One more advantage to having cash around the house: no more ATM fees. Need cash in a hurry but don't have access to your bank's ATM? Grab it fee-free from your "emergency-cash." Of course you'll have to repay it once your bank opens, but use this as an opportunity to save some more. Slap yourself with your own "fee" and add that to your emergency stash. Why pay the bank to give you your own money? Those $2.50, and $5 "machine fees" add up, not to mention the "network" charges. Over the course of a year, I estimate one could add an extra $100 or more to an emergency cash fund and not see a measurable diffeence in cash-flow. All it takes is a little discipline. Just my 2 cents.