Cash on Hand (CoH)

[theboss2010]

We have over 200 members on this site at the moment! How many of us have Cash on Hand for an emergency?
Its ok to have savings in a bank, but what happens if you can't get access to your money. For example, the banks close the doors for a period of time, any money in the cash machines will soon run dry or the electrical grid it shut down for one reason or another!

For over 12 months, any spare cash I've had, I've been paying of my debts. June this year I will be debt free except for a mortgage!
Since the beginning of this year, I've set a small ammount of cash away within the home for an emergency, and it soon adds up! The cash is for emergencies only, if I have to leave the house in a hurry, all I have to do, is grap my B.O.B, Cash on Hand and a few other items.

What I'd like to know is, are any other members doing this and what are your thoughts on the idea?

[Carrot Cruncher]

It's a balancing act as far as i'm concerned, the banks may go to pot and you may lose your savings that way.... or the house could burn down/be burgled and you lose it all that way. I can imagine the insurance assessors response when you tell him you had 5k in used notes stashed under the floorboards

Always good to have a variety of options though as even during some short term problems recently there have been problems with cash machines not working and shops being unable to process visa etc

[theboss2010]

I wish I had 5K under the floor boards, I could get a lot of preps with that! lol! Its like eveything, its a risk, but like you said its another option! As they say, don't put all your eggs in the one basket!

[buttystella]

i am bad with cash want to spend it soon as i can so never have more than £20 available

[scoobie]

Yep, have a couple of hundred in cash in the house...this goes up and down as it gets dipped into on the odd occasion for haircuts, parking etc etc...

[diamond lil]

We always keep some cash handy, dont really trust banks since we found out the RBS (ours) was 2 hours from shutting down ... Themoney goes in and the same day it comes out again and most of it gets spent

[WhiteWolf]

I've statshed cash for a few years now. The last lot was building quite nicely then Yule happened and there it was, gone

I've managed to get it back to a couple hundred, plus some Euros. Needs to be more.

WW

[Ian]

A few hundred in rolls of £2 coins, £50 per roll, fairly fire and disaster proof I think. Acceptable by all (have you tried to move a £50 note recently?) and small enough that change is not really necessary if buying goods when the tills are down.

[hobo]

I second the £2 coin saving method. I fill old fashioned 35mm film cases with them (£34) per case.

H

[WhiteWolf]

For those of us that keep COH, most insurance companies may be asking awkward questions if we lose more than £750 in a house fire or burglary etc, maximum insured amount should be checked with the insurance company.

And remember there still may be problems with our cash, "when the tills are down" as most places are not able to operate without their computerised tills these days.

WW