I recently got one of those "power pack" jumper boxes to serve this very purpose. It has an air compressor and a pretty useful work light built into it as well. I can't think of the mfr right now but it seems to be a solid, well-built item.

Wow, my battery died yesterday too, but it was under warranty so I got a free replacement. Luckily, I also had a portable power booster/compressor (Campbell Hausfeld Power Pal) to get me up and running long enough to get to Wally World. I've used mine on several occasions.

I usually keep about $30 in singles in my car for emergencies, and $10 in the bag on my mountain bike. If I need more $$, I pull out the plastic.

I EDC $200 for emergencies. I built it up slowly by adding $20.00 a paycheck to my stash until I got the $200 level. In addition, I also have emergency money stashed in each of my vehicles.

I feel for you on the expensive commute. I had a relatively new tire blow out on my way home this week. That and the $3.00 a gallon gas is killing me on my 50 mile daily commute but I have friends that have an even longer one so I don't complain too much.

I also have one of the power pack boxes and they are extremely handy. I have used it to inflate tires after I plug them and jumpstart mine and my wife's vehicles. They are great to keep in vehicles and also come in very handy when camping and you need a power supply.

The one I got was from Home Depot and it is 400 watts. I think I paid about $75 for it and it was money well spent!

It's funny, AAA is one of those things you will have and almost never need. Yet the day you don't have it, you will definitely need it!

It's worth the $50 or so a year just for the three complimentary tows / roadside assistance. They can bring you a battery as well now (but I believe you pay for the battery).

If you like maps they also have tons of free ones for just about anywhere, and offer insurance (not the lowest rates), and a travel agency.

One time I had a job interview in the morning about an hour from home. Made it to the interview, but came out to find a dead battery in my old Mazda truck. A quick call to AAA and they were able to come out, provide a jump start, and I went directly to the auto parts store for a new battery. That was worth the $50 alone.

my truck is a chevy s-10, not a full size, and I do not have any credit cards. I think the real trick is to keep the money hard enough to get to that you will not spend it because temptation is hard to resist at times and impulse buying sometimes hard to control.

I am on the fence about charger/inflater things, and my truck has never left me staranded, so I just have been lucky I guess. At any rate, I am more happy that I was prepared than bummed about $100...

Sorry about the luck. I keep $50 "hidden" in my wallet and another $100 in my belt (one of those travel belts with a zipper compartment).

Came in handy last fall when we were coming back from vacation.

It was getting late on I-77 North -- 8:30 pm-ish -- on a Saturday night midway between Beckley and Charleston, WVa. My poor wife was driving when a deer decided to take a stroll across the northbound lane, just around a bend and at that moment we literally knew what is meant by "that deer in the headlights look". Thankfully everyone was ok.


AAA Plus got us towed the almost 75 miles to Charleston and the cash came in handy to tip the driver to take us to a hotel after dropping the vehicle off at a dealership and for cab fare the next morning to get from the hotel to a car rental agency (The only ones we could find open on Sunday were clear out at the airport).

So, I try to keep $150 - $200 hidden on me.

-- buckeye

I carry a credit card which is what I would have used in stealthedc's situation. I also carry normal cash and "reserve" cash. I am happy to spend the reserve cash like any other cash; the main difference is that I rarely need to because I top up the normal cash before it gets to that point.

It's a bit like petrol - I try to keep the car half full, but on long journeys I let it get lower because it's inconvenient to stop to fill up too often. Unless I know a disaster is coming (eg a hurricane warning), I figure disasters are very rare and I'm not going to let preparedness intrude too far into my life. Many of my preparedness habits are things which make my every day life easier rather than harder, and if they do get too hard I give them up. For me the point of having reserves of cash or petrol is to have it available for the little things as well as disasters.

I actually feel a bit paranoid about going into detail about money amounts.