Cash back with purchases. ;) Where to store?

[AbcdeDooDah]

IYKYK

If one were to start taking cash back after every purchase for use *later* where would be a good place to store it? Visa gift cards? Grocery store cards? 

 

[Annie G]

At least some in cash, with a trusted person.  

[Catwoman]

8 minutes ago, AbcdeDooDah said:

IYKYK

If one were to start taking cash back after every purchase for use *later* where would be a good place to store it? Visa gift cards? Grocery store cards? 

 

I would want as much cash as possible. Things like grocery store cards are ok, as long as they are national chains and not local stores (in case the person needs to move far from home.) 

But really, cash is your friend, because if this is in preparation for a divorce, lawyers don’t accept Walmart gift cards. I feel that cash provides the most flexibility and is not traceable by a sly spouse.

The best hiding place depends on whether or not you 100% trust anyone not to rat you out. If you have parents who are on your side, they might be the best choice. If you need to hide money at home, maybe inside a box of Christmas ornaments would be good, because no one will be looking there for almost a year.

[fairfarmhand]

11 minutes ago, Annie G said:

At least some in cash, with a trusted person.  

This. And I’m sorry you have to ask this question 

[Catwoman]

1 minute ago, fairfarmhand said:

This. And I’m sorry you have to ask this question 

I am, too. I’m hoping she’s asking for a friend and not for herself. 😞 

[happi duck]

I feel like I read that visa etc gift cards aren't great...they might have a fee or eventually start losing value?

[historically accurate]

I'd think a trustworthy person would probably be best. But here are some more ideas:

Is it possible to get a secret bank account? Most don't mail statements anymore, although email notifications will happen.

Is there a closet never used (I like the idea of Christmas decorations), maybe something like the cleaning cupboard or linen closet? My grandma used to keep envelopes of money taped to the back of drawers, probably due to having grown up in the Depression.

Edit: maybe a small amount stored in the car for an emergency getaway would be a good idea. Stored under a seat or in the stow and go or something like that.

 

Edited January 11, 2022 by historically accurate

[fairfarmhand]

1 hour ago, historically accurate said:

I'd think a trustworthy person would probably be best. But here are some more ideas:

Is it possible to get a secret bank account? Most don't mail statements anymore, although email notifications will happen.

Is there a closet never used (I like the idea of Christmas decorations), maybe something like the cleaning cupboard or linen closet? My grandma used to keep envelopes of money taped to the back of drawers, probably due to having grown up in the Depression.

Edit: maybe a small amount stored in the car for an emergency getaway would be a good idea. Stored under a seat or in the stow and go or something like that.

 

In a box of tampons in the glove box?

[marbel]

7 hours ago, happi duck said:

I feel like I read that visa etc gift cards aren't great...they might have a fee or eventually start losing value?

VISA gift card often have fees, and yes they may lose value over time. Cash is better.

[Catwoman]

3 hours ago, historically accurate said:

I'd think a trustworthy person would probably be best. But here are some more ideas:

Is it possible to get a secret bank account? Most don't mail statements anymore, although email notifications will happen.

Is there a closet never used (I like the idea of Christmas decorations), maybe something like the cleaning cupboard or linen closet? My grandma used to keep envelopes of money taped to the back of drawers, probably due to having grown up in the Depression.

Edit: maybe a small amount stored in the car for an emergency getaway would be a good idea. Stored under a seat or in the stow and go or something like that.

 

That's such an important consideration -- if this is in preparation for eventually divorcing a spouse, it's kind of important to know whether or not there is any possibility of physical retaliation if the spouse finds the hidden money. Under normal circumstances, it might be explained away as a secret surprise family vacation fund or something along those lines, but if the spouse is abusive or mentally ill and paranoid, it's a totally different situation, and if he found a stash of money, it could be very dangerous.

And if there is any chance that an emergency getaway would be needed, I really like the idea of hiding some cash in the car. I hadn't even thought of that. 

[AbcdeDooDah]

I think in community property states a separate account would be discovered. 

[Arcadia]

5 minutes ago, AbcdeDooDah said:

I think in community property states a separate account would be discovered. 

That’s true. Can she get her own credit card and put money in it? Then she will have a negative balance and she can cash back in the future.  

[73349]

A mint tin is an unremarkable thing that might be in an obscure pocket of a purse, and may be purchased in a number of sizes. A Vermints tin is not quite the size of a credit card, but could be a place to store some paper.

[LifeLovePassion]

9 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

That’s true. Can she get her own credit card and put money in it? Then she will have a negative balance and she can cash back in the future.  

My guess is they have to issue refund checks on accounts at least once a year so it wouldn't be good long term. 

[Arcadia]

1 minute ago, LifeLovePassion said:

My guess is they have to issue refund checks on accounts at least once a year so it wouldn't be good long term. 

I had a negative balance on a personal card with a lower credit limit and they let it be as long as I have a few dollar purchases every few months. 

[73349]

O hey a folded twenty fits into my phone case, behind the phone. I think two or three of them would.

[wintermom]

I would google "where to hide cash" and then not use those places. Those suggestions might spark some ideas, though. 

I hid my son's cell phone in my tennis bag once as a "punishment." I forgot where I'd hidden it and it took us a many weeks to find the thing. Now this place is the first place we look for lost items, but maybe it would be a good spot in other households.

Edited January 11, 2022 by wintermom

[MooCow]

A safe deposit box at a bank? Maybe? 

[Arcadia]

I used to put $50 bills in my textbooks when I was in middle school. My mom gave me that amount weekly for lunch and sometimes I was too lazy to take out my wallet to put it in. At the end of the school year, I sometimes end up with over a hundred. 

[Arcadia]

3 minutes ago, MooCow said:

A safe deposit box at a bank? Maybe? 

That might fall under community property unless the safe deposit box is co-owned with siblings or close friends. My mom uses her sister’s safe deposit box to store documents like property deed.

[SoCal_Bear]

open safe deposit box in another city at a bank somewhere else with no paper statements going to an email they don't know about that you only access from computers outside the home.

Immediately open a separate one after you file for separation and move the cash into that new one and leave the old one with documents because you will have to disclose that one exists as it was established during the marriage.

 

Edited January 11, 2022 by calbear

[Jean in Newcastle]

If it's going to be long term with the goal of accumulating "enough" to leave, I think that a trusted friend or family member who truly understood that "loose lips sink ships" is the best. 

[Corraleno]

First choice would be to keep cash with a trusted friend or relative. Things like bank accounts, credit cards, and safe deposit boxes are supposed to be disclosed during a divorce, so you really need a place to stash cash with no paper trail.

[prairiewindmomma]

Don't forget to wipe your browser or use a private window when asking questions like this, iykwim. Sorry you are having to ask.

[mominco]

If cash is not easy to do then Amazon gift cards. Open a separate account and start putting away the gift cards in that account.You can actually add many gc's and since there are no expiration dates on them you can use them WHEN needed and use them to even buy groceries at whole foods esp if you order online and pick up curbside there is no extra charge. Other stores you can do this at are Walmart and Target.I am sure there are more but these might be your best long term options. I know someone who gave *cash to her mom and mom opened a separate account for herself and kept depositing there. This same person used her mom's sister to keep her gift cards she bought as "gifts" for her side of the family but in reality they were for herself. Most of the gift cards were for Target and Walmart in $25-$50.She did this for atleast 4-5 years as she started to see her marriage go downhill slowly.

*This woman was very smart she was babysitting and made good money that way.She accepted cash from her part time kids and squirreled that money away.She was very good with kids and the parents used to love her and often gave her gift cards for Christmas when parents asked her Ms D what is your favorite store she'd often say Target and they got her a gift card from there.She got divorced last Jan and her husband did not find out about the money nor GC's.

[J-rap]

Not cash back, but cash to be used toward stores.  I have an Old Navy visa card, which also works for Gap and Banana Republic.  Actually, because it's a visa card, you can use it for anything.  But it very quickly collects reward cash credits which you can use toward one of their three store chains.  I'm constantly telling my dd's "I have $50 to spend!  Does anyone need anything?"   I don't even use that card a lot, but somehow the reward credits seems to add up easily.

ETA:  After re-reading other answers, I'm not sure if this actually answers your question.  But it's still a good deal!

 

Edited January 12, 2022 by J-rap

[prairiewindmomma]

Think about what you're going to need money for: rent/mortgage, utilities, food, healthcare copays, gasoline/transport, basic clothing, deposit with the attorney for fees..... Those are the basic things you have to cover if you're in that in between period between filing and finalization. Having a store gift card isn't going to be helpful for you beyond a certain point. The gas company doesn't take walmart gift cards, iykwim. 

If you are in a community property state, I still don't know that it really matters in the grand scale of things. You can easily account for the money there and what it was spent on.  If you are pulling this out as cash back there's a limit to how much you can pad those receipts anyway---a bit hard to amass serious amounts of money quickly (like over $25k) unless you are already a high spending household. 

What you ARE going to need to be able to do is take care of those immediate needs if you don't have access to your normal finances. So, it makes way more sense to get an account privately and to make sure you have a credit card in your name only. 

 

[theelfqueen]

The spare tire compartment of your car (if it's in the trunk) - assuming the car isn't shared with partner. 

Edited January 12, 2022 by theelfqueen

[Tap]

1 hour ago, theelfqueen said:

The spare tire compartment of your car (if it's in the trunk) - assuming the car isn't shared with partner. 

I know several people mentioned putting money in a car, but I would be concerned if there was an accident and the car was totaled/towed away. This seems risky to me.

[AbcdeDooDah]

My friend has thought about doing this for over a year but always felt guilty and dishonest. Her husband literally said the words, “You are not enough for me” to her so guilt is no more. Thanks for all the ideas. I’ve passed them on to her. 🙂

[fraidycat]

Sending your friend lots of strength and good wishes.

[73349]

This is quite late, but I've learned that a postal money order (easily bought when buying stamps or shipping packages) is the size of a regular check. There is a fee of $1.45 for amounts up to $500. Could be handy.

[footballmom]

If I were in your friend’s shoes, and putting my plan in place to leave the donkey, I might try to diversify a little making sure I had a few hundred in cash in a very accessible place in case I was put in an unexpected situation at an odd hour that would make accessing money in a deposit box or with a friend difficult AND a larger stash of money with a trusted source.  
 

I have a neighbor who would off handedly comment to her DH that she noticed they haven’t been using x lately or y was adding clutter - she was going to sell it on FB, etc.  After doing this for a few weeks, she had a nice little egg together and dropped the news they were done.  Her husband wasn’t thinking about WHERE the $ from the sold items was going, he wasn’t dealing with selling it, etc.  It worked out well for her to fund the first part.  

[mlktwins]

I use my Discover and Costco cards.  With Discover, I can use the cash back towards my next bill or for purchases.  
 

If it is for a divorce situation, I would get my own Discover card.  She should have a credit card in her own name anyway to build credit.

ETA:  Sorry - just realized this is a few weeks old.  

Edited February 5, 2022 by mlktwins

[AbcdeDooDah]

Mini update and question.

$20 bills take up a lot of space. If I take them to a bank to exchange some of them for 100s, would I get flagged for anything by the bank?

 

Edited May 12, 2023 by AbcdeDooDah

[Arcadia]

4 minutes ago, AbcdeDooDah said:

Mini update and question.

$20 bills take up a lot of space. If I take them to a bank to exchange some of them for 100s, would I get flagged for anything by the bank?

 

Nope. We do that at Citibank or Wells Fargo as we have accounts there. They just assumed we are gifting cash to relatives especially now is graduation session. I used to get $100 as college graduation gifts from close relatives.
If you have your own credit card, you could just deposit some of the cash into that credit card and let it hold a positive balance. I have done that for purchases larger than my credit card with a purposely low credit limit because I don’t want to use my main credit card with a high credit limit. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

27 minutes ago, AbcdeDooDah said:

Mini update and question.

$20 bills take up a lot of space. If I take them to a bank to exchange some of them for 100s, would I get flagged for anything by the bank?

 

No, the bank won't flag you.  But in my area, a lot of stores have signs out that they don't accept (or give change for) $100 bills.  Your area may be different.

[Bambam]

If you use a Fidelity CC, they put it in an account for you. You can just save it and watch the interest (especially if you make wise investments) grow. 

[prairiewindmomma]

47 minutes ago, AbcdeDooDah said:

Mini update and question.

$20 bills take up a lot of space. If I take them to a bank to exchange some of them for 100s, would I get flagged for anything by the bank?

 

It depends on how much you are exchanging. One of our ATMs only gives out $20s—totally reasonable to exchange—but if you are talking about thousands of dollars in $20s, I wouldn’t. If I recall your situation correctly I also wouldn’t do this if you happen to live in a small town since word could get back.

[AbcdeDooDah]

1 hour ago, prairiewindmomma said:

It depends on how much you are exchanging. One of our ATMs only gives out $20s—totally reasonable to exchange—but if you are talking about thousands of dollars in $20s, I wouldn’t. If I recall your situation correctly I also wouldn’t do this if you happen to live in a small town since word could get back.

Yeah, it’s in that $$$ range 😬. Maybe I could do it a few months apart. 

[Corraleno]

Is there a trusted friend or relative who could set up a separate account in their name and give you the ATM card & PIN for the account? A hundred dollars or so could be kept in cash, in case of a sudden emergency, but the rest could be deposited in the friend/relative's account and accessed as needed via ATM.

[kbutton]

6 hours ago, Arcadia said:

If you have your own credit card, you could just deposit some of the cash into that credit card and let it hold a positive balance. I have done that for purchases larger than my credit card with a purposely low credit limit because I don’t want to use my main credit card with a high credit limit. 

One of our cards gives that money back no matter how small, but it's a store credit card. That might make a difference.

4 hours ago, AbcdeDooDah said:

Yeah, it’s in that $$$ range 😬. Maybe I could do it a few months apart. 

I would go to a high volume store that not odd for you to shop at and exchange a couple at a time. Most higher volume stores will not blink at 50s or 100s. 

Maybe someone will think you get tips at a job. It's not unusual for someone who gets paid tips to have a lot of smaller or medium bills on hand (and be toting them around at the grocery store, for instance), and it wouldn't be odd to trade up for something less bulky. 

[Emba]

When I worked at a bank (15 years ago) I remember vaguely something about having to report cash transactions that were $3000 +. I don’t know if I’m remembering wrong or things have changed, but most of what I see when I Google “cash transaction flagged” has to do with amounts of $10,000 or more.  I think they have to ask for ID and it is flagged to the government to track patterns that may indicate money laundering.
 

i work a tipped job now and I let my money pile up for awhile before I go to the bank, because I’m lazy. I often deposit $1000 plus in cash and no one ever says anything, I’m never asked for ID, etc. I’m not even sure that a transaction like exchanging smaller bills for larger would be flagged at all, since it isn’t a deposit.

Edited May 13, 2023 by Emba

[Tap]

One thought about exchanging 20s for 100s is that your bank might process that transaction thru your account. This would create a paper trail. I know others have said they have been able to have a positive balance on a credit card. My current card will not let me pay in excess of what is owed. The only way I would have a positive balance, is if I returned something in excess of the balance.

 

[Brittany1116]

Put your eggs in all the baskets. Exchange some at the bank, some with a cashier every time you shop at a major store, some with a friend who can spot you a few large bills for a day or two til you repay in 20s. 

[73349]

A friend might be able to deposit 20s at an ATM and then walk into the bank and ask for some hundreds. Or as I think I mentioned upthread, the fee for postal money orders is pretty small & even if you put it on a card, the transaction just says USPS, as if you bought a big roll of stamps.

[AbcdeDooDah]

On 5/14/2023 at 1:49 PM, 73349 said:

A friend might be able to deposit 20s at an ATM and then walk into the bank and ask for some hundreds. Or as I think I mentioned upthread, the fee for postal money orders is pretty small & even if you put it on a card, the transaction just says USPS, as if you bought a big roll of stamps.

This is perfect, thanks! I can’t believe I didn’t think about doing this. We have an account that isn’t really used and I can totally do this. 

 

[regentrude]

On 5/14/2023 at 3:49 PM, 73349 said:

A friend might be able to deposit 20s at an ATM and then walk into the bank and ask for some hundreds. 

why would one involve depositing and using an account (thus creating an electronic trail)? Why not just walk into the bank and exchange the 20s for 100 at the counter? 

[Arcadia]

Does your college campus have a credit union and would the people working there blab about transactions? The credit union at my nearest state university sees too many people to care while my local TechCU is more likely to blab. 

[Tap]

43 minutes ago, regentrude said:

why would one involve depositing and using an account (thus creating an electronic trail)? Why not just walk into the bank and exchange the 20s for 100 at the counter? 

My credit union runs all transactions thru an account incase of fraud or counterfeit bills. The transaction shows on my accounts statement.