Do you keep a stash of cash at home?

[SKL]

I usually have a stash of up to $200 in $20's stashed among my t-shirts.  But it gets depleted every time I need to pay the maids.  Very often I have practically no cash at all.  I use credit cards.

[Squawky Acres]

My grandmother had one of those save-$20-a-week accounts at the bank.  It was called a "Christmas Club" account.  Back when banks printed balances in little statement books.  I don't know if they do that anymore.

 

We like to have cash on hand after living through a few emergencies when we couldn't count on being able to get to a bank for more.   It is stored in a fire-proof, hidden, and very random safe place, and I raid it when I haven't been near an ATM for a while (we don't live close to one).  I also keep smaller bills for change and unforeseen payment/tipping events like furniture delivery or the lawn boy.

 

I like the idea of keeping some cash hidden in the car as well.  

[Annie G]

My grandmother had one of those save-$20-a-week accounts at the bank.  It was called a "Christmas Club" account.  Back when banks printed balances in little statement books.  I don't know if they do that anymore.

 

 

 

Our credit union still does it but they call it holiday club. 

[kitten18]

Yes, quite a bit.

In the safe.

[Katy]

One place I haven't seen mentioned: An old house of ours had a false air vent close to the floor in an interior wall (no wiring or plumbing nearby).  It was right next to a REAL return vent and looked identical so we thought it was just calculated to create the correct pressure or something until we took the vent covers off to paint and realized it was fake.  No, there was nothing inside.

 

Hollowed out books, computer cases, and "secret" wall and door caches you can purchase online are other options.  You can also hide a small fire safe inside old, ugly, rarely used luggage.

 

There are tons of other examples of hiding places in old episodes of Burn Notice, if you care to watch it on Netflix.

 

 

ETA:  You can also hide stuff in the bottom of box springs, if you have them.

Edited March 29, 2017 by Katy

[katilac]

except I would be filing a renters insurance claim (or when we owned, a homeowners ins claim) and would totally list that cash as part of the claim. Just like if someone drove away with my van.

 

FYI, cash is generally only covered at a very low limit. It should be specified in your policy. 

 

Having been in a town after a hurricane with no electricity and no gas, cash was a handy accessory as no place took anything but cash. If you had plenty of food and water, you were good, but if you needed supplies to repair anything, you'd better hope you had plenty of cash. 

 

This, exactly. We keep a pretty good amount of cash since Hurricane Katrina. Even after the electricity was back, phone lines were not, and that is the way most places process your credit cards AND your checks. It was a cash only economy for quite some time! 

 

We don't worry too much about a hiding spot. If someone breaks in while we're gone, they will either take the time to search or not. If they break in while we're here, we're handing it over. 

[Anne in CA]

FYI, cash is generally only covered at a very low limit. It should be specified in your policy. 

 

 

This, exactly. We keep a pretty good amount of cash since Hurricane Katrina. Even after the electricity was back, phone lines were not, and that is the way most places process your credit cards AND your checks. It was a cash only economy for quite some time! 

 

We don't worry too much about a hiding spot. If someone breaks in while we're gone, they will either take the time to search or not. If they break in while we're here, we're handing it over. 

That is partly why I keep money in the car. After the last forest fire there was no electricity for 10 days and so no one could take cards anywhere close. Thank goodness we had cash or buying gas for the generator would have been a big burden.

[kitten18]

That is partly why I keep money in the car. After the last forest fire there was no electricity for 10 days and so no one could take cards anywhere close. Thank goodness we had cash or buying gas for the generator would have been a big burden.

I also keep at least $100 in the car.

[cjzimmer1]

My husband's grandma put hundred dollar bills all over the place. You'd open a book and get a 100, pull out the guest sheets to make a bed and get a 100, lift the foliage of a plant in the kitchen window and find a 100, pull a pitcher out of the China cabinet and find a 100...

 

My grandparents had some annuities and they had to remove the interest each month.  They didn't need the money at the time since they had manditory withdrawls for other things too.  So they handed out the money to their 3 grandchildren for a while and then stopped.  We figured they were using it for other expenses.  Turned out they were stashing it away to give out a large sum at a later date.  At some point my grandmother forgot where she stashed the money and it sat there for a few years, when they were helping her clean out to move to assisted living she found it. $15,000!!!!  She had been worried sick because she knew she had lost it but never told anyone because she was embarrassed she had lost it.  But we were all astounded that she had that much cash sitting around the house and were very grateful she never talked about it.  It was scary to think if the wrong people knew that a frail old woman living by herself had that much cash laying around her house.

[Amber in SJ]

Dh's Grandma kept stashes of cash all over the house.  We came home from the funeral to discover one family member who knew about this propensity had torn her bedroom apart looking for cash.  Ugh.

 

She also stashed money in several banks all over San Jose.  Dh was the executor and it took years to find and close out all the accounts.  In fact the last account showed up more than a year after she died.  I knew there was less than $200 in the account because a few months before she died, I took her to this particular bank and watched her take all the money out of this account & put it into a CD.  When It showed up after her death I actually told Dh not to worry about it.  He had already spent so many hours working on closing out her estate and getting the money divided between his mom & her brother that it didn't seem useful to spend another $13 for another copy of the death certificate and another afternoon off of work to go to this far away branch of a little bank, close the account & send another (tiny) check to his mom & her brother.  But Dh is nothing if not diligent.  He came home and let me know that there was $22K in the account.  Well, don't listen to me then :)

 

As for there OP, I do not keep much cash in the house.  I keep children in the house and the two things seem to be mutually exclusive in our experience.  If you have one; you don't have the other.

 

Amber in SJ

[Tanaqui]

My mother figured that if you're going to hide cash, the best thing is to hide it in multiple places, and if somebody finds one place they might stop looking - or, if your husband is the stay at home parent and is absolutely crap at managing money, you can tell him where to find exactly enough for whatever expense came up and he won't blow the rest of it on maraschino cherries or new books or some other small treats. (Keep a list somewhere else - my mother once tossed out a file cabinet that would've held $80 if I hadn't found it six years earlier and, ah, supplemented my allowance. I thought for sure she'd look and I'd have to pay her back, and for the life of me, I still can't figure out how to tell her.)

 

Top hiding places of my mother: Shoebag, shoe, under the couch cushions, under the couch, inside a book, tucked in between the kindle and the kindle cover, taped underneath the toilet tank lid, under the big sugar bin, in between a photo and the backing in the frame, in her glasses case, atop the beams in the basement (no, wait, that was me), in the onions, in the freezer, inside an air vent (no, that's an episode of Veronica Mars), in the sock drawer, in the baggies box, stuffed behind old coats in the top shelf of the closet, taped on the underside of a shelf above a drawer, in the tube of an unused toilet paper roll.... You know, now that I've typed out this list, and I haven't even finished, it's starting to look a bit pathological. All I know is, if she asks me to clean, I tell her that I consider any money I find fair game. She and I both pretend I mean "spare change", but ye gods, is she ever messy. I earn every $10 I find. (Well, I mean, if I found an awful lot of money I wouldn't do this. Actually, her spare change itself adds up to quite a bit, and thank goodness for coinstar.)

[J-rap]

We keep very little cash at home, except for a large ceramic container where we toss our loose change.  It seems like every year or so, I turn it in to the bank and it's at least $100, sometimes $200!  I used to take from those coins when I needed to send kids to the corner store for milk, etc.  As they got a little older, they'd sometimes be a little embarrassed to pay for a gallon of milk with all nickels and dimes.  :)

[LucyStoner]

I keep a small stash at home and another smaller stash in the car.  At our old house, the "hiding spot" was at the bottom of a large decorative vase on the mantle.  Here, it's in the back of a drawer. 

I keep it in twenty dollar bills because I don't want to have to worry about if where I need to spend it in an emergency will take large bills.  

 

[Night Elf]

I really wish I knew how much cash my grandmother has stashed. She's warned her daughters to look in every pocket of every item of clothing, in and under drawers, in vases, etc. Both of them told her she should remove as much as she knows where it is because when she dies they are not going to take apart the house and belongings looking for random bills. Goodness, she owns so many clothes, many of them still having the tags on them. She doesn't remember where she hides all her stuff. She went without her good jewelry for years until she stumbled across the bag in the back of her closet. She was raised during the depression and she's still affected by it.

[creekland]

We keep between $100 and $200 in cash in our house for emergency "cash" needs.  Those needs are usually Chinese Take Out or local market lunches TBH.  We just like to pay cash when at locally owned small places and don't care to run by the bank every time we go.  When we get below $100, we replace it the next time we're at the bank.

 

It's not stored anywhere safe TBH - and our kids certainly know where it is.  We want accessible.  No one in our family takes it for personal use - that's just not an issue we have - no clue why, but we don't.  I guess we also feel if thieves were to break in they're likely to either destroy the place looking or take one look at our TV (one - small) and furniture (old to very old) and decide it's not worth their effort.  Sometimes we ponder if they'll feel sorry for us and leave us better things.   :lol:

 

If I wanted safe from family I think I'd consider what place never gets cleaned/dusted, etc.  Obviously, no one goes there.  If I wanted safe from thieves I'd open a separate bank account.  Even if that got hacked, money would be returned.  If I wanted safe from fire I'd go with a fireproof lock box.  We use one of those for our important papers and passports, etc.

[Beth S]

My grandmother was such a "saver". She froze several hundred dollars at a time in freezer jam. When she passed away the entire freezer had to be defrosted and examined. But she at least told her daughters where the money was so they would know to do that, lol.

 

And a PSA.  Don't wait until you're 85 years old with short term memory loss, and moving to a retirement village in a hurry . . . because you may then realize you forgot where you stashed the cash. :-)

Yes.  It is unfortunate . . . .

 

ETA:  I've now read all the previous posts & realize we are not alone!  My dh is just eye-rolling at his dad's forgetfulness. We'll just hope to "hit the jackpot" sometime when we're emptying out the house over the next few months.  We also brought home his large safe . . . which he lost the key for.   :)   (We'll use the key code, to have a locksmith replace the key.)

Edited March 29, 2017 by Beth S

[Wabi Sabi]

Not currently, but in the past we have kept cash in a fireproof lockbox hidden in the back of a seldom-used closet. I was always more worried about the potential of losing it in a fire or natural disaster (tornado?) than having it stolen. 

[Guest]

I get $20 cashback each week when I grocery shop to put in our Christmas Stash. My dh really hates seeing a big chunk of money leave the bank at one time and he doesn't feel bad seeing only $20 a week leave.

 

Then when December hits, we put all that cash back in the bank and spend it on Christmas presents and it feels like free money came in to pay for our Christmas.

 

It's not the same as knowing the money is allotted for Christmas and keeping it in the bank. If it's in the bank all year, then DH sees it as money to be kept in the bank and he feels anxious to see it leave the bank, even if he knows that's its purpose. But if it's kept outside of the bank and then is deposited in to pay for presents, it doesn't give him the same anxiety.

 

As far as where...anywhere would be fine. Behind some slightly pulled out books on a bookcase. In the linen closet in a cardboard box. The back of the sock drawer. Top of the fridge. Anywhere.

That's so clever! It's always good to work within you/your partner's psychological needs. Incidentally, this was part of why the YNaB system doesn't work for me. If there's a bunch of money in the checking account, it stresses me out, even if I know it's there because a one-time payment is coming up soon and I will need it. I don't keep it in cash, but I direct it to a different savings account because it feels like it is sheilded from being spent while it builds and then I will transfer it when needed.

[Guest]

I imagine it's easiest to hide it in a place of many things. Like if you have a closet full of shoe boxes you choose one. Or in between the pages of a specific book in a full bookcase. Or in the pocket of a piece of clothing hanging in the closet.

 

I only saved cash once for something specific and kept it in an envelope in a little used pocket of my purse.

 

You could buy a small safe. I had to buy one for my dd to use in her dorm room.

This is what I think. The best hiding places would be average things around the house. Spare box of tea. Cat treat canister. Makeup bag in the vanity. In the ice cream maker nobody ever uses.

 

My DH's uncle was a great stasher of cash. Money was turning up in his workbench, vehicle, closet and just everywhere for years after he died. :)

[Tanaqui]

All this is reminding me of articles about people digging up coin hoards. "It must have been buried by somebody who went off to war and never returned!" Or, just as plausibly, it was buried by a habitual hider, and years later his family was still looking for it, and annoyed that Gramps couldn't just keep his money in the house like a normal person.

[Laura Corin]

Does US currency get withdrawn ever?  UK currency does periodically (usually because the counterfeiters are getting too good and safer versions are brought in).  This year, paper five pound notes (as opposed to plastic) will become obsolete, as will the current one pound coins.  Hoarding cash is not a good idea here.

[Tanaqui]

Well, old and worn out bills are systematically destroyed, but it never is the case that the old bills lose their formal value and cannot be used as legal tender.

 

Though every time people talk about getting rid of the penny, I mutter to myself that it would be just as easy, and make just as much sense, to drop a zero and start over with "new money" - each cent of "new money" would be worth ten cents of "old money" at a fixed exchange rate.

 

This is because I dislike the idea of having a 100 cent system but not having any way to make change in units under 5 cents. I suppose another solution would be to start saying that our dollar, instead of being 100 cents, is really just 20 nickels.

[KrissiK]

Yes, we have several hundred and we keep it in a safe.

[6packofun]

If you always lock your car religiously under the trunk mat is good. Then you know that if you are stuck somewhere and need a tow or whatever that you have the cash. That is where I put money, but again, that works because I lock things up like an OCD nut.

 

That's a very good idea, actually!

[itsmylife]

Are any of you familiar with what happened in India a few months back?  The government scrapped all the 500 and 1000 rupee bills overnight.  The public had a few weeks to turn in all their 500 and 1000 rupee bills to the banks - it was a mess.  They banks did not have enough cash in smaller bills to exchange them so the only option was to deposit money in the banks.

 

I was shocked when I found out that my friends had big stashes in rupees hidden in their closets here in the US and in India.  They rushed back home before the end of the year to swap out the bills.  My mom had a lot of friends who had been hiding money from their spouses reach out to her to help them out.  Her bank account grew leaps and bounds in those few weeks.

[Liz CA]

Does US currency get withdrawn ever?  UK currency does periodically (usually because the counterfeiters are getting too good and safer versions are brought in).  This year, paper five pound notes (as opposed to plastic) will become obsolete, as will the current one pound coins.  Hoarding cash is not a good idea here.

 

I've seen this in other European countries as well. The appearance can change quite a bit with added security features.

[Laura Corin]

Well, old and worn out bills are systematically destroyed, but it never is the case that the old bills lose their formal value and cannot be used as legal tender.

 

Though every time people talk about getting rid of the penny, I mutter to myself that it would be just as easy, and make just as much sense, to drop a zero and start over with "new money" - each cent of "new money" would be worth ten cents of "old money" at a fixed exchange rate.

 

This is because I dislike the idea of having a 100 cent system but not having any way to make change in units under 5 cents. I suppose another solution would be to start saying that our dollar, instead of being 100 cents, is really just 20 nickels.

 

There's a scene in a recent UK novel where a stash of money is discovered walled up in a house; the finders are excited and unsure whether to keep it or hand it over to the likely legal owner.  They do the right thing in the end, and the owner doesn't tell them that their decision only has moral worth, because the notes themselves are worthless.  In fact, I suspect that they might have had some collectable value, even though they are no longer legal tender.

 

Didn't France devalue its currency by a factor of 100 sometime in the 60s or 70s?  I remember my Grandfather giving me old French notes when I went on holiday and they turned out to be worth pennies.  Yes, here it is:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_franc#New_franc

[Tanaqui]

There's a scene in a recent UK novel where a stash of money is discovered walled up in a house; the finders are excited and unsure whether to keep it or hand it over to the likely legal owner.  They do the right thing in the end, and the owner doesn't tell them that their decision only has moral worth, because the notes themselves are worthless.  In fact, I suspect that they might have had some collectable value, even though they are no longer legal tender.

 

In the US, old bills and coins in good quality often have a collector's value higher than their face value would indicate.

 

But isn't there some way to exchange old money for new? I mean, even if it's well past the switchover, can't you go to the bank or something?

[Tanaqui]

Google says that you can, in fact, always exchange withdrawn bank notes for new money: http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Pages/about/faqs.aspx

[Laura Corin]

Google says that you can, in fact, always exchange withdrawn bank notes for new money: http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Pages/about/faqs.aspx

 

That's interesting.  The novelist had it wrong then.  Local banks certainly stop taking them in after a period of time, but I didn't know that the Bank of England would carry on accepting them.  I wonder if the Scottish banks (which issue their own notes, separate from the BofE) do the same.

[Caclcoca]

My grandmother lived through the depression.  She had cash stashed all over her house.  The last couple of years of her life, she told her daughters where all to look when she died.  She $100 bills hidden everywhere.  

[foxbridgeacademy]

No, we rarely use cash but if for some reason I have a little I keep it in a purple pencil box in the school room. Everyone knows where it is so if they are short they might find a couple bucks or $20 in it.

[ChocolateReignRemix]

I also want to say, in light of another current thread, I think that having cash in the bank isn't really that much more safe. I mean sure if someone breaks in and steals my cash it's "gone," except I would be filing a renters insurance claim (or when we owned, a homeowners ins claim) and would totally list that cash as part of the claim. Just like if someone drove away with my van.

 

Another thread on here talked about someone getting into bank accounts and wiping them out through ID theft. In our grandparents generation it was fear the banks would close. But now, our money in the bank is still at risk, just a different kind of risk.

Most insurance policies cap the amount of cash that can be claimed at a fairly low amount ($200 or so). So no, money kept in a bank account isn't subject to the same amount of risk.

[madteaparty]

Are any of you familiar with what happened in India a few months back? The government scrapped all the 500 and 1000 rupee bills overnight. The public had a few weeks to turn in all their 500 and 1000 rupee bills to the banks - it was a mess. They banks did not have enough cash in smaller bills to exchange them so the only option was to deposit money in the banks.

 

I was shocked when I found out that my friends had big stashes in rupees hidden in their closets here in the US and in India. They rushed back home before the end of the year to swap out the bills. My mom had a lot of friends who had been hiding money from their spouses reach out to her to help them out. Her bank account grew leaps and bounds in those few weeks.

Yes, that was to surprise the tax evaders I guess.

I have also been in situations where you can be rolling in cash but there's nothing to buy with it. So I don't stash cash but my little DD does. I borrow from her bank all the time. No one tell my kid about interest!

[justasque]

We keep a small amount of foreign currency - francs, pounds and Canadian dollars.  We give/lend it to whatever family member is travelling, and the end-of-trip pocket change goes back into the stash.  My mom always did this, so I do it too.  

 

Nowadays, with credit cards, it's not all that necessary, but back in the day, you'd land at Heathrow in the evening and couldn't change your dollars for pounds till the next day when the bank opened.  And you'd be hungry - having a couple of pound notes with you meant you could get the bus to your flat and a take-away curry to tide you over till  morning.