I remember having those carbon based ker-chunk things for a backup.
There was a local store here that would always make a carbon copy, then someone picked through their trash and used those carbon copies to do some internet shopping as that was before the extra digits on the back. now when someone wants to make a carbon copy of my card I tell them to cancel the order and go somewhere else.

Collecting my change is one way to build up usable cash reserves that don't get tapped, at every little "emergency" that occurs.

Coins don't usually melt in a house fire either.

Keeping real cash AND coins as part of your emerg kits is only common sense. Those of us watching the post disaster event unfold on the TV see it every time. Cash money talks ...and bulls%#$&^$% walks.
Even if you are just evacuating it makes sense. 'Cuz where you run to may have their own communication challenges and the stops along the way will almost always take cash...though I'd use plastic (debit or credit) as long as I could.
I figure slowly contributing change and gradually pigeon-holing cash is the way to go ...well ...unless you already have a chunk of cash in the bank and move it out to a locked safe in the house.
I figure a couple grand should be enough for most likely events. Its not too practical for most people to have too much cash secreted away waiting for the big disaster.
Though I admit ...if I lived in the south where hurricanes come every year ...I might do things different.
And I agree ...smaller bills would seem better. And hey ...its easier to hide a fiver from yourself every week than a 50 or 100 spot. I rarely even see 50's or 100's these days, what with auto pay check deposit and such.

Always a great strategy. I work for a credit union and we limited the cash withdrawals to $500 per account holder during the Rita evacuation. In an real emergency $500 will not last long.

I understand that the ATM's and credit card machines did not work in South Louisiana and Mississippi for some time after Katrina.

Also there was a short disruption during the first hours of 9/11.

Great minds must think alike. I use the same tactic, except I collect one denomination of coins until I've complete an entire roll. I hardly miss the change and it usually adds up to a roll per three or four weeks. I also have given up and afternoon Coke and candy bar. The upside is that I take the $1.50 or so and I eat less junk food in the process. Hopefully, I'll lose enough weight so that it will cancel out all of that extra change that I'm carrying.

I've decided to spread out some of the "reserves" so that it won't get lost in one event. I've placed about $25.00 in fives and ones, $25.00 gas gift card and a few $10.00 restaurant gift cards in my car for emergencies (I'm less tempted to raid the gift cards than the cash). Perhaps I should add a roll of quarters, dimes and nickels to the car.

This thread made me re-think my plan....while I do have money styashed in cash and coin ... I didn't really consider anything buy grabbing my little pkg of $$ with my other already packaged supplies and weapons and hittin' the door running.
Now I'm re-thinking the packaging and possibly splitting it up into 2 pkgs in separate safes.
Will have to look out for an appropriate wallet type item for wads of money. Might vacuum seal some too ...which will make it pack smaller.
Right now I'm using an old check box .... the little boxes blank checks come in. Maybe something small and zippered would work.

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.

On the other hand, how much should you store? At £1000 the interest is worth around £50 a year, which is getting expensive.

Good question Brangdon, I hadn't taken the "opportunity cost" of interest into account, nor had I taken inflation into account. How much is needed? Perhaps some folks who lived through the aftermath of Katrina can help us out? How much did they need, and for how long did they need it?

There are two scenarios: bug-out, and dig-in. If I bug-out, how much will it cost for me to reach safety? A WAG to get from DC to the back-woods of Michigan over 3 days would be $1,000 (250 gas, 600 lodging, 150 food/water). So, like any good engineer, I'm going to take my wild guess and double it to $2,000. I'll offset the opportunity-costs by using my emergency fund instead of out-of-network ATMs when I need cash.

As for the dug-in situation, my brother didn't really need all that much money when the power-grid went down. He just needed enough cash to pay for his bar tab, and to top off his pantry with food and water for the week. I think my bug-out estimate of $2,000 would have worked well for him.

How much did the folks who dug-in for Katrina and then had to rebuild need? That's the real question. MrDrysdale mentioned that his credit union limited people to $500 of their own cash, and that would not last long in an emergency. Assume we have access to that cash, would an extra $2,000 in bug-out money be sufficient to rebuild? What costs were there, and how long was the cash needed?

"...600 lodging..."

I'd skip those motels and camp/boondock along the way as much as possible...