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There is no risk with FDIC (up to $250,000, that is).
No I meant risk as in if you want to keep your savings in cash then it's a matter of how much you don't mind losing potentially in the event of a robbery or fire or whatever.
It sounds like you are living 'pretty close to the edge', in which case, whatever makes you comfortable when it comes to a few hundred dollars, is probably what you should do. But, cash is neither practical or smart when it comes to paying one's bills, buying large items or saving for the future.
Savings and checking accounts are the safest, most practical way of handling one's ongoing living expenses. When it comes to longer-term savings in larger amounts, one needs to start thinking about ROI (Return-0n-Investment). That's where stocks, bonds, IRA's, 401K's, Roths and other vehicles come into play. Some longer-term retirement savings and also one's 'Emergency Fund' (6-months living expenses), need to be kept separate so that one is not tempted to use those funds as a backup savings account.
I think I would rather bury my money in the ground in a vacuum sealed container vs keeping it in my home. I've never lived in a "bad" or high crime neighborhood, but once had my apartment door kicked in and I was robbed blind (they even took my stamps...lol), living in my parent's house as a child we had thieves who knew exactly where we kept a spare key outside and they broke in and stole several items, and my car was stolen from a open/outdoor parking lot in a condo complex. Also had the entire upstairs to my parent's house catch on fire with nearly everything up there destroyed. So while you think it might not happen to you, it can!
I don't see an issue with keeping a few hundred -- say MAX 500 bucks at home.
Then you can have a savings for any other savings.....and OR a MMF for your emergency fund. (and a checking account of course)
I don't keep money at home....but I also don't think it's THAT at risk if you do.
There've been entire threads about how and where to hide money at home. When you think about it there are SOOO many places to hide money, it's fairly safe to say no one would find it...not even a thief/burglar who would only spend so much time looking for cash (that might not even be there).....when they could grab electronics and be gone.
And how often does a home or apt catch fire...what are the chances of that really? Not much. Even then you could put it in a water/fire proof safe if's you're THAT concerned about it.
If you want to keep money at home. As long as know one knows it's there I wouldn't have any qualms about the safety of the money itself. The only reason not to keep more at home is losing investment growth on it, not it being stolen from you house/apt.
But if you sleep better at night having some money at home....do it.
It's a huge risk if you're keeping ALL of your money in cash at home. If you're talking about $500 the risk is basically zilch. I believe OP was asking about keeping ALL of his/her money in cash at home, not just a few hundred dollars.
Yeah I mean I currently have about $14K at home in the same and that would DEFINITELY blow if someone stole that safe. Damn I feel so dumb compared to you guys on here.
Don't feel dumb. Just keep less cash at home.
If you can keep 500 or less and feel comfortable do that.
IF you feel you ABSOLUTELY have to have more...how about putting more in the bank.....
500.00 to low for you, how about 1,000? 1000 to low? You could cut it down to 5K? Would you need to start with down to 10K, then cut it to 5K?
But hey, it's your money, keep it where you want.
Most of US, HERE, likely wouldn't keep that much as home....but some people do indeed have THOUSANDS at home.
Think about it.....
Could you go 'cold turkey' and and go all the way down to 500 in one shot?
ONE REASON to do it slowly, is large cash deposits draw attention. YOU know it's money you've saved, but do you really need to draw attention to yourself?
So....if you DO put in in banks, I'd do it in deposits of various small -- ODD number -- amounts. Like 482.00 or 379.00, or 275.00, or 450.00. (Not literally odd like 5,7,9, but just not 5,000, or 10,000 or even 2,000 at a time.)
Thanks for the tips rdf. Can the government really get on me for making large deposits? I guess it makes sense but never thought it was a huge deal unless I was making like $50K deposits all the time lol.
Those of us who live in earthquake country, as I do, or in hurricane country such as Florida and other Gulf Coast states, are well advised to keep some cash at home because of the possibility of power outages lasting a week or even more, during which time the ATM's would not function and bank branches would be closed.
The issue is how much cash would be a reasonable amount. In this thread people seem to be suggesting between $200 and $500, which I think is about right. Personally I prefer more than $200, but see no need for, say, $1,000.
we have the same issues here in nyc. when 9/11 took out main data hubs and cables you couldn't access atm's or do banking for a few days. same here with sandy, atm's and banks were out for days
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