I was somewhat surprised by the following news report that about 10% of folks in the U.S. carry no cash on a daily basis. In fact, (according to them) 78% carry less than $50, and 49% less than $20, and fully 9% nothing. The link is:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101664403

This is a lot less (given present prices) than I do. Without going into numbers, I carry enough for: 1 full tank of gas at 4-5 dollars a gallon; some food and water (e.g. 1 day's worth), and enough to cover miscellaneous out of pocket.

An example of how this helped me: about 3 years ago I got a flat tire and pulled off the road to change it. Due to some then unresolved medical problems, I could not quite change it by myself (but was working at it) when a homeless guy came by and offered to do for me for $20. He did, I had the cash and it was well spent. (BTW, it was a busy road and no one else stopped. . .)

What are your ideas on carry of cash on an EDC basis and how much or for what contingencies?

People who choose to not carry cash because they think they can get everything they want with plastic are making a mistake. Twice I've been parked in an expensive downtown parking garage where there was no attendant and the connection to the credit card company was down. In another memorable case I paid a cash bond to be on my way for a moving violation. Let me hasten to add that this was not any kind of bribery -- the trooper issued me a receipt and when I won in court I got my money back.

Right now I have about $300 in my wallet, which is the minimum I like to have for significant travel. I recently returned from a business trip and didn't use much of my traveling cash. If we're going on a long road trip it might be $500.

For day to day I like to have around $200. This allows for a tank of gas, getting out of a downtown parking garage, tips for various purposes, a meal or two, and so on. It should be enough for me to get in an expensive city cab and get a ride all the way home, if I took the train or my car breaks down.

I'm in the 22% that carries more than $50

Day to day, I keep a spare $20 in each car a $20 in my wallet and $100 in my GHB.

On road trips further than 100 miles: $500+

I feel less than fully dressed if I have less than $200 in my wallet on a normal day. When traveling it is not uncommon for me to have $500, and my wife a few $100 more.

There is usually $100 hidden in my car as well.

I have heard so many stories of a bit of cash saving the day that it seems like a logical practice. I have never lost any money.

The father of a friend of mine was a merchant marine, cook. Always wore a rather expensive gold ring. He said on several occasions in various ports around the world it came in very handy when he needed some money fast to get out of a difficult situation. (He never said what the difficult situations were...) He would pawn it for cash, take care of his situation, then buy it back when able.

For those living in an urban environment I can understand not carrying very much cash. I have been robbed at gun point once, lost $200 but would gladly have given him $200 more not to take my driver's license, pilot's license, credit cards, etc. Takes a lot of time and hassle to replace those items.

I know that I've posted this all before, but good advice bears repetition. In the words of Bob Dylan, "Money doesn't talk. It swears!" Cash saves your life ( and maybe your wallet too) in a mugging. Cash buys you a ride/ flight/ train ride / hitch out of town, when all seats are booked or otherwise unavailable. Cash buys supplies in a blackout when all credit cards are useless. Cash gets you the unavailable hotel room in the blizzard. Etc. etc. In an urban setting you can break it up: wallet, bag, sock, hat, car, whatever. Your target goal is $500, minimum: 4x$50; 10x$20; 9x$10; 10x$1.00. More is better.

P.S. Cash can often get you a discount on a larger purchase. Offer your credit card for payment. An Am Ex is best because it's fees are largest. Then say to the proprietor , " Do you discount for cash?" Do not be surprised to save yourself up to 10%.

P.P.S. Do you remember the Indo-China ( Vietnam) war? In the early days especially, many Special Forces soldiers, CIA agents and Air America pilots wore Rolex Submariners and ~10 thin gold bracelets, for trade / bribery in an E&E situation. In fact the Rolex became something of a joking way to ID the CIA types. That watch and the infamous "Get out of jail free" ID card.

Your survival gear should reflect the situations you will encounter. I would grant that cash works well in urban situations. In a wilderness setting, however, cash is just tinder (not legal tender)for starting a fire. Does anyone know which of the denominations burns best? Does a Franklin burn hotter than a Lincoln? I am not aware of any studies in this area....

Caution....Cash should not be used as a wound dressing. The bacteria count is way too high. If you have a silver dollar, it might be used as a signal mirror, but it won't be all that effective.

When I go to the ATM, I replenish to $500 or more. Right now, I have two $100 bills and the rest in $20 bills, and I try to keep $20 in smaller bills. I like to carry $100 bills because (1) they take up less space and (2) when I hand my wife a $100 bill, her reaction is like I'm handing her $1,000 (more bang for the buck).

Before I had my daughter, I used to carry about $40 in cash. Now, I'm more conscientious about emergency situations because of her. Also, I use credit card for practically everything. I would practically never use cash if it wasn't for my wife asking for cash every few days.

For 'just in case'. I have cash in a little key safe in the car and some money hidden in my (money)belt. I prefer to keep it a little hard to access, so it won't be stolen and I won't use it, when I don't really need to.

For 'normal' use, I prefer not to carry to much cash.

Thanks, BWS, for posting that article. Cash is a vital prep. Important that the stash include a significant amount in small bills.

The only time I don't have cash is when I'm walking my dog around the block. Longer walks, even in DC, cash is a must - at least $40-50 for a cab to rush me and my dog to the veterinary hospital if necessary (had that situation once while walking several miles from home where my car was -- ran in front of a cab while carrying my dog so that I could rush her to a vet).

Car (and SUV) -- cash stashed in a couple places, including a thick wad of one-dollar bills.

Purses and wallet -- all have cash in them.

In the winter, nearly all my coats will have cash stashed.

If going out of town, I always have a substantial amount in cash (not inclined to get too specific but at least a few hundred dollars strikes me as wise for anyone, especially if you're going to be in a position that you could be stranded away from home, friends or family).


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You are never far from friends (except in the wilderness) when you have plenty of cash on hand. (-:

Jerry

I keep $20 stashed in the car, $100+ in a money belt, & $200 +/- for actual walking around cash. The $200 fluctuates during the week & gets topped off on payday with any extra going to the safe. The others are reloaded ASAP if they are used.

minimum $500, max $1500. always.

ever drive low on fuel into a small western town (ie: someplace like Ely, NV) when the internet is down and no credit card purchases possible?

or how about losing a fuel pump or clutch in the middle of nowhere on a weekend and the only garage doesn't take credit cards or checks (and no banks/ATMs for 100 miles)?

cash is king, even today.

Whenever I travel extra light, I carry about $5,000 in Bitcoins on a flash drive.




(kidding)

opportunity for some enterprising financial group to go into the blood chit business...

replica, Burma, 1944

There is recovery service to help out in emergency situations with cars, black outs don't last long and buying some food because you are hungry is just a convenience as long as you last meal was recently. However, if you raise $100 in a fire to lure a fireman to get you out first or place well known banknote with a message for help, I think this is when cash is used for survival.
Having said that, I usually carry something like £20 for mini-emergencies/inconveniences, but it changes once I travel abroad because £ usually goes further than local currency. Nowadays you can get cash and card payment almost in any popular place. And if they don't have electricity, it is still not a problem - they somehow get a copy from your card and cash later. Card fraud protection makes sure only legit transactions get through.

I cannot count how many times services of this nature have been unavailable due to weather emergencies.



Long is relative. A 24-hour blackout that keeps you from getting where you need to go can feel like an eternity. If you need to get home to get the kids off the school bus, a delay of even an hour can be very challenging.



That used to be the case in the USA but is no longer. Most places, if the power is out or the connection to the bank is down, plastic stops working and cash is king.

I carry 2 $20s hidden in my wallet, the bill compartment amount varies usually about $100 and around fifty in a money clip. We have rather large amounts in small bills and $50 in quarters in our BOBs. I have yet to meet the person who will not take cash over a check, and if the systems go down plastic will be useless. I am assuming that they would prefer cash over supposed gold coins, nuggets, jewelry etc. I'd rather not depend on those means of exchange and have them not accepted. This is JMHO.

When I was still in Dallas, I made sure I had a $5 bill in case I lost my DART pass and I had money for vending machines.

Jeanette Isabelle

Are you sure quarters are worth the weight penalty in 2014? This should work out to about 3 lbs!

I suppose there are a few parking meters that take quarters but the major use, pay telephones, no longer exist! Almost all vending machines that I see take dollar bills.

Is there another use that I didn't think of?

I have $10 in a roll of quarters in my car for parking meters, vending machines etc. It has been in the car since 2006 and I have yet to use it. The roll is still unopened.

I visit a country in Eastern Europe once a year. They do not have any coins at all in their currency---just bills. I have a feeling we are headed in the same direction.

We recently had a cell phone tower hit by a car.It knocked out every thing.It affected cable service also.Most internet in my area is digital cable.ATM's were down also.The only places able to use credit or debit cards had a dish modem.CASH IS KING....

BOATMAN
John

May I ask what country that is, does that country have Euro as currency?
Myself, living in a European country (Finland) that has the Euro as currency, find that hard to believe. We have a lot of use for coins for smaller purchases.
For example a small coke is about 2 euros, icecream cone 3 euros and so on.
The smallest bill is 5 Euro wich equals about 6.7 US dollars.

Belarus: the Belarussian ruble exchanges at over 10,000 to the dollar. Lower denomination bills are like small change. Prices for things, while lower than what you quoted, are not so different. So any coins for fractional rubles would be almost worthless. A U.S. penny (1/100 of a dollar) is about 100 rubles, (actually slightly more). It is disconcerting to see all the zeros on prices quoted in local rubles.

Ok, thanks. That explains it.