None in the house. I usually get $200 from the ATM and also replenish when I get to about $40. Use my credit card almost 100%.

Around Y2K, I think I took out a few hundred more just in case but once that was all clear, I just spent it.

Post 9/11, we keep $5,000 "get out of town" cash.

I grew up poor. I used to keep $10,000 in the house to feel financially secure. I now keep $1,000 in the house to feel financially secure.

No cash. I use it about once every couple months at the most.

A cousin of my husband's lived in Houston when they had the bad hurricane (forgot the name, but not long after Katrina). She tells stories of there being no money left in the ATMs for all the folks trying to withdraw money prior to fleeing town. We keep about $4000 in the house for that kind of emergency - where everyone is trying to flee town. I can envision scenarios where credit cards might not work, but people would accept cash.

I'm actually a very laid back person, but this is one little neurosis I have.

I typically have $20 or less in my wallet at a time. And a jar of pennies in the kitchen.

Anonymous wrote:I have 10K in cash that is just for 'oh shit' but then I have a cash stash for firearms. That one never holds money for long but it is usually between 700-3k.

I figure the 10k is the minimum.

Are you serious?

We tend to hold onto some of the money my in-laws give us for birthdays, Xmas and our anniversary. In my wallet I generally have between $20 & $200, and there is about $1000 of the aforementioned gift money in the house.

When DH and I lived in a country having a political uprising/ generally dangerous, we had about 10K US money in our apt. 5K was hidden in the walls, floorboard, ceiling, etc. Another 5k was the "if we get broken into" money that was in a drawer in the kitchen.

We are back in the states (and in a nice, safe neighborhood) but DH still has about 10 K in various places around the house.

I have 10K in cash that is just for 'oh shit' but then I have a cash stash for firearms. That one never holds money for long but it is usually between 700-3k.

I figure the 10k is the minimum.

Cash none -- we keep it in diamonds, gold and salt, incase of the down fall of the government.

We have $500 hidden in the house for emergencies. Otherwise DH and I both take out $40in cash for random spending. I often have cash left over at the end of the month.