Cash On Hand – Slowly Build Up 1-Month Reserves For Living Expenses
Do you have cash reserves for one month of living expenses?
We live in a largely cashless convenient modern era. The vast majority of today’s financial systems ‘money’ consists of invisible electronic digits.
These digits translate to numbers and balances in bank accounts, investment accounts, business accounts; they zip around the globe at light speed; they facilitate transactions ranging from one’s ordinary purchase of groceries to the complex chain of transactions that accompany ‘just in time’ inventory management from producer to end user (and everything in-between).
While digital transactions comprise the lions share of all money movement, cash is still accepted at most businesses. Although today’s young grocery store checkout person may have some difficulty ‘making change’ if you pay with cash (sarcasm – though sometimes true!) the fact is that cash is still ‘money’ (currency).
1 Month Cash On Hand
Why am I suggesting that it’s a good idea to build up (at least!) a one month cash reserve for living expenses? Especially given today’s primary method of electronic transactions using one’s debit or credit cards?
During a period of major emergency, even one’s best laid plans may ‘go out the window’. You may be prepared (or think that you are) but you may need something unforeseen.
Other than a complete collapse of the existing system, having cash on hand may be of some eventual benefit. Cash on hand to meet short-term and emergency funding needs.
And I’m talking about cash in your possession (not in ‘the bank’).
A ’emergency’ funding need may be defined in many various scenarios. It could simply be a time when you find yourself short of cash funds (for whatever reason).
Maybe the power went out because of a hurricane but the gas station down the street is selling gasoline (he has a generator and pump) but ‘cash only’. Now you can buy some and fill up your own generator.
Maybe your own generator conked out but someone who knows someone is selling one for $cash. Boom. Problem solved. Get the general idea?
Maybe you lose your job and suddenly find yourself short of funds. Now your cash stash will buy you some time.
Cash on hand is a forced savings. Except you are the banker. Not ‘the bank’.
The Banking System Doesn’t Like You To Have Cash
Why? Because it puts them (and .gov) out of the loop – either totally, or to an extent. They can’t track what you have.
Except! They can track what you withdraw… And they do. So be careful.
Why (be careful)? Because if you withdraw too much too soon, you will be flagged. I know that it sounds crazy (because it’s your money, right?)
There are many regulations in place which are designed to discourage and limit cash withdrawals. In part these regs are designed to minimize money laundering and criminal enterprise. Though truth be told, .gov (and the IRS) want their cut, their ‘VIG’, their ‘juice’. And the best way to ensure that is to monitor ALL of your financial transactions.
If you withdraw ‘too much’ ‘too soon’ from your own bank, a CTR will be filed against you (Cash Transaction Report) and reported to the government along with your information and social security number. If you try to withdraw smaller amounts to avoid the trigger, but do it too soon together, you will also be flagged and could even end up in jail (and major fine) for ‘structuring’.
Withdraw Cash Slowly
While you may not be worried about a CTR because you might not be looking at keeping 10K cash on hand in your home, it’s still best to go about cash withdrawals a little at a time.
Lots of this (below 10K) is up to the discretion of the bank and the bank manager. They are different depending on the bank itself. Some may have little issue or suspicions (other than mandatory federal threshold levels).
I suspect though that the large “too big to fail” banks are going to be pretty strict. Which is why I do not bank with any of them. Instead a small (but healthy) regional bank AND a credit union.
When Your Money Is In The Bank, It’s NOT Your Money
Believe it or not, when you deposit YOUR money in a bank, it is no longer your money. You have a claim to that money, but in the event of bank failure, you will be last on the list to get it back. The creditors will get it first. That’s a scary thought…
You do know don’t you, that the FDIC is so underfunded that there is no way whatsoever that you’ll get much if any of your money back following a major financial meltdown of the system?
Your Labor – What Are You Working For? Invisible Digits?
How Much Cash To Keep At Home?
First of all, why do we keep money in the bank these days?
It is NOT for earning interest. There hasn’t been any real interest for a very long time given today’s interest rate policies. In fact you are LOSING MONEY keeping it in the bank (as you would by simply holding cash) because ‘real’ inflation is much higher than interest earned (much higher!).
– We keep a rotating amount of money in the bank for paying recurring expenses, bills, expected transactions. Convenience.
– Money is also kept in the bank for so called security.
I can’t think of any other reasons.
Given that money in the bank is not really your money, if you had it in cash at home, then it would really be all your money. Except you’re risking potential loss via fire, theft (unless you have a really good vault!).
You’re also risking red flags if you purchase things that are expensive with all cash. Imagine trying to buy a car with fist fulls of cash?
The bottom line is that it is difficult and potentially suspicious to transact outside of the electronic banking system. But having some amount of cash on hand could be a very helpful thing one day.
How much? That’s up to you, your thresholds, your risk tolerance.
Do not keep 50’s or 100’s. It always cracks me up when I see someone pull out big bills (some people evidently enjoy the attention).
20’s. That’s the way to go. 10’s and 5’s (and some 1’s) too, but 20’s as the bulk. Easier to make change – and VERY common denomination.
Keep Withdrawal Slips With Your Cash
If there is ever a situation whereby you might need to prove that your cash is ‘legit’ (as opposed to alternative sources of non-reported income for example) keep at least an equivalent amount of withdrawal or ATM slips in your safe with the cash.
This also applies if you keep a lot of cash on your person, in your wallet… then keep some slips in your wallet.
Fireproof Waterproof Safe 1.23 Cubic Feet
More: Best Ways To Invest Your Money Rather Than The Bank
More: Decoy Safe Hiding In Plain Sight To Fool A Home Burglar
Probably sounds macabre, but several years ago, as my wife and I entered senior citizen status, I placed sufficient cash in our safe cover the cost of two funerals and burials. The purpose was twofold, one to make sure our children would face no burdens upon our passing, two, to cover unexpected scenarios like not being able to access our bank accounts.
I have the majority in $100 bills, but also keep about 20% in $1, $5, $10, $20, and $50 bills. I also have around 5% in coinage (pennies, nickles, dimes, quarters). I plan on paying in exact amounts if circumstances dictate cash only transactions at stores. No worries about store having ability to make change. Inflation has probably made the coinage unnecessary though.
Funeral? Na, not me. I’m spending it all before I go. Not worried about the liberal kids – they can cough up enough for that cardboard box and the blast furnace. They may scratch their heads when they see that mountain of TP – hard to time the usage to coincide with our final demise. :) If the dems win the house back, they can put my final expenses on medikill.
But yes. I do keep a month or two on hand for them unexpected emergencies.
Dennis
That is logical for pre-planning ahead instead taking out an expensive plan sold by the funeral homes.
Well, Gene and I are being cremated.
My savings will pay for that, moving costs, etc. and other expenses until that small life ins. policy comes in…hopefully.
We also keep $s in a hole in the ground (storm shelter) for our funeral expenses. :)
Dennis,
That’s prudent.
Kids will have a hard enough time dealing with all that goes with funerals.
I have lost 2 friends in the last 2 months.
One was prepared. One wasn’t.
A good friend has built a coffin for himself and his wife. He’s a master carpenter/furniture maker. They have a family cemetery on their families Texas ranch.
Your family will appreciate your preparations…
Cash on hand for the Long term ? (maybe in the not too distant dystopian future) The Issue that I see moving forward with .gov is if we have a true market collapse along with a collapse of the value of the current US fiat currency. .
Gov of the 1930’s came in and required all citizens turn in there gold currency and outlawed the use of it in commerce. This modern day .gov can just waive their magic wand and declare all paper monies worthless and issue a new restructured paper money. This would make your old greenbacks worthless.
Always diversify. It is good to have some cash on hand but never keep more than you can afford to loose. Fire, theft, .Gov etc… Spread out your cash – invest in land, durable products, invest in the ability to produce your own food, ammo and of course tasty adult beverages.
Government can wave their hand and take your land too. Called emenint domain. If the world goes that bad how much cash we have or lose is going to be the least of our problem
Another thought on using cash even in normal times, especially in rural, small town America. You will find that many small, local Mom & Pop stores, and nearly all self employed folks are open to discounted prices if you offer cash and tell them you don’t need a receipt for the transaction. Usually will save you the sales tax at the very least. It’s a win for them also, because they can pocket the cash and not report it as income. Just make sure you’re dealing with the owner. Make the offer, the worst they can do is turn you down. You will be surprised how often they will deal with you.
Should something befall your partner in life your accounts with the banks are put on hold, the surviving partner has no access to the monies in those accounts. Especially if one is a veteran an passes his wife is locked out of those accounts until every thing is straighten out and the .gov get’s their money back from the veterans retirement.
Plan on at least one month but if possible save up to 3 to 6 months until all the financials are straightened out. If you have to, set up separate accounts such as a savings, or the coffee can/glass canning jar in the back yard account.
Agreeing with Antique Collector – three to six months is far more secure. For one thing, if you have to evacuate in a hurry, you have no idea what price of gasoline – hotel rooms will become, even in short term. If you count on those items triple the going rate, you should be good for at least a month.
AC
One of my moms friends just went and is still going through this, is a big deal, is BS that the person is treated no better than a criminal, in fact criminals are treated better.
Tommyboy
Have your mom’s friend or you call the local Ombudsman(located in the local VA clinic/hospital) for them on this matter. The Ombudsman can get things moving, where it will set if left to a local vet rep.
The Ombudsman got the process going for ACDH when he had to go back to the VA for a specific medication.
the surviving partner has no access to the monies
Antique Colector—Not only at a death, but I found out even if disabled …like brain surgery.
I still don’t want on that account–why I have cash.
JJ
That is why I keep records where the money goes out of his/our account. VA tried to take it over, said he could not handle his financial affairs since he can no longer write legible due to damage to his hand. VA thought they would step in & take over the accounts, letter from family doctor put them in there place.
Trust the VA like a proctologist(snarky).
Try withdrawing more than $10K from the bank and watch them scramble to collect that much. I live in a city of over 1M and my local branch only has $85-$100K in cash on hand. This includes the vault. I’d been saving for years for a new tractor and finally had enough to pay cash. The bank had difficulty fulfilling my order and stated they normally need 3 days to coordinate with their central location to obtain any funds greater than $35K. Amazing. When asked to fill out their “required” forms I politely refused. They still proceeded with a line of questions as to what the $ was for. I became frustrated and replied “women and beer, what else do you spend money on!” Needless to say I have concerns over the solvency of our system. It took 4 trips to the bank to get my own $ out of them.
So you are aware this is a MAJOR bank that recently paid a large fine for misrepresenting new accounts. Point is I no longer trust my bank to deliver what I have worked for over the years.
Ditto Rwt – have an account at the same bank. Only go in a couple times a year but have raised such a loud stink when they won’t accept my US passport as proof of identity they know who I am as soon as the door opens.
Found that saying “Chit chat does not enhance my customer service experience” is enough to silence the mindless and intrusive questioning.
However, although I always ask that they do not count my withdrawal outloud to me, at least half the time they do anyway.
Rwt
You are not alone,, a long time teller(known them for years).
Told me a customer was taking CASH out of their account(s) came in one day and wanted it then. The bank manager had to explain they do not keep that amount of money on hand at any one time. The customer had to wait for three days for their money to be delivered to the bank for a total cash withdrawal. Bank manager wanted to know when they came in if a guard would be necessary, the bank would supply one from inside the bank to their vehicle. Customer declined.
I always worry abut using $100.00 bills as I just know that I will be perceived as in the dope business. Then I realized that in my part of the country the dope business is mostly legal. I don’t really think that it’s a good business but on the other hand since it is not legal with the feds the banks have a hard time taking that income. It is all rather confusing. Anyway, up here $100.00 bills are so common they don’t raise eyebrows.
I do worry about bank closure and depositors funds being used to bail out the banks. Question for this is can they go into the safe deposit boxes to look for bail out funds? I do keep a couple of months of funds available and DW is worried about it not being in the bank. Where we live a big enough tsunami might have the potential to sweep the house off of the foundation. I think we are far enough inland that the possibility is remote but who really knows.
I’d prefer to keep it all as PMs. The government might be able to declare greenbacks worthless and require everyone to turn them in for a new currency but they would have a hard time declaring gold and silver as worthless.
I kind of think that the rich probably all have fairly sizeable stas.hes of cash in their home safes or other caches and that a currency change would probably also have a negative impact on the PTB as well.
I’d also appreciate it if some one could remind me of what the name of that bill was that allows the banks to steal their depositors funds in case of insolvency.
I don’t know if the banks are allowed to confiscate the contents of your safety deposit box, but I wouldn’t put it past them. I closed my safety deposit box when the banks in Greece took so much of their depositors’ money; you could just hear the bankers in the U.S. thinking what a great idea that was…
Me and Chipmunk I have read some of the Bail IN rules (instead of a taxpayer Bail OUT) and safety deposit boxes are also fair game if the Bank is insolvent. REMEMBER it’s NOT Theft the Bank gets to issue YOU shares of an Worthless Bank :-) Gov.com approved it.
I looked up safety deposit boxes and the rules vary so much state to state it’s almost as loose as “Civil Forfeiture” rules. They can drill out your box and it’s up to you to PROVE via Lawsuit you had that item, Prove you Owned it, Prove it’s Value, Prove that they took it. FDIC Insurance does NOT cover any money in it. And if something happens to it like New Orleans Hurricane Flooding only YOUR Homeowners policy covers SOME of what you can PROVE was in that safety deposit box. At the monthly cost of a “Safety Deposit Box” buy your own, bolt it in your home, and buy homeowners insurance on it. Why rent when you can own plus you have 24 hours a day access if you have to bug out.
During the Great Depression President Roosevelt by executive order made private ownership of gold illegal (aside from jewelry) and forced Americans to turn it in by threat of confiscation and prison. Gov.com Prime Directive is to survive and #2 is expand it’s power to support #1 rule. By forcing Americans to sell their Gold at Government Prices 25.00 oz. and then Revaluing the Price of Gold 35.00 oz. (a 40% haircut) Roosevelt was able to fund expanded government operations.
If a Democratic President during the Great Depression would steal gold and devalue the currency (remember THEN gold was the basis of a currencies value) by 40% to expand government spending power Can we expect any better from our current batch of Politicians WHEN not IF the Stock Market Crashes and or Bank Holidays?
But they can only steal what they can find. Think about that. Money in the Bank or Gold/Silver bought over the internet I expect they know how much cash in the bank and gold/silver you bought
In Venezuela private ownership of gold is forbidden aside from jewelry (sound familiar?) Only the Black Market deals in gold and the value is pretty low because the Black Marketer has to take the risks of smuggling it to Columbia (and pay Soldier Taxes) to sell it to buy goods to transport into Venezuela (and pay Soldier Taxes) to sell it (paying Gang Taxes) to the civilian selling his gold. The Venezuelan “Strong Bolivar” is so worthless the shopkeepers don’t Count it, they WEIGH it. A lot of small trades of services and barter going on there. Fix my shoes get some fish type of business. My Grandmother often said during the Great Depression the Shoe Repair Man (Cobbler) never went hungry or lacked a clean dry bed to sleep in.
Skills, reputation and the tools to do it are hard for the Gov.com to steal. Portable too.
Now more to the subject of this thread for the smaller SHTF situations having a months or better cash on hand is critical when the Bank Holiday limits your ATM withdrawals to 60 dollars a day (Greece recently) IF you could FIND an ATM with Cash.
When I went through my divorce my Ex had her Lawyer FREEZE all my Bank Accounts and Credit Cards. She was pissed to find out I could pay a lawyer cash to get my accounts unfrozen and defend myself. No money no lawyer. Being able to rent a trashy travel trailer to live in while I still went to work was nice. Couch surfing was not in style back then. Being homeless often means no real job will touch you.
OPSEC is critical as is a DECOY safe and sacrificial amount of money, jewelry etc. Hopefully if for some reason you get fingered as a holder of valuables they may accept they got it all and you may survive the situation.
Ken, nice to see the thumbs up icon back.
We used to keep about 2-3 months worth of cash on hand. We now pretty much convert all money we receive to durable goods. The longer we hold the cash the quicker it loses value and buys less when we go to spend it. For sudden emergencies or repairs we use the credit card. I would rather have hard goods over cash any day.
Peanut Gallery;
I agree 1000%, the rate of Inflation is remarkable, and going to increases as more and more Tariffs are implemented.
As I like to say, what’s that Sheet of TP worth when you run out? About $1.00 ?
PS; guess I should hit the Thumbs Up button, makes Ken happy hehehehe
Banks/.gov are in the business of selling money (your money) to others, period.
Simple at that, rather it be through Home Loans, Car Loans, Credit Cards, makes not matter.
This money comes from one of two places, the .gov or personal Bank Accounts. Plus I will guarantee you that that one dollar is sold 4-5 times over and leveraged (VERY heavily) by your banking system.
They sell it a rate from 4%ish to as high as 35% or more, they make $ BILLIONS of dollars on this “investment” aka your money.
Consequently the Dollar is basically worthless, sure it may buy you a Hot-Dog at a carnival, but other than that????
Heck even the Banks know it’s worthless, let me ask ya, how much does the Bank offer you for the use of your Dollars? Do you get charged to have an “account” if you don’t keep XYZ amount in the account? Do you get charged to return your Checks? What other hidden fees are you paying?
How many Greenbacks do you keep in that Pickle Jar? AND will the Bank that holds your mortgage/CC except a payment in cash? Even if 5 states away? And how are you going to get them the Cash if the economy crashes, Banks closure aka Bank Holiday?
As far as Cash On Hand, ohhhh yeah, ya better have a few bucks hidden away, for If/When, nobody in their right mind is going to “take a check or CC”.
How much, depends on how many rolls of TP you have stashed away, or you could use that worthless C-note to wipe your tush with instead.
There are a LOT more valuable things that “Money”, feeding your family Cash will not go over very well.
If you have 3 months of Cash, you sure as ‘help’ better have 3 months of food/water/etc. stored up also.
I agree with keeping cash at home and have a month or two worth in the safe. Others say you should buy things instead of putting money in the bank or investments. While I understand that at some point things can go south what am I supposed to do. Buy a couple of hundred thousand dollars worth of beans and rice and hope that things go bad cause when I retire I don’t think I will be able to pay my bills with that.
While I understand that at some point things can go south what am I supposed to do? Buy a couple of hundred thousand dollars worth of beans and rice…?
poorman, My answer to that is, no.
One piece of advice is to diversify assets. Spread it around.
Some cash. Some in the bank for your rotating bills. Some in investment (that’s a whole different story). Some in PM’s. Some in your long term food storage. Some in your ordinary preps. Some in your long term preps. Some in your personal and home security. Some in assets that bring you closer to self-sufficiency (a broad subject). Lessen your dependence on ‘the system’ where possible.
I could go on. However I believe that diversifying your overall income and wealth (if one is lucky enough to have it) is the thing to do.
I must be on track then
Have it spread between tools, food, fuel, farm animals and seeds,,,, futures so bright i gotta wear shades
😎🤙🏻
Actually Ken that is just what I do. I was making a point ( or trying to ) that if you have assets such as retirement funds ect that you have to do something with them. On a lot of sites you always have the folks that say no money in the bank,no money in the stock market, put all your money in lead ( ammo ) but unless you are sure that the SHTF is going to be a complete collapse than we all better start thinking about how we are going to pay bills when we retire.
Poorman;
Interesting point you make about retirement, but first;
I’m one of those that will not keep more than $100 in a Bank, or deposit when needed to cover checks. Please remember that $$$ in the Bank is no longer yours, period.
Second I do not trust TPTB when it comes to the Economy, and the “Markets” yes I know a LOT of people make a LOT of money there, as a LOT of others lose a bunch also. Hence the Cash, PM’s and assets.
I do very much agree in investing in the one thing we are not making much more of anymore, Land. I have never and I do mean never lost money in Land or Housing.
Ok, back to the Retirement thing; Easy, down size, slow down, sell all the past 60 years of “crapo” you have saved and will never use again, get rid of the Motorhome/Boat/Condo-on-the-beach, just all out get rid of unneeded and unwanted stuff.
Most of all, get OUT of the Rat-Race and enjoy what “Time” you have left, yes plan on how to pay the Bills, but buy the time you retire, your bills should be a minimum at this time in life.
@nrp. I am with you on not wanting to much in a bank but as I said in another post if things get so bad to do a bail in or a holiday we are going to have much more problems than the fact that they took our money
Poorman;
I agree 1000% on the problems this country would have When/If,
I keep my eye on Venezuela, sure a little country south of here a little bit on a map,
BUT as someone once said, “The bigger they are the harder they fall”.
Does anyone really believe that the US could “Never” fall? might want to consult with the Romans before answering…..
Just a thought.
Poorman I hear you. Depends on just how far and fast a social-economic collapse is progressing (going south). If you can pay your taxes a year ahead and keep receipts then you have options for that next year. Having a few months of your bills etc. cash on hand along with your more durable stored foods and such gives you options. Hopefully the banking situation will be resolved by then. If you own your home, car etc. GET a free and clear Notarized Title in hand. A good thing if the Sherriff shows up to evict you due to a “Bank Error” as some folks found out in the housing bubble collapse.
A good fireproof-waterproof lock box at home please as Closed Banks do not have to let you access your safe deposit box. If the situation is so lawless that proof you paid your taxes or have the title paid in full for your home then nothing is working. It is SHTF. What is your plan B then?
Poorman, et al……
IMHO, what you do is related directly on your situation. If you feel as though your only method of survival is to haul butt when the ‘stuff’ hits the fan, I would suggest you have a decent fire-proof safe in your vehicle with whatever you can come up with, as in cash-PM, and have food, tools, BOB, and a tank full of gas.
If you decide to stay ‘at home’, then stash some cash, food, protection, and whatever you can, and hunker down.
My personal opinion about ‘what to expect’ is that when the economy tanks, power poops out, or whatever happens……banks are going to be the first to close their doors. And ain’t nobody getting through them. The vaults will be closed and off of the time lock. And probably power removed so that the pins won’t/can’t retract. ATMs will be useless. Even more than the present. So, paper ‘money’ will be ‘king’, for a few weeks. As always happens, the cash will end up in the hands of those that have what others want/need. As in…….if you have a working Latte’ machine in the right city, you, my friend, are a millionaire. (No sarcasm…..that’s the truth!) Then, when the gas runs out for your machine…….you better be headed outta town!
Paper money will eventually become worthless. PMs will be next. Then people ‘hocking’ rings, silverware, the fillings out of their teeth. Oh, but I must be OD-ing on caffeine. FEMA will be knocking of all our doors giving away vouchers for house payments, repairing the power systems, getting the free internet back working, and dropping off hundreds of pounds of food for everybody. (Read that voucher carefully. You use it, you give your house to the scum inside the beltway.)
OK. Maybe too many of NRPs gin-n-tonics. The .gov wouldn’t do a con-job on us taxpayers. Nah.
To stay on subject…….I do have some cash stashed. Vacuum sealed in $100 groupings. No, I did not tell the DW where I stashed it, If I did, WE would be SOL when the bucks is needed. I also have PMs. I do have a safe…….a small one…….with about $38 in it, along with 8 bricks. (I DO have a sense of humor….especially for the scumbags that steal it.) Where’s the REAL hidy hole? Not tellin’. (It’s actually in plain sight. Just think about ‘corny’, stupid, cheap looking, and if you think of the phrase “You couldn’t give me on of those.”, you’d be close.)
So, Poorman……..evaluate your situation. Do you feel safe where you are? Plan on ‘buggin’ in’. Need to bail? Get your vehicle ready, BOB ready, food, tent/tarp, etc., etc. Whatever you do….do not flash your cash. only expose what you can afford to loose. Keep some spare bills in your shoes, or your hat-band, or in a belt that has a zippered pouch. But never pull out a wad of C-notes to pay for a $2 item.
NotMyAsphalt;
HEY!!! how did my name come up in this??? HAHAHAH
I think also of having enough $$$ set aside for the property tax people . A bank safe deposit box . does not seem safe to me at all. You have limited access. Most banks are only open 40 hours per week, less on a holiday week , and there are 168 hours in a week. I call that restricted access. Perhaps a good fireproof security box that is easily transportable and easy to tuck away in a dark corner of your home would be an answer.
Ken,
Interesting article over at TownHall, predicting that some states are pushint to be allowed to issue their own crypto currency tied to their own economy rather than the U.S, economy. The article is predicting not a shooting civil war, rather a financial/economic civil war between the more successful states. I’ll post he link to follow.
Link——-
https://townhall.com/columnists/teekatiwari/2018/10/09/tuesdays-with-teeka-americas-second-civil-war-n2526563
Dennis an interesting link but I suspect that the Gov.com will not give away it’s power of the purse that way. As long as they have force on their side (laws, police, military) they will control the currency. Even in all known communist-socialist societies the Gov.com controlled the currency.
We keep some cash, coin and small denominations in case folks need a small assist or we buy with cash…I always have exact change on hand. We also keep a reserve of 2 months for emegency.
BUT, we also keep a reasonable reserve of alternative currency for barter as well.
The Banking System Doesn’t Like You To Have Cash
Wow–did I find that out fast as I tried to get pre-approval for a small house in 2015–hadn’t found one at the time.
$10,000 down and it wasn’t in the bank…their bank!!
So, after 2 hours of ho-humming and pretending he wanted my business, he said that since we were late on our mortgage once in 2009, (Gene had it over the sun visor )…we, more than likely, would not get a loan there.
It…was…cash…!! He didn’t want to deal with the paperwork involved, I found out later.
Live and learn, huh.
One of my best friends is a mortgage underwriter. If you bring in cash for a down payment they will not except it. Crazy huh? It has to have a paper trail. It could wait for it…. be from unscrupulous ways of obtaining it. We have had many discussions about this. She says there is no way she can except it. So if you want to use it as a down payment, you must deposit the funds and leave them there a couple of months so they can see where the down came from. The law is never in our favor.
MIMIM
We know about money & being tracked. When the niece needed extra monies we gave her a pre inheritance so she could purchase her home. We had to write a letter stating it was not a loan but a gift & the lender wanted to know where our money came from……really?? My smart remark was the bank and the same account we have had with them for years.
Watched the movie, The Road again. One scene shows the man walking over $100 dollar bills amongst the clutter on the floor. Others had been in the house too and also left them behind.
Mrs. USMCBG my Great Grand’s told me a story about the Weimar Republic where hyperinflation was so bad a man decided to leave a wheel barrel full of cash on his stoop. He knew the paper money was basically worthless. The next day he went outside to take it to the store to find the money was still there BUT they stole the wheelbarrow. Cannot prove it happened but I suspect there is truth in that tale.
I DO know young men from my family in Germany had small gold coins sewn into their clothing to escape Police Theft when they went to America to work on the docks sending money home to get the rest of the family out after Chrystal Nacht.
History doesn’t always repeat but often rhymes.
As I’ve explained to several Millennials who would listen the 20 dollar bill is only worth what I can trade it for. I can’t eat it, it makes poor clothing, and it will not stop the rain. The American dollar is backed by the full faith of the US Government. Given the WORLD is watching how the dysfunctional Government is fighting it’s self and the Duly Elected President is mocked and under various lawsuits…….. Full Faith of WHAT again??
Even our NATO Allies are openly building replacements for the American controlled SWIFT system and replacing our US Dollar as the Worlds Reserve Currency with a basket of non US monies….. Why do that much work and trouble? Because we have Misused and Abused our SWIFT system to Sanction just about everybody (including the Heart of the EU the Germans) for not kissing our Imperial Pinky Ring demands.
We the People have been well and properly screwed by our Politicians for Decades and far too soon the value of the US Dollar BECAUSE it was the World Reserve Currency will be done. Before us the British Pound was the worlds reserve currency. When that failed the friendly US took up that powerful World Reserve Currency. Kept the British a country, even now they are still our most loyal ally.
Look up the British situation for about a decade afterwards. It was called the Winter of our Discontent. Not pretty as they too lived well beyond their means like a family who uses the next credit card to pay for the min payments on the rest and pay for their lifestyle. Garbage filled the streets as strikes were constant because the inflation stole all they gained in the last deal. Hospitals and their staff were reduced for the same reasons and so forth.
And even in indebted Britain the people who could fix those shoes, repair that roof and otherwise do those things important to rich or poor were busy and able to provide for their families. The sun did rise, the rain fell and the farmer could trade his milk for things his family needed. As long as the rule of Law remains like in the Great Depression these truths remain, you have to eat, need a dry place to sleep and shoes are pretty useful when walking and working requires them. If a pint of black market milk “cost” 20 pounds then the trade value of that farmers milk matched it. How much did the farmer sell at British Government prices? As little as he could for it was at a LOSS to the cost to feed his cows.
Same sort of thing happened when the Former Soviet Union Collapsed economically. However the strong family ties had almost every family a farmer in it and or a family Dacha with gardens, chickens and such to keep them fed. There too it was the game to lie to the Government as to keep most of your production out of the Gov.com price controls. The Government cannot steal what they don’t know about or you hide well.
In the Road it was full on SHTF. I pray it doesn’t go that bad in America.
Years ago I had no idea what a “Hedge fund manager” was. Now I am one. I know exactly which brier bush to go to when I need some funds! Lol. Not so hard to manage. Just have to remember to bring the loppers when its time for a withdrawal.
My work Buddy was going to put a down payment on a house using cash. The bank refused to accept it. No paper trail. And no, he is not a dealer, just old fashioned.
Or how he was charged an additional $5 for paying his phone bill with cash.
Treated as an outsider because you don’t use debit, credit, or an EBT card
Cash is King. Just depends on that king’s (Gooberment, big business) rules and regulations
Yes, Joe–here in Ky., we changed cell phone providers a t & t) because they charged $5 for cash pmt–not at my house–and as soon as I discovered this because Gene just paid it!! I moved the service.
I now have a TracFone, but Gene still uses his cell.
And yet they still say, This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private.
All in all I’m getting kind of glad that my end time is getting closer. It’s too complicated nowadays.
Talking of the chips the other day and I wonder how long before the cash has microchips.
NH Michael, tried to respond with a thanks to your comment on my query but the site wouldn’t let me.
:-)
After I graduated college, I had a mountain of debt. Then I heard of Dave Ramsey. In his baby steps, one was to save up and have a $1,000 emergency fund for unexpected expenses such as water heater going out or a car issue. For me, I decided $2,000 was the minimum for am emergency fund. After brainstorming about possible emergencies, $2,000 seemed appropriate. One such emergency would be having to immediately fly overseas due to a major illness or death of a family member. Due to all the bills after college, $2,000 was far below my monthly bills so I was praying back then I wouldn’t lose my job. Now, I don’t have any of those loans or bills but I still have an emergency fund.
Cash to check evolution: I have checks that my dad wrote in the 1940’s. There was no check number printed, the signer of the check wrote that in. There was no routing number. Just the name of the bank but not the account holder’s name. You just signed a check with no information on it other than the name of the bank. You wrote in the $, the date, the check # and that was it. Some of the checks that were cashed missed some of that information information except for the amount. The checks were perforated with little round holes at the bank upon cashing and canceling that indicated the date of cashing. The canceled checks were sent back by mail each month to the account holder. It took two days for a written check to get back to the bank. There were several illegible rubber stamps images on the front of the check and the recipient of the check’s name was on the backside.
The evolution from check writing to credit card usage was a very difficult one, technologically. In the early days when you were making a transaction you handed them the card and it had raised numbers on it and they put it in a printing press unit that would print the number onto a carbon copy which you signed. It was not electronically deposited at that moment but at the end of the day when they did the receipts. Typically you had sometimes up to 10 days to cover it. Now days it is instantaneous in an increasingly number of places and eventually universally.
Cash transactions outside of church offering plates, restaurant tips and garage sales are becoming rare. But that is a hunted animal.
I remember not too many years ago when I had passbooks from the bank that had a detailed deposit and withdrawal history. Those days are long gone. Now just go online and get the account history. Plus, back then if I sent out more than I think it was 5 checks a month, I was charged a fee after the fifth check. Back then, all local bills I paid in cash and mailed checks for out of area bills. There was no pay by credit card then.
One month of reserve is easy, I’m single (and staying that for the rest of my life) so I don’t have a family burning up money. I have zero debt and am going to stay that way for the rest of my life. Everything I have, I own free and clear.
I live a simple life so my expenses are not that high.
It’s easy to sock away lots of cash with my lifestyle. I put up a lot of my money into silver and tools and skills. Silver as a way to save my labor for spending at some future time (all money is nothing more then saved labor that can be used at a later time) and tools and skills for current and future income. I also put up a good amount of cash (I average about $60.00 a day put up even after all other expenses, including silver as an expense.) that I keep in a safe. $60.00 doesn’t sound like that much, but I do it 5-times a week, week on end. It adds up quick.
I average about 5 ounces of silver a week, not a lot, but taking the long view it adds up.
As far as food storage I’m at the point of having trouble finding places to store it.
I also learned to not trust banks by watching what the banks did to both of my brothers. I use them only to the extent that I have to use them when interacting with customers. I have almost all my cash, silver and other tangible things within my own control.
If we ever did have a bank holiday or bank run it would hardly effect me as far as my reserves. But it more then likely would cause harm to my income as people would not have access to the money to pay me. But then I barter now so while it would be an adjustment for most people. I’m already doing it and have the mindset to make it work.
As far as other countries trying to get out of the US dollar, who can blame them. The US is devaluing it’s dollar at an alarming rate and I see no way around it’s collapse at some point. The thing is the US government will likely go to war (WWIII?) in an attempt to remain the World’s currency. War or not in the end it’s going to fail as you can’t print it the way they are doing it without the balloon bursting.
As far as businesses and paying with cash I do it all the time and have never had a single problem. In fact cash is how I pay all my bills.
I got one of my friends to start buying some silver. I explained it to him like this: if you buy 2 ounces a week which varies between $30 and $40 for the 2 ounces, that is the same a eating out one evening at a restaurant. It’s not much but in a month it is 8 ounces and a year it is 96 ounces. The kicker is you never really missed that money since it is a small outlay each week and you are not putting yourself in the poor house by doing this. When spending $30 to $40, that expense is much more justifiable than saving the money and spending $1,500 at one time.
Remember the turtle won the race, not the hare.
One thing I forgot to mention is to make sure you let family members know how to get to your silver, gold or cash reserves if you pass on.
My Son knows about a my silver and cash and where it is. He doesn’t know how much I have but he knows how to get to it if I pass on.
He’s very trust able so I feel OK with him knowing about them. I also told him if I pass away that he should get to the cash and silver right away and tell NO ONE he has it.
He also knows to get all the guns and keep quiet about them.
It would be a shame to pass on and your family not be able to get hold of your guns, cash and PM’s.
Ohh yeah, a person should buy all PM’s with cash off the books. Do not put any PM’s or cash in a safe deposit box at the bank. However, yes the stuff should be kept in a safe place where a would be burglar would not be able to find it. That is why silver is not exactly the best for storing. Think about it, $5,000 in silver is around 330 ounces which takes up a lot of space. However, $5,000 in gold is only around 4 ounces. So to find a good hiding place, it is much easier to find a hiding spot for 4 ounces of gold than it is for 330 ounces of silver. Just my 2 pennies worth.
INPrepper;
Please remember when “hiding” that Gold and Silver….
It will melt if not stored in a fireproof place, and seeing a couple of hundred oz’s of silver running across the floor after a fire might be kinda a bad thing…
PS;
The Dow is down 425 point, how’s your Stocks doing today?
Ahhhhh correction, Dow is now down 500, oops
500?
Thans nothing,
Im cool with a 40% correction, thats about right, actually valuations are high by 60% or more
I agree INPrepper that compared to silver, gold is a concentrated form of wealth. Like 100 dollar bills vs. 1’s. However just like it’s hard to buy a Mc D’s dollar burger with a 100 dollar bill or at least you’ll get a LOT of attention you may not want, smaller units of value are great for change. I suspect you have a good mix of gold and silver.
Plus there is always a suspicion of fraud with 100 dollar bills as well as gold coins, however pre-64 90% silver is pretty well accepted by most folks AND maybe it lowers the risk of robbery not flashing big bills or gold. Personally the 40% silver half dollars annoy me. Look too much like the much more valuable 90%ers.
I’ve chosen to pay the premium for smaller gold coins as a 1/10th oz. eagles and that plus maybe some silver coinage maybe useful for buying a good rooster and a few hens, maybe some feed. Supply and demand friends, I know chickens are cheap Today. Bringing out only an Ounce of Gold makes deals challenging with trust vs. greed and making change.
In the Bible there is a scripture about a lost coin and how they lit up the whole house to search for it and the JOY and celebration in the house when it was found. Before I owned a 1/10th ounce eagle I did not understand that very well. Now I do as they are tiny!! A 1/10th ounce or 8 ounces of .999 silver for trade. What a change in volume.
I also like the notion of 1/10th oz. eagles. I’ve purchased some of them over the years too.
https://www.goldeneaglecoin.com/buy-gold/american-gold-eagles/tenth-ounce-uncirculated-american-gold-eagles
Oh yes, definitely, 1/10 oz are one way to go. I believe that for most people, it is easier to save up for a 1/10 oz gold coin/bar than it is to save up $1,200 for a 1 oz bar/coin. I guess it all depends on a persons financial situation. For a lot of people to buy a 1 oz gold coin/bar, they might have to save for up to a year to have enough money while the same person could get a 1/10 oz every month or two. Just like a lot of people in prepping, they buy a little extra supplies each time they go shopping instead of going all out and buying a years worth at once. II am not advocating that a person should have just gold, far from it. I was just bringing up the space requirements for a large dollar amount of silver versus gold.
Myself, I prefer silver over gold but gold still looks nice.
Chuck.
When I was but a child, my grand father had three small rental houses, all occupied by older folks that, like himself had raised families during the “Great Depression”. One day I was helping him do repairs on a detached single car garage with a dirt floor. The lower edges of the wall had rotted and we had to dig out around the perimeter to do the repairs. We discovered 3 Mason jars with various amounts of cash in bills and coins, buried in the ground. None held over $10. He told me that what we found was probably the life savings of some one who once lived in that home. The secret of it’s location died with the occupants. This was in the mid-1950’s and what we found probably, at the time, represented a couple of weeks wages. During the depression, it may have represented a couple of months. Today it would represent maybe one meal in a restaurant.
I’m currently too poor to set more than a hundred dollars aside. I have part of it in 5 dollar bills, and part in 20 dollar bills, because depending on how it is spent during an emergency, getting change back may not be possible. It’s not much money, but I still take some comfort in having it on hand.
Having something is better than nothing. Years ago when I first started saving for an emergency fund, it consisted of 1’s, 5’s, 10’s, and an occasional 20. The best thing I ever did was start doing a budget. I would get paid and then figure out the bills to be paid with that check and whatever was left was for living expenses (gas, food, and clothing) and saving. There were many times where there would not be any money going into savings (not even 2 dollars) from a paycheck. Later, I had a tire blow out and I had the cash to pay for a replacement. Otherwise, I would have been walking to work which would have been crappy walking 10 miles to be at work at 2:30 am for the morning milking.