Best Place To Keep Emergency Money?

In the event of a calamity, it would be nice to have a chunk of cash on hand.

Where would be the best place to stash money that would be easily accessible to you in the event of a disaster? Banks are effectively ruled out since you can't have your money on your person immediately.

 

I'd say keeping them in books is traditional. Most of the thieves don't check that. But make sure you don't give out those books to others. That would be something you need to understand and check out. I can tell you some people have kept the money inside shoes too. But that is not recommended either. So wallet during disaster time should also come in handy. Usually when emergency comes wallet usually remains with us as it is.

 

Oh I have never thought about it this way. Keeping them in books is a really safe way to store money. No one would suspect you keep money them there so it's already off of prying eyes.

I agree with you on storing money on shoes too. It could get quite unsanitary especially in survival situations.

 

You can get very creative with this project. You want easy access to your cash but not make it obvious. A safe or lock box is way too attractive for anyone looking to steal. Think of a place that one would never think to look or expect to find valuables. I'm not about to reveal my stash location, but I can say it's within easy reach at all times, totally concealed & you'd never think to look there.

 

I have a hoard of money in coin form. Coins can be buried, put in the back or bottom of your freezer or any other random place. I fill up bags made of the pants leg of jeans and then just put them on a top shelf in the garage or shop. Coins don't rot or burn so they don't have to be treated as carefully as paper currency. I regularly grab a 25 dollar roll of dollar coins at the bank when I make a deposit. I throw some of them in the trunk of my cars under the spare tire. Paper money should be stored in a metal or glass container and in the event of a fire, in the US you can send the container in and they will reimburse you with new paper money. I have my paper money in a heavy gun safe in a fireproof safe in the gun safe.

Interest rates are currently so low that there is no reason to just let your money sit in a bank. Either invest it or put it in a safe place. I would rather have my money in a safety deposit box in a bank than in the bank itself right now. Almost the first thing that will go down irregardless of the cause will be the banking. Checks credit cards and debit cards are useless if the banks close down. Cash in the hand will have some value for a while but even that will fade unless things get back to normal pretty fast. As soon as you are sure things are going down trade that cash for trade goods. Food, Medicines, Batteries, Ammo, Guns, Honey, Booze, Clothes, Shoes and Camping gear... whatever you think will have value no matter what.

 

It's best to keep money in different denominations in different locations. At home, it's best to keep it in a high end fire and waterproof safe, hidden from prying eyes. Also, have a cheap safe in plain view so a thief will think that is your only safe. Keep some token cash there too. Who in his right mind would have two safes at home, right?

Keep some in a safe deposit box in a bank. Also have another safe deposit box overseas in a neutral first world country where you can keep most of your gold.

Finally, keep adequate funds in bank accounts so you can access them anywhere in the world if you need to flee your country due to a major calamity or plaque.

 

Don't overdo it in the realm of keeping cash. Think about refueling your vehicle a few times. Imagine yourself having to make some purchases due to the unexpected -- no one can anticipate everything and in a SHTF situation, we are going to see a bunch of raw chaos.

For barter "money", have some old scrap silver coins; however as with cash, don't overdo it. It's something to be stolen. Keep it in your own safe. If you flash gold, you had better have some soldiers on your side. Ammo will be cash in a world gone nuts. Ammo, you can use to trade. Ammo, you can use on the fellow who said he wanted to trade, but is now going for his gun. Now that is money, if you ask me!

International bug-out preppers use precious and semi-precious stones. I've known folk who were non-Muslim who HAD to get out of places like Iran ... or be killed. These folk will do stuff like roll precious stones up inside valuable carpets and head-out. They will concentrate their wealth in the form of 15 carat rubies, emeralds, and sapphires. Yes, I did say 15 carat! We are talking about someone holding his entire life savings in the palm of his hand. Desperate times = desperate measures.

 

I have a few thousand dollars in cash because if the power is down your checks, debt cards and credit cards will probably be mostly useless. I also have a hundred and twenty five silver Eagles and quite a few pounds of small silver coins. I used to have gold but decided that it was a very poor investment as an after the world crashes value. When gold was at 1500 dollars and ounce twenty dollars worth of gold was smaller than a BB. I don't see a farmer trading a chicken for a BB size bit of gold so I turned the gold into silver, ammo and trade goods. This is basically money not a part of my normal income so it in no way has affected my ability to do any of my regular business.

If things go bad I will use that cash fast to fill any gaps that I have in my supplies. After the banks fold up money is going to have a lot more power for a little while. Actually I have seen this before and may see it again shortly. When the last hurricane hit Texas we were without power for about two weeks. Some were without power for six weeks!! The stores wouldn't take plastic because the systems were down and cash on hand kept my wife's car full of gas so she could go to work. My truck at the time had three tanks so I was good.

Harvey is due to make land fall at around midnight as a category 4 hurricane. They are talking of as much as 36" of rain. that is nearly a meter of water for you metric folks. Survival is about to mean something for a lot of people. I'm on top of a hill 75 feet above the river so I'm fine but a lot of my friends are sweating this tonight. We are not where it comes in but we are on the wet side under the huge rain bands. We shouldn't get any wind over 60 or so miles per hour but we are due a one to two inch per hour rain for the next THREE DAYS!! It makes me think of an old joke about Noah. He asked God how long is it going to rain and did he really need to build this big boat and god replied "I don't know, how many days can you tread water?"

It is at times like this when my preparations make me way ahead of the game so I'm not scrambling trying to buy things that have already disappeared from the store shelves.

 

Send all your money to me you guys, I'll look after it for you......honest

 

The emergency fund , and congrats on making allocation for an emergency fund, should be kept in two places…a bank account AND A LIQUID fund.

The bank account could be a savings account or an fd with a sweep in facility and the liquid/liquid plus schemes should have a smart phone interface for easy transaction.

The benchmark of 6% might be a bit difficult but you should not be very far away from the mark. The ball park for liquid is the current call rate PLUS 0.5% and the savings/fd rates are going to be conveyed to you at the time of your transaction.

Both are quite safe…..yet would suggest you choose BRANDS over minor rate differences.

 

Anything that you have in a bank or invested, no mater how secure the investment is will be GONE in the event of a total economic collapse such as a massive EMP or massive social unrest would cause. When the banks close everything in them is GONE! At this time the return of the savings accounts in my open ion doesn't balance the risk in these uncertain times. If you want to invest, buy silver. Right now it is cheap and lower than it should be in relation to gold. If you want a more pricey investment maybe platinum. It is less than gold right now and that isn't a real value. When gold come down to it;s true value the platinum will hold and offer a good return.

 

Best place to keep any sort of valuables is behind electronic security, backed by a good-sized dog, within hearing distance of a woman you've trained to shoot (my lady will fill a bad guy with wadcutters), and then of course your own lazy a$$ shuffling for the shotgun.

Dogs have hearing that is unbelievable. My dog, on the other hand, has supernatural hearing. One sound out of place, up or down the road, and this thing is all fangs and death. And if I act like I'm gonna hurt Grandma (the wifer), this dog turns into Cerberus and heads for me.

 

There is a good chance that your money will become worthless at some point in the future should TSHTF. How much is food worth to a starving man? How much for water when you're dieing of thirst. Perhaps looking into some other unit of exchange or barter that would hold its value would be a better idea. Perhaps common calibers of ammunition would be useful in trade.

 

Ive been fortunate enough to have a father that has a wide variety of friends. Several of them were felons who went away for B&E.

Long story short, they both said that if there was a bookshelf or a library of sorts in a home they broke into, the books were the first place they looked. Probably because its as you said, "keeping them in books is traditional". Id also imagine that theyd be pretty easy to go through. Unless you have a ton of books.

But Yeah. Dad always said to keep money on me. And kept a sum of it in the cabinet in the garage that he stored paint in.

 

It all depends on how fast SHTF happens. Paper money will lose its value. So spend it fast but wisely. If we have a few weeks prior to serious deterioration, max your cards out as they will also become worthless. Keep any precious metals or gems to spend later on. I have a cash stash that's so secret that if anything happens to me it will surly be lost to the world. Forgive me for not discussing where. Lol

 

Agreed, I should have qualified the card usage. I hope we will be able to see the end when it approaches. Also, my emergency stash is enough to pay all my cards off if it isn't the end for real.

 

The primary stash, if you want to call it that, is in a safe with other important documents. I keep smaller amounts in a couple of other Bug Out Bags, and in my EDC and Get Home bags.

I do keep loose change like a pack rat. When it starts to build up I will roll it, and take it to the bank. I am always pleasantly surprised at how much it accumulates. That said, I would need a wheelbarrow if I was going to bug out with it. Maybe throw a jar full in the car, but it is not practical to carry.

 

I keep most of my paper cash in my gun safe in a fire proof box along with my important papers. The bottom of the gun safe is lined with lean pants legs sewn closed full of change. I stopped rolling it and giving it to the bank. I also have a lot of rolls of dollars in there and a bunch of rolls of American Silver Eagles and some silver coins. When gold went through the roof I sold it. I'm not sure how much real buying power a BB size piece of gold will have and with gold in the 1400 dollar an ounce area it is just too valuable for regular use. I bought silver at 8 dollars and ounce and am happier with that.

I also have a small (under 100 dollars in most cases) money packet in each vehicle and bug out bag. Money will retain some value for a long time even when things crash. When the banks close there is going to be a huge currency DEflation because most "money" doesn't actually exist in the real world and when the cyber world is gone you will only have what you have in CASH. Pure barter only works in SMALL groups with people that know and trust each other. A farmer has very little to trade until his crops come in and then he has almost too much. Money is the only way that people that don't know each other can deal with asset futures and all it really is is an IOU that everyone will honor. I don't think that will end unless people are so few and far in between that there is almost no commerce.

 

That depends on the type of farmer.

One who raises livestock can work it so as to have things to sell year round, and most will have tractors or equipment that can be used for various purposes.

Dairy farmers will have meat, milk and cheese along with any vegetables or fruit they can grow.

 

My reply is kinda-sorta on topic. I really just wish to emphasize that if you bury anything of value, place it in a sealed PVC tube, bury it deep, cover it with dirt, then a crumpled can, then the final dirt, and then sod or normal forest floor covering. After which place dozens and dozens of other crushed cans just under the soil all over the place in the general vicinity of the stash -- the location of the real stash should be random. Do not place your real stash in the middle, or do, ..., random is the key. Keep the map in your head. This is to make anyone with a metal detector go nuts if they are looking for the stashes belonging to other people. I hate thieves.

If you have a safe, bolt it to the floor. If on concrete, drill the concrete and place strong sinkers into the holes for large lag-bolts. Make any thief's life difficult. Eat their time. Burglars can't waste time in their line of business, because your electronic security system has just called the police or you or your fighting team or it has released your dogs from their cages or opened the box of scorpions in the ceiling above.

 

When me and my little dog were trapped among strangers during my Katrina experience, I needed a better temporary hiding place for my traveling money. I unraveled the stitching from part of the seam on one of my dog's small stuffed toys and inserted tightly rolled paper money deep into the stuffing and sewed it back up with needle and clear nylon monofilament thread (which I always keep in my purse for all-purpose clothing repair emergencies). I kept that one toy separate from the other ones, and stashed it with her food, leash and other supplies. (I would have croaked if she ran off with a few thousand dollars worth of toy and dropped it somewhere never to be found again!)

I kept some money in my wallet as a decoy of sorts, in case I was robbed. I use the same principle when traveling during normal times. If ever I lose control of my wallet, the bad guys think they have it all, but the main stash is well-hidden.


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I keep a lot of my stash money in the form of coins. They are pretty close to indestructible and I feel that they hold their value better than paper currency. Even in primitive culture there is always something that is used as money. Straight up barter has too many limitations. I think that once things settle down what money that is left will regain some level of value.

Another thing about coinage is that even if nothing bad ever happens it retains its value. Think of what a bucket full of coins from your childhood, if you are old like me, would be worth now to collectors. I have an old metal bandaid box that came to me full of coins from my Grandmother. They are pristine and most are over a hundred years old. Their value were I to part with them is many many times their face value.

I have about a five gallon bucket full of just pennies, several bags made from blue jean legs full of random coins other than pennies, nearly a thousand dollars in the small dollar coins, and about a hundred pounds of silver coins. They are scattered all over the place in buckets and jars. I use them as door stops in sealed up coffee cans and the bags are just on the floor of the gun case. I laugh at my kids all the time telling them that when I die they are going to have to have a massive treasure hunt to find it all. Among my many books I have hundred dollar bills on page one hundred. Books surprisingly don't burn well and would mostly protect the cash in the event of a fire.

I have issues with having a lot of money in a bank. That money isn't REAL until you take it our and have it in hand. My bank accounts are mostly flow through bill paying accounts. If the amount gets too high I pull it out in cash and coin. At one time I held gold but it got so expensive that it sort of lost its value for my purposes. Which would have the most buying power in a messed up world, a one ounce gold coin or a hundred one ounce pure silver coins?

I feel like my coins are a good investment in the future no matter what happens.

 

Money?? You cannot eat it, smoke it or drink it!

But you can buy things now; to use once the power is gone. Buy some liquor, spices, even MRE's. These you can use but money forget it!!

 

Just a few days after Katrina I came across a fellow wanting to give away his nearly new pickup truck because it had run out of gas , he didn't want money he simply wanted a ride home . I can see through a lifetime of conditioning some might take an established currency but depending on the crises some might look at paper currency's best feature as something they can wipe their butts with . That's why I have tried to prepare to live and my kids and grandkids to live for many years without trading or purchasing anything . I have seen some on here indicate , this can't be done , I disagree . Only after many years of economic and society's collapse could prove or disprove my theory . However in a temporary economic crises I could see currency emerging again , but it might be a different currency , possibly rendering todays accepted currencies worthless .

 

For safe storage at home, consider the oven and refrigerator/freezer. In the advent of a fire, both will survive fairly well and it's not a place people generally search. Mixed bills are good; coins have their use but are also heavy and difficult to move in large quantities. You can also think of "barter items" as a form of cash: 5 gallon can of gas, first aid supplies, dried food, batteries. Never cut into your own supplies, but if you designate some as barter, that gives you more options.

 

All bullets will be currency after SHTF. 5.56 , and 9 mm rounds will be king. In todays society money buys you power. When traditional money is worthless, only guns and bullets buy you power. And everyone will be power hungry.

 

It has been said many times before, but bears repeating. If you are going to trade ammo or use it as currency, be very, very careful about who you trade with. You never know when that ammo might come back at you from the barrel of a gun.

 

I knew someone once who kept his money in the freezer (1980s). He got home, apartment (which had been very secure) had been broken into, the cash was gone, place hadn't been ransacked.
I'd end up baking my money if I kept it in the oven.

 

I have a safe at home.

 

Freezers and sock drawers are some of the places that burgers head to first to find cash and valuables. A hollow book might work, if you have a wall full of books. A hidden panel or door with a magnetic latch. If it's your first idea ask yourself how common an idea it might me. Come to think of it my mom had costume jewellery she used for crafting. I think I'll put some of it in an altoid can or zip-loc as a diversion.

 

Duct tape it to the underside of the toilet lid. Inside air conditioning vents. Empty paint can among other paint cans. Taped to the back of a picture or mirror. Taped to the back of a dresser. Under the carpet in a room.

 

Empty food jar, painted inside to look like food, such as mayonnaise jar, in the pantry, behind another mayonnaise jar.

 

To me, the reason to stash money is first off to have it for fast use in the event of a disaster. Secondly, I want it to be protected from accidental fires and third I want it hidden or made assessable to common thieves.

Most disasters are not going o be the end of the world but nonetheless when the power goes down the only provable currency is cash. After Rita even when the small stores powered up with generators they wouldn't take out of town checks or credit cards. They had power but the computer systems were still down. Some wouldn't even take local checks unless they knew you.

There is a lot to be said for burying your cash. A PVC pipe with caps glued on the ends and sealed will protect your paper money for a long long time. Money inside of a spare tire that is aired up will keep it safe and go unnoticed. I used a trailer tire for this one time.

Make sure that if you are going to convert your cash to trade goods that you do it with things that will hold their value even if bad times don't come and that have a shelf life that is almost forever. That way if you need cash in a nondisaster economy it can easily be converted without taking a substantial loss. that is one reason that I like coins. Over time they always have their face value and many become collectors coinage.

I have a lot in trade goods but what I did was collect things that I enjoy anyway. I have hundreds of knives, old tools, fishing tackle and lures, collectible old coins, books and skills in so many different areas with the tools for that specific thing like leatherworking, knife making a forge... That has been my biggest investment. On my 3 acres, I now have two houses, 4 shops, two metal pole barn/carports, and one greenhouse.

 

Now for the historical background for real world situations:

Concurrent with the tensions created by the reports of a killer cyclone, there's a house fire.

Were the hard currency bills in the Tolstoy novel ? or Mao's little red book "On Guerrilla Warfare" or the glossy book on the history of the San Manguel brewery ?

Consider having the notes kept in a pack of some sort....Morgan 101 has the premier idea.....or at least something that can be grabbed and carried away with relative ease.

Fires and flooding will be more frequent than other events.

Prepare for realistic, worst-case scenarios.

I am now in the mood for a ...

 

In the UK we have a "pound coin" (value not dissimilar to a dollar) and you can buy a stash keyring in bushcraft stores that will take about twelve of the coins in a column, to keep on your keys or EDC lanyard.

Removable insoles and notes under them inside your boots, so if you need to move relatively quickly you just slip your boots on and the cash travels with you.

 

Bad idea. You do not want to barter with guns or ammo in a crisis. They can be used against you.

 

Or you could get a CCW and start carrying, in case anybody tries to rob you.
But what you do is smart, keep some money in your wallet that you might spend for little things and keep your main stash, if you've got lots of cash, somewhere else secure.
You could do that and get a CCW.

 

I have heard of people carrying two wallets. One, obviously, has all your current info and financial stuff. One is a dummy strictly to hand to a thief. It has an expired Driver's License, expired credit cards, maybe $10-$20.00 cash. Looks pretty convincing. A thief probably isn't going to look that closely. I have never worried about it, so never went that far.

 

When I lived and worked in the French Quarter in New Orleans back in the mid-1970s, I didn’t have a gun. Now that I look back, I think that might have been a good thing, or else I would have (several times) killed someone over a few bucks. Yes, the perps would have deserved it, if they were attempting to kill me. (It’s hard to tell if you are about to be killed or robbed. These days, it seems that people kill just for the fun of it.) Fortunately, my canister of tear gas/mace + identifying dye came in handy, back then.

I also would have been broker than broke defending myself in court. I read the news and shake my head at how victims are being charged with the crime of defending themselves in their own homes, vehicles, and on the street. Now that just ain’t right!

Years later, when I was involved in two separate attempted carjacking incidents (in “good” neighborhoods!), the perps ran when they saw (or, as in the case of the second incident, thought) that I was armed. (That story is subject for another thread, another time.)


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I know of this fellow who was a police officer and he would carry off duty which I believe is common for police officers to do. Anyway when he was off duty, if he was approached by people who wanted to rob him he would toss them some money and say something like, "Look, I don't want any trouble, have a round of beer on me." He wouldn't do this when he was on duty of course and he wouldn't do it when he was in his home town. Sure, tossing somebody some money might only be an appetizer to them and they might end up going after your main stash but this way, if he ever did have to shoot an attacker while off duty, in court it would've appeared that he attempted to buy off his attacker which would really help his case.

 

He must have lived in a hell hole. I'm old and have not always walked in the nicest places and have only had two people stupid enough to try and rob me. They got NOTHING. Now I would probably just put a bullet in them but back then I was more willing to fight. If he is being hit on all that often he needs to find a better place to walk or stop looking like a victim.

In Texas, an officer is always on duty. They are just not always at work. Considering that they don't always have really nice encounters with people and make a lot of bad people angry (understatement!!) They are left of crazy if you don't carry. When I was in the gun selling business cops looking for good backup guns and smaller guns for off duty carry were my best customers.

Now there are so many wonderful small guns that make concealed carry comfortable and safe without sacrificing dependability. Back then most small automatics were undependable. Those that were dependable were expensive and not as sleek as they are now. A cut down combat colt commander was top of the line but you paid for it. Most carried snub-nosed revolvers. I carried an over-under derringer in 357 mag. The first cost-effective little auto was the AMT 380 back-up. Nice little gun for the time. I never considered any of the 22lr or 25 caliber guns to be serious back-up though a lot of people carried them.

I know....I'm off topic again...

 

Pick pockets don't go fare before they checke to see what they got and if its a dummy they will come back for the real thing they do this for a job and know all the trikes

 

you can't carry in Canada and even if you could I am still to young so how would you say if the best way to save your self and money in an encounter?