Prepper Forum / Survivalist Forum banner

How much cash do you have on hand? You will need it!

12K views 81 replies 42 participants last post by  FLPrepper 
#1 ·
As part of our preps, we have elected to have a fairly large amount of cash in our home safe. The reason is simple.

If the grid goes down, or we are subject to an EMP, or massive CME, the ATM's won't work, the banks will be closed, and cash registers won't work.

Stores will immediately demand cash vs checks and credit cards, and nothing else. They will CONTINUE to accept cash for as long as the store owners believe that the power outage is only temporary. After than, all bets are off.

That gives those who have prepared, and have an ample stash of cash an opportunity to be able finalize buying the last few items that may be available for some time to come. Most people don't have more than a couple of hundred dollars at most in cash at home. They will not be able to buy much with that, and there is also the potential for greedy store owners to price gouge, further reducing buying power.

Having a large stash of cash may provide the opportunity to fill in those missing items, and add to their existing stockpiles for the last time. There is no guarantee that gold and silver will be accepted in the near term.

Realizing that many cannot afford to keep much cash at home, as a prepper, it is imperative that all attempts to squirrel away as much as can be possibly afforded may be critical when the SHTF. It needs to be spent in its entirety as quickly as possible after the grid goes down for any other reason than a thunderstorm, tornado, earthquake or hurricane. Virtually any other cause is going to be catastrophically long term.

My wife and I have already mapped out the stores we will immediately go to and fill our SUV with supplies in the event that any of the potentially long-term situations occurs. That is an important part of the prep as well.
The mapping should be from FAR to NEAR...meaning you go as far out as you are willing and work your way back to your home or bugout location, stopping at the stores you have identified as having the items you will likely need.

For us, that means starting at Home Depot and Lowes, followed by our local gun store, Walmart, Dollar Stores, and Publix...with a few smaller in between. The plan is to arrive home without a dollar in cash to our name.

Good luck with YOUR plans.
 
See less See more
#6 ·
No worries...as I said, it will be GONE immediately after SHTF!

Robbers, please take note of the signs on and around my house. The most important one is "There is nothing in this house worth dying for"!
 
#7 ·
A few weeks ago I would have argued with you and said..you should have supplies now and no cash....

However, I would now say that having some cash (as much as you can afford to have) handy for last minute items would be smart.... remember however that some place STOP accepting sales if their computers are down. smaller mom and pop places would be better
 
#9 ·
Agreed, but it can be amazing what showing a few small pictures of Benjamin Franklin can do to open doors....

That being said, there are a number of those "mom and pops" on our map as backups...as well as convenience stores owned by Indians and Pakistanis. Cash talks with them!
 
#10 ·
I keep cash on hand in my safe for various emergencies. Not a lot, not a little. I have always liked the idea of having cash on hand, even as a kid. You never know when you will need it.
 
#11 ·
I keep cash in my EDC just in case the "get home" scenario happens to play out.
We also keep a stash at home. Same reason.
The plan is to head to the closest grocery store with cash in hand.
No worries about electronic systems being offline. I just hope the cashier knows how to make change. :/
 
#15 · (Edited)
You would only have hours, maybe a day before the stores would be empty if it truly were and EMP, CME etc. Store generators would only run so long and only the big box ones would have them. You wouldn't be able to purchase gas, use an ATM, get the news etc. In this little town, we'd be SOL and it's 40 miles to the closest Walmart. I consider anyone who doesn't have at least a couple months worth of food, cash on hand, stored fuel, off grid sources to cook food and heat a room, alternate forms of travel and weapons for protection and hunting to be a complete idiot. Unfortunately, there are many complete idiots.

The Carrington event in 1859 was serious but not catastrophic only because the dependency on electricity was not as great as it is now. Who knows how many similar events happened prior to that.

May 2, 2014: Last month (April 8-11), scientists, government officials, emergency planners and others converged on Boulder, Colorado, for NOAA's Space Weather Workshop-an annual gathering to discuss the perils and probabilities of solar storms.

The current solar cycle is weaker than usual, so you might expect a correspondingly low-key meeting. On the contrary, the halls and meeting rooms were abuzz with excitement about an intense solar storm that narrowly missed Earth.

"If it had hit, we would still be picking up the pieces," says Daniel Baker of the University of Colorado, who presented a talk entitled The Major Solar Eruptive Event in July 2012: Defining Extreme Space Weather Scenarios.
Carrington-class CME Narrowly Misses Earth - NASA Science
There are many threats to life as we know it and the threats grow daily. The most unprepared, dependent on electricity and the luxuries it provides, would suffer the most and quickly. I can't say there is anything I would run out and purchase if such an event happened. Gasoline would be my number one priority because it's what I have the least of prep wise. I can run my chain saw to cut wood for fire and building, and run my well for water and run a generator occasionally if need be. But, since the gas pumps would no longer be running, I guess I'd just stay home and live life fairly normal with a few modifications.
 
#17 · (Edited)
You get so many contradictory opinions. One so called expert will say put all your money into goods and precious metals because cash will only be good to help start a fire with someday. Then another will say you better have enough cash to pay all your bills for at least a year. If you are a person on a budget it's enough to drive you crazy if you let it. On one hand you don't want to keep thousands of dollars laying around that might wind up becoming worthless when the SHTF, but on the other hand you don't want to spend everything you get your hands on and wind up not being able to pay your bills or not have any kind of nest egg to fall back on.

I guess the goal should be to try and find some middle ground you are comfortable with and just live with it. But it can still be maddening.
 
#18 ·
As part of our preps, we have elected to have a fairly large amount of cash in our home safe. The reason is simple.

If the grid goes down, or we are subject to an EMP, or massive CME, the ATM's won't work, the banks will be closed, and cash registers won't work.

Stores will immediately demand cash vs checks and credit cards, and nothing else. They will CONTINUE to accept cash for as long as the store owners believe that the power outage is only temporary. After than, all bets are off.

That gives those who have prepared, and have an ample stash of cash an opportunity to be able finalize buying the last few items that may be available for some time to come. Most people don't have more than a couple of hundred dollars at most in cash at home. They will not be able to buy much with that, and there is also the potential for greedy store owners to price gouge, further reducing buying power.

Having a large stash of cash may provide the opportunity to fill in those missing items, and add to their existing stockpiles for the last time. There is no guarantee that gold and silver will be accepted in the near term.

Realizing that many cannot afford to keep much cash at home, as a prepper, it is imperative that all attempts to squirrel away as much as can be possibly afforded may be critical when the SHTF. It needs to be spent in its entirety as quickly as possible after the grid goes down for any other reason than a thunderstorm, tornado, earthquake or hurricane. Virtually any other cause is going to be catastrophically long term.

My wife and I have already mapped out the stores we will immediately go to and fill our SUV with supplies in the event that any of the potentially long-term situations occurs. That is an important part of the prep as well.
The mapping should be from FAR to NEAR...meaning you go as far out as you are willing and work your way back to your home or bugout location, stopping at the stores you have identified as having the items you will likely need.

For us, that means starting at Home Depot and Lowes, followed by our local gun store, Walmart, Dollar Stores, and Publix...with a few smaller in between. The plan is to arrive home without a dollar in cash to our name.

Good luck with YOUR plans.
How much cash do you have and what is your address?
 
#22 ·
You want to know how much cash I have on hand ? You can find out when you pry my cold dead fingers from my gun . that's what I say if i hear a knock at my door .
 
#23 ·
Don't have as much as I should have (Bernie needs to give me a 15 dollar per hour raise to match his 15 dollar minimum wage), just add that to my list of deficiencies that I'm trying to remedy but I do keep some. OP your totally right on this one, some time last year I was out at Walmart getting a few things when low and behold a cable got cut and ATM's/Credit Cards/Debit Cards/EBT cards where no longer functioning and it was the first of the month. The checkout area was full of people fuming and complaining while store employees could do nothing, it was a true sight to see. I whipped out the 40 bucks I was carrying paid for my stuff and exited. Later I had a good laugh with my brothers and father about the situation and how glad I was that I had some cash on me. This was only a 4-5 hour problem that was corrected, imagine if the electronic currency system disappeared for a week, month, year?
 
#28 ·
the cash may not be just to purchase last minute goods... may need it for a bribe or really pay an outrageous inflated price for something you really need... grid down/ pumps out.. may have to pay $200 for the 5 gal tank of gas at the station.. but if you need it you need it!!
 
#29 ·
I have always kept as much cash "on hand" as possible. I do it because of short term emergencies, not the big ones. I have cash in all vehicles, go bags, in mason jars in the garden, in the mattress, and other hiding places. I don't think it will do much good in a long term crisis, but has come in handy many times in the small emergencies.
there are many times that power goes out for a short time, a card doesn't work like it should and so on. I think in the big one we might have a few hours to obtain things, but will it be worth the risk?
I would rather be able to count on what I already have and stay at home safely away from the crazies who can't use their EBT and debit cards.
 
#49 ·
I think in the big one we might have a few hours to obtain things, but will it be worth the risk?
I would rather be able to count on what I already have and stay at home safely away from the crazies who can't use their EBT and debit cards.
I agree with tirednurse... As soon as we realize we are in a SHTF situation we will make our way home and stay there for as long as possible. We do have some cash in our cars to help us get home should we encounter problems. In my mind trying to go out and get last minute items is not worth the risk. Having grown up with threats of hurricanes I am always amazed at the craziness that goes on when one is about to make landfall. Living in a snow area seeing bread and milk gone from the shelves is crazy. We keep this stuff stocked and stay away when we know that the stores will be packed with people who may be in panic mode.
 
#30 · (Edited)
I keep mine buried in an ammo can out on highway 19, Mile marker 31, near the big Elm tree. About a grand there and other places. Honestly I do keep only about a $1,000 around at any time mostly in case I run into a good deal on a gun or ammo, and to get fuel, a cab, or tow. As for SHTF, I don't have enough to buy anything that would last me longer than short term. The rest is in my head, and my long term prep knowledge,

Buy a man a fish, he'll eat for a day...Teach a man to buy a Zebco....well I got a Zebco.
 
#31 ·
Keep in mind, in this situation there will be thugs hanging outside of stores waiting for you to come out with your cart full of groceries (or whatever).

It may be a good idea to hit smaller stores (bakeries, convenience stores, etc). Another last minute prep idea could be multiple fast food drive thrus.

I'd like one whopper and 75 cheeseburgers and make it snappy! :D

Change for vending machines would also be a good idea...The vending machine doesn't know TSHTF.
 
#35 ·
Keep in mind, in this situation there will be thugs hanging outside of stores waiting for you to come out with your cart full of groceries (or whatever).

Change for vending machines would also be a good idea...The vending machine doesn't know TSHTF.
During the first 24-48 hours, nobody will be organized enough to be waiting for people outside stores. Unless mindless looting has started, the criminals won't want to draw attention yet. Even then, they won't be interested in your food. They'll go after the same stupid stuff they always go after. Shoes, TVs, etc...
Since most of us would be packing during our outings, this threat is even less of a concern. In a lawless society, good guys shoot first.

The vending machine point is spot on. Having $10 in a roll of quarters could prove invaluable.
If your bug-out plan involves highway travel, most rest stops have vending machines. Having a stash of coins in the car would be a good idea.
 
#33 ·
Good post

I keep enough money to pay my property taxes, as my property is paid for that is a big deal.

I have excess cash but it is only for a buffer between when the SHTF and when people only accept real money.

Unless you have property you are looking to save in a transitional government, saving cash is not really a good idea.

If you put up some silver and gold, bravo you are not only wealthy you have figured it out.
 
#34 ·
I would hope to have what I need before the lights go out. Wouldn't want to be anywhere near a store.
When people need stuff and the stores stop taking electro-pay, anarchy will break out and the looting begins.
Also, as we are at the bottom of the economic totem pole here, there usually isn't any cash laying around.
 
  • Like
Reactions: A Watchman
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top