20 or so hours.





Its amazing how a simple backhoe cutting a fiber optic line in Vegas, can take down a huge area.  Even cell phones did not work, and anyone with a landline phone could only call other local numbers.





Always stash some cash away, once you feel comfortable with what you have stashed, putting away some gold and silver is a good idea as well.. but cash first.

 

im working on plans for this stuff... i have some things going for me, but trying to expand it.

1. i have paid off a ton of debt in the last 3 years. i keep a detailed budget of all bills paid each month, and that list went from around 18 MANDATORY bills... down to about 6-8 now, and those include living expenses, rent, internet, water, power etc.  in 4 months my only non living expense bill , will be my land payment, and im very happy about that.
2. i do have two seperate bank accounts at different banks...one a really small one, with maybe 3-5 branches total, and the second a larger one with maybe 20 branches. with automatic deposits going into each account, with checks and debit cards for both accounts. so theres some help if one account were to be locked, i would probably have access to at least one account.
3. i do try to keep some cash on hand for emergencies..... as well as a emergency credit card... just for emergencies.
4. i buy silver..... its a long term thing to me... not planning on ever selling it if things go right. the only plan for selling this, would be a economic collapse.. id have money tied into something valuable, that should hold value. i dont have gold, because its been out of reach financially, but i can see buying a small amount of that over time and holding it as well.

I like silver too, but it does have the disadvantage of getting pretty heavy fast at a 70 to1 ratio to gold. Also, if you ever get a chance, open an account off shore, even if just opening one in Canada it still means you have an account out of the American banking system.
FerFAL

Unfortunately you don't have the secrecy of that like you used to.

For at least the last 5 or 6 years on tax forms I've seen multiple questions regarding foreign accounts, amounts, where, etc.

Exactly,
we have gotten so much smarter over the last 2000+yrs.
Everyone knows paper is superior, cannot be counterfeited and fiat money has never become worthless.

Everyone who has every worked at a store, gas station, or bar knows how to spot a fake hundred. Pretty much everyone knows about the water marks, micro printing, ribbon, and other anti counterfeit features of US currency. How many people can tell with any degree of accuracy, the purity, weight, and value of PMs?

It's good to know that the person that cannot figure out how to give me correct change knows how to spot fake paper money.
However, without their test marker pen, I doubt most really can.
If it was that easy, the .gov would not have to keep changing the designs.

Keeping cash is a good idea. I absolutely do. In the most likely events, it is the best solution.
How much and what denominations varies by the individual. Everyone's situation is different.

The problem is, no one here (including myself) knows exactly what is going to happen in the future.

The flaw in your argument is that you suggest that gold or silver will be used as currency in some kind of barter/trade.
While that could happen, that is probably a very remote possibility.

It's not really for that. It is used for conversion to accepted currency.

Several countries in history have demonstrated what happens if the event is economic.
Paper money can become worthless pretty quickly.
(I know this could never happen here as we are smarter than everyone else.)

I am just not an either/or person. I believe in diversity.

I still put money in my 401k, that is not a risk-free task.
I do this because during the rest of my life there may be no EOTWAWI event.
However, a 100% for sure SHTF event will be retirement or the loss of my ability to work. - I'm getting old, it happens.

It always surprises me that on a forum where the mantra is usually "get both", or "two is one, one is none",
gold and silver is one of the few things that generates so much negative response. (besides the Taurus Judge)

TEOTWAWKI has just been around the corner for at least the last 14yrs.

I didn't suggest that it would be used in a barter or trade situation, I just replied to your comment regarding counterfeiting. I've seen plenty of clerks check bills for the ribbon or water mark. Hell, they have articles in the paper every time they change it and some places post them by the register. I'm not at all arguing against including gold for certain reasons. Diversity is absolutely critical.

Sorry if I misunderstood you. I can only go by what was posted.

suggested to me that you were comparing PM's to currency.
I consider using PM's as currency a very remote possibility.

People in Greece are selling gold teeth to buy food, apparently it holds some value.
I just believe there may be a place for PM's in preps.

Everyone's situation is different.

ETA: and I would submit the fact that stores post the currency changes next to the register is proof that counterfeiting is alive and well, and probably common.

This brings up the point of why it's important to keep up with changes in currency and change out slowly as needed.

I remember in the 90's when the strip thing started, the conspiracy theories ran wild- "they will be able to scan your house and tell how much cash you are hiding", "microchips" in currency, etc. So you had a lot of people holding onto the old bills thinking they would be great.

Now you see one of those old bills and it's suspect. I remember a guy paying me in a boatload of $10 dollar bills of the old fashion. It was a worthwhile risk so I took them, but I was concerned.

After that, I went through and slowly cycled out any of our "old" bills from storage. Mix them with newer currency, make a deposit for one amount, a few weeks later make a withdrawal for a different amount. Hell banks still give some of the older types of currency.

But it is something you should keep up with if your holding more than $20. in cash.

That is a good point and something I had not considered.
Thanks.

A bigger problem when new bills are rolled out is the fact that people aren't sure of their legitimacy. When I went to Ireland the last time they warned us not to bring new $100s since the banks would not accept them yet. You had to look for different things in the old bills compared to new ones.

ETA: my post you quoted was directed only at your post which I quoted. It wasn't part of anything larger.

Interesting article kinda related to the topic here-

http://thoughtsfromfrankandfern.blogspot.com/2015/04/negative-interest-is-here.html

Day to day we use our debit cards.  It's easy.  We keep some cash on hand because it makes sense.  We also have a few dollars in US silver coin in a $1 to a $0.10 denominations.  Don't know if the coins will ever be needed. But we have them.  These things make me feel better to have them. I figure sooner or later cash will be needed for something.

For security, don't use your DEBIT card.

 

Get a credit card and pay that off every month. Keep your cash accounts isolated to bill pay and income.


Should your card info be stolen, the bank will lock your account until things are figured out. You do NOT want this happening to your cash accounts.

Do yourself a favor and try to spend both, let me know your results.

Gold is a store of wealth, not an icon of liquidity - especially not if you want even half its market value.

Cash is king, and I'd say everyone should have at least enough on hand to handle a month's expenses and travel to a bug out location of choice. Bonus is that US dollars trade readily for local currency pretty much anywhere on Earth. Me, I figure 1K per member of the household. More than that and I feel the opportunity costs are too high.

I will get attacked, as I often am, by gold bugs - but I've learned in more than a few threads over the years that I have more gold on hand than most. I just don't think it's anything magical. I do prefer to have it all in internationally traded coins, though. I'm not a raw metals guy.

Good post...

The good thing about the new 100s is that now that they have been established, they are easier to spend tan the old ones.  People seem to trust the improved security features more.

I still keep my cash in twenties though, old habits die hard.

Cash would have no value if the banking system collapses.  If banks see no value, everyone else will follow.  I have some PM in hand.  I see no value to them, but others do.  Gold and silver have been used as currency since the beginning of civilization.  I have other necessities that can be used for purchasing power or trade.  I can't put all my wealth on paper alone.

Definitely and I don't think anyone is advocating that.

There will be a time period early on where most will still accept the paper currency. That will be the time to drop cash if you can or so desire. The guy that has a total of $20. in cash at any one time, he may be willing to sell something cheap just because you are giving up cash that he needs. You could get a lot of deals on things like ATVs, watercraft, guns, etc. after the depression started in 08'ish when overstretched yuppies were scrambling to try to save their houses by selling the very toys they wasted their money on that should have went to their mortgages.

In short, CASH possible uses during bad times-

1. The "guns are outlawed so now your an outlaw" type deal- need to flee and have the cash with you.
2. In a less than collapse type deal- most people's liquidity levels are crap (witness this thread) and some will need to convert hard assets to foldable paper to take to the grocery store, car repair man, tax collector, etc.
3. In a Cyprus type gubmint bank lockdown deal. The debit card types heads will explode. Sure you can go down to the bank and protest, it will probably do a lot of good.... Or you can dig $5K out of the back yard and continue on life more or less like it is now.
4. Helping in a tricky bug out situation. Walk 200 miles to your BO? Or "persuade" someone with a big wad of cash to drive you near there.
5. For the first few weeks, months (?) most people will retain a "this is going to be over soon" mindset. That's the Amerikan way right? Red Cross will be rolling in with coffee and blankets soon right? The cash might be able to be used with types like that- who will be thinking things will be back to normal soon.

So basically to have something that you can flee in the night with of ready value, that you do NOT have to get on the radar by going to a Pawn Shop/Jewelry store or coin shop to sell and show your ID in the process (you could be wanted as an evil capitalist freedom loving gunowner), that you can trade/buy things with to pretty much anyone right then (no conversion needed).

I'm NOT suggesting you have ALL cash however, you need some PM's in case cash is outlawed, for a longer time collapse, etc. You also need retirement savings, Roth IRA, etc. for if TS doesn't HTF, which of course is more likely than a full collapse.

I think of all the people I know that cashed out of 401K's, IRA's, etc. in the early 90's because the "market was going to crash" then, who ARE STILL WORKING, many of whom probably would not have to had they not spent their retirement savings thinking TS was fixing to HTF.

True balance comes from being debt free, having some cash (FRN's), PM's, a solid retirement plan, multiple sources of income, etc.
Lowdown3

What the hell is "suspicious activity"?    We bank at WF for the convenience of lots of local branches, but.......?

$1k cash on your person is always a good idea, especially when the country and the world is going all to hell.  

'You could get a lot of deals on things like ATVs, watercraft, guns, etc. after the depression started in 08'ish when overstretched yuppies were scrambling to try to save their houses by selling the very toys they wasted their money on that should have went to their mortgages.'


Oh, yes. I posted and suggested folks do this but don't remember anyone doing it.

I picked up a light tower, tele-handler, skid steer, Whisper Watt 25 KW 3 ph genny, mini-excavator, electronic instruments, land, and a lot of other stuff at great prices.


These days will likely be back sooner than most expect.

I wish it wouldn't be so because a lot of unprepared/stupid/etc,  folks are going to suffer  ---again.


In fact, I've noticed recently subtle drops in retail prices of things --- that are beginning to fall. Has me puzzled sorta.

Around here, it was more blue collar types who were scrambling so the pickins weren't nearly as good.  The dot com bust was nice, bought a boat at the start of that, a buddy bought a nearly showroom new Boxster. I had already sold off the boat, and was enjoying not having a lot of junk cluttering things up. I was too busy selling guns to buy any more in 08.

While I wouldn't use a credit card, I would suggest they just open a second account and only put money into that account when its needed.  They can then use the second account debt card for whatever reasons.  I do this and that card is the one that gets put on the internet and used.  I only put money into that account, as its needed.  I pay everything only from my second account.  House/car/bills/eating out.  I look at my accounts almost daily as well.