How much “emergency “ cash do you keep on hand?

[Anonymous]

My husband has a couple hundred in his sock drawer and I have an envelope full of $1, $5 and $10s from my kids summer job at a golf course. (Side question - why do older white men seem to always have cash on them?)

[Anonymous]

Right now? About $23.

[Anonymous]

If the banking system is down, who am I giving the cash to?! This has never made sense - stores would all be closed in this unlikely scenario!

Gas stations, restaurants, street vendors, vending machines, convenience stores, and pretty much any other retail establishment that accepts cash. There would be no reason for these places to close in the event of a short-term inability to process electronic transactions.

[Anonymous]

$500

[Anonymous]

Usually zero cash. If we searched the house we could probably round up a hundred bucks in coins and small bills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband has a couple hundred in his sock drawer and I have an envelope full of $1, $5 and $10s from my kids summer job at a golf course. (Side question - why do older white men seem to always have cash on them?)

I mean duh

[Anonymous]

$500 USD

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I’m surprised more people are not aware of preparing for a possible emergency. I was a Girl Scout and an adult leader for many years, so it is second nature to me to plan to be prepared.

This.

We're not talking about preparing for the apocalypse, so $10k+ is likely unnecessary (and also likely not covered by insurance in the event of a house fire/flood/etc.). We're talking about survivng for a few days during a possible temporary interruption of banking services due to power or equipment failures, bank account compromise, banking errors, natural disasters, etc. It is definitely a good idea to have enough cash for 3-5 days' worth of food, housing (hotel, etc.), clothing, and limited transportation for you and your family. For most people, this is probably in the $1-5k range.

I don't understand people who don't carry cash. If you prefer to pay by credit card (etc.) for regular transactions, that is fine, but not having any cash seems like a personal safety issue in the event of a mugging (etc.), and also a risk in the event of an interruption in payment systems. Everyone should have $50-150 in cash at all times, in addition to whatever one would normally need for regular spending.

If the banking system is down, who am I giving the cash to?! This has never made sense - stores would all be closed in this unlikely scenario!

It's a thing. Here in NY after Sandy some areas were without power for weeks. I can't explain why, but particularly for gas stations (which were experiencing severe shortages) you had to wait hours on line and only pay cash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I’m surprised more people are not aware of preparing for a possible emergency. I was a Girl Scout and an adult leader for many years, so it is second nature to me to plan to be prepared.

This.

We're not talking about preparing for the apocalypse, so $10k+ is likely unnecessary (and also likely not covered by insurance in the event of a house fire/flood/etc.). We're talking about survivng for a few days during a possible temporary interruption of banking services due to power or equipment failures, bank account compromise, banking errors, natural disasters, etc. It is definitely a good idea to have enough cash for 3-5 days' worth of food, housing (hotel, etc.), clothing, and limited transportation for you and your family. For most people, this is probably in the $1-5k range.

I don't understand people who don't carry cash. If you prefer to pay by credit card (etc.) for regular transactions, that is fine, but not having any cash seems like a personal safety issue in the event of a mugging (etc.), and also a risk in the event of an interruption in payment systems. Everyone should have $50-150 in cash at all times, in addition to whatever one would normally need for regular spending.

If the banking system is down, who am I giving the cash to?! This has never made sense - stores would all be closed in this unlikely scenario!

1/10 troll attempt.

[Anonymous]

It shows that people didn't grow up in a country where they worried about the political system, coups, etc. We live in NW DC and keep a $2K in cash.

[Anonymous]

$3,000

[Anonymous]

I might have $20. Sometimes less.

[Anonymous]

I don't use cash for anything but keep $100 in my wallet and $10K at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I’m surprised more people are not aware of preparing for a possible emergency. I was a Girl Scout and an adult leader for many years, so it is second nature to me to plan to be prepared.

This.

We're not talking about preparing for the apocalypse, so $10k+ is likely unnecessary (and also likely not covered by insurance in the event of a house fire/flood/etc.). We're talking about survivng for a few days during a possible temporary interruption of banking services due to power or equipment failures, bank account compromise, banking errors, natural disasters, etc. It is definitely a good idea to have enough cash for 3-5 days' worth of food, housing (hotel, etc.), clothing, and limited transportation for you and your family. For most people, this is probably in the $1-5k range.

I don't understand people who don't carry cash. If you prefer to pay by credit card (etc.) for regular transactions, that is fine, but not having any cash seems like a personal safety issue in the event of a mugging (etc.), and also a risk in the event of an interruption in payment systems. Everyone should have $50-150 in cash at all times, in addition to whatever one would normally need for regular spending.

If the banking system is down, who am I giving the cash to?! This has never made sense - stores would all be closed in this unlikely scenario!

Never lived through a natural disaster? Power is out, so the ATMs and credit card machines don't work. Stores still want to make money, so if you have cash, you're in.

I remember after Katrina, the liquor stores had lines out the door, and armed guards on duty.

[Anonymous]

Couple hundred, usually. It fluctuates. My daughter comes home from babysitting with cash and hands it directly to me for transferring to her digital account. She has NO interest in physical money. I use the actual cash for tips and whatnot.