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Do you save cash in case of emergency? - with poll -

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Do you save cash for a rainy day?

  • I do save cash

    Votes: 32 58.2%

  • I don't save cash

    Votes: 15 27.3%

  • I'm not telling you

    Votes: 5 9.1%

  • yet another stupid poll

    Votes: 5 9.1%
  • Total voters
    55
I keep 1k - 4k in the safe. Down to 2k right now, I figure it could be good for emergencies but mainly its nice having cash like say I come across a deal on craigslist I can't pass up on a sunday. If I have to wait til the banks open on monday I'll probably miss out if its really that good of a deal. In the past I've given a couple hundred to someone to hold something for me but I don't like doing that. I don't want to have to hurt somebody, too much extra work.
 
Word folks: eggs are where it's at. All those people who run out and empty the store shelves of milk and bread? They're gonna want french toast and you'll be the eggman, goo goo g'joob.
 
I try to always have some cash on hand, but I end up spending it and sometimes run out and don't go get more till later.

I should probably have a separate stash somewhere that I don't touch though.
 
Thebobo said:
Was thinking about what happened in Puerto Rico where all you could use was cash and there was no way to get to your cash. So assuming there is a disaster of some sort be it a huge solar flare/CME or some other natural disaster that wiped out the communications and power grid in your area. How much would you want to set aside to make life more comfortable until normalcy is restored? We're not talking apocalyptic here.

So the question is would you or do you save cash out side the bank in case of emergency?

How much do you think is sufficient assuming a local disaster?
Click to expand...

I grew up in California (earthquakes & now fires) and Florida (hurricanes & flooding). I've had to evacuate before and have been without power for a couple weeks before. It's not fun, but with a little preparation, it's no big deal. I do a combination of cash & supplies. It's not hard to do, and if you're on a budget, you can slowly build it up over time pretty easily.

Cash:
  • Wallet: $20
  • Car: $60
  • Portable lockbox: $1k
I mostly use digital methods for transactions (i.e. card), but sometimes you run into places that only take cash, so I keep a spare $20 in my wallet. Hardly ever use it, but it's a lifesaver when you need it! Same with my car...sometimes the card system goes down & you need gas, so having some gas kitty in an envelope in your glove box can be huge. At home, I have a small portable lockbox where I keep some emergency cash, along with my passport, social security card, and other important documents - you want something you can grab & go in an emergency if needed. The last place I lived actually got flooded & I had to live in a hotel for awhile while it got fixed, so it was nice to have both cash & all of my important paperwork in a grab & go bin. I've detailed my financial system in another thread (it's very basic), but I only use a credit card IRL for purchases (better protection & faster recovery for stolen funds than the bank, especially with all of the card skimmers out there these days). So that way you have some cash on hand, your bank, and a credit card for emergency transactions.

Supplies:
  • Fire safety: (at home)
    • Fire & smoke CO alarms (with batteries)
    • Fire extinguishers
    • Ladders for the 2nd story windows (under $40 on Amazon)
  • Car:
    • Fire extinguisher
    • Emergency roadside kit
    • Overnight bag (I've been stuck at work before due to snowstorms & such)
    • Keep the gas & wiper fluid topped off & do the regular maintenance (oil changes, tire rotations, etc.)
  • Bug-out bag (waterproof 72-hour kit) - one for each person (flashlight, clothes, food, water, etc). Also, we schedule laundry on a weekly basis (whose laundry gets done on what day) so that there are always clean clothes available to grab.
  • Food, water, and supplies storage
  • Generator (I just have a small portable one right now)
There's a lot of "prepper" stuff out there if you really want to dive into it, but it's good to have at least a couple week's worth of supplies just in case anything crazy happens in your area. I would say having shelf-stable food, safe drinking water, and various supplies (TP, soap, toothpaste, etc.) is more important than having money in the event of an emergency in your area, where you might be stuck at home for awhile without outside help. Money of course helps if you have to evac quickly, so having a bugout bag & some cash is really handy too. Just look at the hundreds of people who had to suddenly leave their homes out in California this week from all of those wildfires...you never know what's going to happen! I also like to do food storage because it encourages me to cook at home more (cheaper, healthier, and in a lot of cases, better-tasting). As a matter of fact, I just used my flour supply to make a giant triple-chocolate skillet cookie today:

https://celebratingsweets.com/triple-chocolate-skillet-cookie/

OwpUU6s.jpg
 
Not sure about that lockbox stuff. It makes things look valuable without actually preventing someone from walking off with it. I'd take the whole box and deal with opening it later.
 
My Chinese friends mock me for "only" keeping $30K in cash at home. :tearsofjoy: Those guys keep a ridiculous amount of cash on hand.
 
Lol on one hand I would feel secure having that much cash at home knowing that even if the banks collapse or something crazy like that happens I'll be ok for a bit, but on the other hand I'd be worried of house fire etc. Then again if I get a house fire I have more than 30k to worry about.
 
I have a crawlspace under my garage so it's all concrete all around, so I actually could build a pretty large fireproof safe in there if I wanted to. Or heck, turn that entire space into a vault. 😀

I don't think I will ever see 30k in cash in my life time though so I don't have to worry about that problem. 😛
 
lxskllr said:
Not sure about that lockbox stuff. It makes things look valuable without actually preventing someone from walking off with it. I'd take the whole box and deal with opening it later.
Click to expand...

For me, the core idea of a portable lockbox is:

1. Is fireproof in case my house burns down while I'm away, and
2. Is portable so I can grab & go if I need to boogie

It doesn't actually need to be a box or even have a lock on it...they sell 11x17" fireproof sleeves for pretty cheap, which can hold your important documents & some emergency cash:

https://www.amazon.com/Aoxun-Resistant-Fiberglass-Fireproof-Explosionproof/dp/B073SS4YNJ

81LtYhpY4CL._SL1500_.jpg
 
I wonder what is the melting point of the newer polymer bills, vs the paper ones. Would be interesting to see how they would fair out in a fire safe. Wonder if it's something they considered in the design. Though if I had 1k+ of cash in the house I'd probably do more than just a fire safe like a custom concrete/sand safe. I have a crawlspace under my garage, I should convert that into a vault for fun. Not that I have enough valuables to require that, but it would be fun to have. 😛
 
Red Squirrel said:
I wonder what is the melting point of the newer polymer bills, vs the paper ones. Would be interesting to see how they would fair out in a fire safe. Wonder if it's something they considered in the design. Though if I had 1k+ of cash in the house I'd probably do more than just a fire safe like a custom concrete/sand safe. I have a crawlspace under my garage, I should convert that into a vault for fun. Not that I have enough valuables to require that, but it would be fun to have. 😛
Click to expand...

Bezos has you covered:

https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Wall-Safe-Diversion-Valuables/dp/B017A8IW6S/
 
I have cash, I have guns, ammo, tools, generator, some gas (not much, storage is a hassle) access to a well, etc.

If things are ever really bad I’m under no illusions that this will get me very far. It’s more to keep conditions a bit better if there was a minor disaster.
 
Kaido said:
For me, the core idea of a portable lockbox is:

1. Is fireproof in case my house burns down while I'm away, and
2. Is portable so I can grab & go if I need to boogie

It doesn't actually need to be a box or even have a lock on it...they sell 11x17" fireproof sleeves for pretty cheap, which can hold your important documents & some emergency cash:

https://www.amazon.com/Aoxun-Resistant-Fiberglass-Fireproof-Explosionproof/dp/B073SS4YNJ

81LtYhpY4CL._SL1500_.jpg
Click to expand...

Yea they use those to store and charge lithium batteries for RC electric planes cars helicopters etc. I have a couple but they are not totally fire proof. A really hot fire can destroy documents inside. You need a good fireproof safe to be 100% safe.
 
John Connor said:
I buy physical gold. When the dollar collapses I'll be the last one laughing.
Click to expand...

What are you supposed to receive in exchange for your gold in a world where currency is meaningless?

Oh right, nothing. You will have very expensive and heavy coins that will be difficult to move when you need to.
 
This is something that needs to be taught to kids in high school.

You need AT LEAST $1000 in an emergency fund. This covers most of those "Oh shit!" moments in life, and if you use it, you need to cancel spending on everything to put it back. If you don't have emergency money, it leads to deficit credit card spending, and then you end up in credit hell.
 
Fritzo said:
This is something that needs to be taught to kids in high school.

You need AT LEAST $1000 in an emergency fund. This covers most of those "Oh shit!" moments in life, and if you use it, you need to cancel spending on everything to put it back. If you don't have emergency money, it leads to deficit credit card spending, and then you end up in credit hell.
Click to expand...
:sneaky;
 
Thebobo said:
Yea they use those to store and charge lithium batteries for RC electric planes cars helicopters etc. I have a couple but they are not totally fire proof. A really hot fire can destroy documents inside. You need a good fireproof safe to be 100% safe.
Click to expand...

Nice, thanks for the info! I have a lot of little widgets that run off those batteries, especially the Lipos...which are scary if you've ever seen the Youtube videos of them catching on fire!

And yeah, a fireproof safe, especially a portable one that you can grab & go, would be better, and aren't more expensive. Although there's an odd shortage of small ones that store normal-sized documents...
 
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