What to Do About Money "Stuffed Under Mattress"

[Anonymous]

Maybe I'll keep a bit on hand for emergency, and the rest in a savings account. Not sure what the split will be. At least most of it will be safe, but still relatively easy to access.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When i realized how much I had on hand, I didn't feel like it was safe having so much at home where it could get stolen or destroyed. And that i guess is anxiety causing, along with people looking at me like a freak having so much cash on hand.

I really hope you're not telling people that you have this much cash lying around.

[Anonymous]

OP, as long as you aren't telling people you have that much cash on hand, it's really not a big deal to keep it at home. Is it in a fire-proof safe? At any given point in time, we keep a pretty hefty emergency stash of cash in our safe, but only immediate family members are aware that it's there. As of today, there's $40K in there but I'm pretty sure due to my own paranoia about being a (legal) immigrant and a minority, I'll make sure there's at least $100K in there before Trump takes office. Its our "just in case" money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When i realized how much I had on hand, I didn't feel like it was safe having so much at home where it could get stolen or destroyed. And that i guess is anxiety causing, along with people looking at me like a freak having so much cash on hand.

I really hope you're not telling people that you have this much cash lying around.

I dont say anything about it. I feel uncomfortable walking with that much cash, and will feel awkward.

[Anonymous]

OP, if this was money given to your kids.... do they ask about it? What do you tell them??

If it was intended for college, please open up a college savings account for them!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When i realized how much I had on hand, I didn't feel like it was safe having so much at home where it could get stolen or destroyed. And that i guess is anxiety causing, along with people looking at me like a freak having so much cash on hand.

I really hope you're not telling people that you have this much cash lying around.

+1 Silence is golden. It's a lot of cash on hand but nobody but you has to know about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, if this was money given to your kids.... do they ask about it? What do you tell them??

If it was intended for college, please open up a college savings account for them!

It includes baby shower money and baptism money. I got good handle downs for big items (eg, a crib), so I didn't need to spend all the money. Old relatives sometimes give kids something small and a few bucks directly, but also give me a larger sum telling to use it for the kids however I see fit, and kids don't know about the gift money.

[Anonymous]

Why not just use cash for everything over a few months instead of a credit card? Gas, groceries, restaurants, etc. Pay cash for everything and only carry around 100 couple hundred at a time, but always pay cash.

For online or mail orders, use the cash to get money orders from 7-11 or cashier check from bank.

Also, you can get a PayPal cash card at 7-11 and put several hundred at a time on it. Then use a PayPal account to pay for things online.

There are people out there who blow through 10K cash in no time, this isn't hard to do!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, if this was money given to your kids.... do they ask about it? What do you tell them??

If it was intended for college, please open up a college savings account for them!

It includes baby shower money and baptism money. I got good handle downs for big items (eg, a crib), so I didn't need to spend all the money. Old relatives sometimes give kids something small and a few bucks directly, but also give me a larger sum telling to use it for the kids however I see fit, and kids don't know about the gift money.

How is this your money? It seems like it is intended to be for your kids. Open 529 accounts for them and put it all in there!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, if this was money given to your kids.... do they ask about it? What do you tell them??

If it was intended for college, please open up a college savings account for them!

It includes baby shower money and baptism money. I got good handle downs for big items (eg, a crib), so I didn't need to spend all the money. Old relatives sometimes give kids something small and a few bucks directly, but also give me a larger sum telling to use it for the kids however I see fit, and kids don't know about the gift money.

How is this your money? It seems like it is intended to be for your kids. Open 529 accounts for them and put it all in there!

Uh. I never said "their" money was my money. Some of the money I have was money given to me for my graduation, birthday, Christmas, etc.

[Anonymous]

Open up a savings account for each of you and the kids, so everyone has their own account and own savings. We get birthday presents, graduation gifts, and whatnot from relatives. We decide on an amount the kids want to keep to spend however they wish, and the rest goes into their savings account.

This is separate from any college savings we save for them. It's their money, ideally, for when they are older and want to take a big trip, buy a car, or just to start out their new life after college. My kids are older now and each of them has several thousand dollars in each of their accounts.

You can do that for each of your kids and yourself, too. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Since I've decided to open savings accounts with the cash, what is any paperwork should i be prepared to fill out ir prepare?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Since I've decided to open savings accounts with the cash, what is any paperwork should i be prepared to fill out ir prepare?

I'm sure the bank with which you will open those savings accounts will tell you?