Emergency cash

[paulawylma]

With the recent storms I found myself embarrassingly unprepared in stored cash. A while ago I started saving $20 bills but took my stash with me on vacation and used it in other ways. So Saturaday I had a check to cash and discovered that the local branch of my bank--located in a supermarket was closed due to lack of power. Fortunately I was able to use my card and Monday morning I will be able to cash the check.

So, I am going to start saving a cash reserve again. I don't have extra money but I am going to sock away a $20 a week for emergency cash.

Does anyone else have an emergency stash of cash? How did you manage to save it? Any tips are appreciated.

[UnknownChef86]

I've been trying, but unfortunately life keeps interrupting...just had to raid my "emergency/mad money" to make my car payment.

One of the things I've tried to do is not spend my change. I have two plastic 5 gallon carboys (think "empty water cooler jugs") that I drop my change into when i empty my pockets. Pennies go in one, nickels, quarters and dimes go in the other. No taking out of it unless it's a dire emergency...absolutely last resort stuff. It adds up pretty quickly.

You can get nicer, glass carboys where you'd buy homebrew supplies...but the plastic ones work. I got mine for free...even better.


Example of a glass carboy

[paulawylma]

Saving coins is a really smart move. I cringe whenever I see people leaving their change behind--unless I need it of course. FYI, some people apparently think that coins left in a penny bowl at a cash register is money that the employees get to keep. It is not. I asked about this at every place I shop at and none of it goes to the employees. If it is labelled or labelled as a penny bowl, then it is for customers. If the customers don't take the pennies,then it goes into the cash register.

I learned about saving change, even pennies, over 10 years ago. --it really adds up. I use my change to feed my ebook habit. Coin star machines will count for free if you opt for giftcards instead of cash. Before I brought my Kindle, I used my change for cash though. Thanks for the tip.

[UnknownChef86]

paulawylma wrote:
Saving coins is a really smart move. I cringe whenever I see people leaving their change behind--unless I need it of course. FYI, some people apparently think that coins left in a penny bowl at a cash register is money that the employees get to keep. It is not. I asked about this at every place I shop at and none of it goes to the employees. If it is labelled or labelled as a penny bowl, then it is for customers. If the customers don't take the pennies,then it goes into the cash register.

I learned about saving change, even pennies, over 10 years ago. --it really adds up. I use my change to feed my ebook habit. Coin star machines will count for free if you opt for giftcards instead of cash. Before I brought my Kindle, I used my change for cash though. Thanks for the tip.

Re the change (purposely) left behind at a register...at my job, we CANNOT keep it...it's considered tipping, and it's a job-termination offense. Nor can we put it in the register, as it would mess up the count at the end of the night. So if people leave their pennies (sometimes more), I just leave it on the register and dip into it if I see that someone is either scrounging for change, or look like they could use a hand, financially. What bugs me is when I get someone that glibly takes it off the register and adds it to their own cash...without asking or any sort of gratitude to the person that left it. When they have that "entitlement" attitude. Pffft. Jerk.

Sorry, I digress...

[Amberngriffinco]

paulawylma wrote:
With the recent storms I found myself embarrassingly unprepared in stored cash. A while ago I started saving $20 bills but took my stash with me on vacation and used it in other ways. So Saturaday I had a check to cash and discovered that the local branch of my bank--located in a supermarket was closed due to lack of power. Fortunately I was able to use my card and Monday morning I will be able to cash the check.

So, I am going to start saving a cash reserve again. I don't have extra money but I am going to sock away a $20 a week for emergency cash.

Does anyone else have an emergency stash of cash? How did you manage to save it? Any tips are appreciated.

yes.

i get my paychecks and cash them for $2 bills. or $100's. I am too cheap to break a hundred and I also collect $2 bills..

but, w/the economy, i have to really hide this frm my dh.

[Amberngriffinco]

ps what I use for my coins, and yes, we've had a rough row trying to save too!


I use one of my old Arizona Tea gallon jugs! DH drops his coins every night on t he stairs and take the pennies, and the silver and pop into the bottle. It's only an 1/8th filled probably, lol, but, when I cash my checks, I will pop in a few dollar bills now and then, and if I can a ten or twenty.

a

[jln's mom]

We also have an empty 5 gal. water bottle for change....we should save it but once a year cash it for vacation "extra " money.You'd be surprised how fast it adds up we usually get about $250-$300. DH usually drops quarters in. We live in CT and one of the girls I work with cashes in empty cans every week(from home,work, friends etc.) she saves the cash in a special box and uses that for gas money when she drives cross country every summer to see her family.Simple but you must be restrained enough to not spend it. Last year she had $420, can you believe it? I couldn't.I started returning my own bottles I used to give them to the cub scouts...sorry guys.I now put that money in our piggy bank. Our oldest son also pays us some room and board and I put at least $10 (but shoot for $20 ) away each time he pays. Emergency money is good , It's nice to know you have it if you need it!

[UnknownChef86]

jln's mom wrote:
We also have an empty 5 gal. water bottle for change....we should save it but once a year cash it for vacation "extra " money.You'd be surprised how fast it adds up we usually get about $250-$300. DH usually drops quarters in. We live in CT and one of the girls I work with cashes in empty cans every week(from home,work, friends etc.) she saves the cash in a special box and uses that for gas money when she drives cross country every summer to see her family.Simple but you must be restrained enough to not spend it. Last year she had $420, can you believe it? I couldn't.I started returning my own bottles I used to give them to the cub scouts...sorry guys.I now put that money in our piggy bank. Our oldest son also pays us some room and board and I put at least $10 (but shoot for $20 ) away each time he pays. Emergency money is good , It's nice to know you have it if you need it!

There have been times that loose change in my carboy saved my bacon!!!

[OH, let me try that!]

I've got ** in reserve, but that's how I roll...

You folks are wise to my little idea about change. I keep it in a cigar box, but the premise is the same. Awesome way to get small, emergency money.

Here's another little tip.

I recently got a checking account after (seriously) 10 years doing without. Why? Every time I turned around, I was being charged for something and I got sick of feeding the monster instead of myself. So I did without. Now recently, and you can find this in your area, I'm sure, you can get an account with no fees. I found one. Look around and find one for yourself in your area.

So, here's what I do. I get paid bi-monthly, so I deposit my check, do my thing for that check, and when it comes to putting the next check in the bank, I zero out my account and transfer it into savings. One week it may be 4 dollars, or another it may be 120 dollars. I always start fresh on the next paycheck and that saved money goes away in my head. I call it living paycheck to paycheck with a purpose. In the case of cash, as this thread is about, just know what that balance is before you deposit the check, and less that amount for cash when you do. Stick it in your safe, or sock, or wherever you keep it.

2 months in, I've got 120 in savings, and it SHOULD be 225 when my check comes next week. After the next paycheck, probably some 5-6 hundred after paying the bills required. I do most of it online and keep daily track that way. When you watch your budget like that, it's easy to see if you're going wrong or right. If I was building a cash cache, I'd definitely use this method. I already have one, so I guess I've done something right, eh? Heheheh.

[Mimi in Maine]

We have an "emergency cash stash". I have a metal strong box with a handle on it that I can grab in case of an emergency. My kids and grandkids (the older ones) know where it is just in case. I put extra cash in it from my husband's paycheck. We don't have a set amount but it sure adds up. I do it in a strange way and not a set amount every week. We pay our car insurance for four months and then have two months off and then it begins again, so when we have two months off, I put that amount into an envelope and into the cash box it goes.

We have a "Christmas Jar" that we put our coins into and we save all year. At the end of November, I cash the coins in and then that jar with all the cash we give to a random person around the first week in December. I got the idea from the book "The Christmas Jar" (excellent book if anyone wants good reading). This past Christmas we had a tad over $300.00 to give to some family without them knowing it. We have done this for the past several years. All this to say.....if needed in a dire emergency, that is another source of cash. I wouldn't want to use it but I would if we truly needed it. I haven't yet, but.....

If we get back anything on our income tax, some of it goes into the metal box for leaner days. I don't work outside the home, but have in the past taught art classes, draw designs for rubber stamps and sell the designs, etc. When I do, what I earn goes into the box. If we happen to have a yard sale, all or a portion of the money goes into the box. There are so many ways to save for an emergency. Our box, at the present, has a considerable amount that would come in handy in an emergency, and it hasn't burdened us throughout the year. We couldn't take a lot away from our monthly income to save, but doing it this way, it works for us.

If any of you use coupons at the grocery store and if you are organized (I am organized but don't do this, but have thought of it) could write down what you would save on a particular thing and when you get home from the store, drop the savings in a jar or envelope; it would really add up over the year. For many years I have had a Barnes & Noble Discount Card that you present at the register and get 20% off the order; I go home and put it in a jar. One year I saved almost $250.00. So that is good to put into the box. Sorry if this has been too long but I love ideas and thought it might give you some that would not be a debt-burden on your salary.

[OH, let me try that!]

Mimi in Maine wrote:
We have an "emergency cash stash". I have a metal strong box with a handle on it that I can grab in case of an emergency. My kids and grandkids (the older ones) know where it is just in case. I put extra cash in it from my husband's paycheck. We don't have a set amount but it sure adds up. I do it in a strange way and not a set amount every week. We pay our car insurance for four months and then have two months off and then it begins again, so when we have two months off, I put that amount into an envelope and into the cash box it goes.

We have a "Christmas Jar" that we put our coins into and we save all year. At the end of November, I cash the coins in and then that jar with all the cash we give to a random person around the first week in December. I got the idea from the book "The Christmas Jar" (excellent book if anyone wants good reading). This past Christmas we had a tad over $300.00 to give to some family without them knowing it. We have done this for the past several years. All this to say.....if needed in a dire emergency, that is another source of cash. I wouldn't want to use it but I would if we truly needed it. I haven't yet, but.....

If we get back anything on our income tax, some of it goes into the metal box for leaner days. I don't work outside the home, but have in the past taught art classes, draw designs for rubber stamps and sell the designs, etc. When I do, what I earn goes into the box. If we happen to have a yard sale, all or a portion of the money goes into the box. There are so many ways to save for an emergency. Our box, at the present, has a considerable amount that would come in handy in an emergency, and it hasn't burdened us throughout the year. We couldn't take a lot away from our monthly income to save, but doing it this way, it works for us.

If any of you use coupons at the grocery store and if you are organized (I am organized but don't do this, but have thought of it) could write down what you would save on a particular thing and when you get home from the store, drop the savings in a jar or envelope; it would really add up over the year. For many years I have had a Barnes & Noble Discount Card that you present at the register and get 20% off the order; I go home and put it in a jar. One year I saved almost $250.00. So that is good to put into the box. Sorry if this has been too long but I love ideas and thought it might give you some that would not be a debt-burden on your salary.

I loved reading your ideas, Mimi. I tell ya what. I'm REALLY thinking about becoming a couponer. It's only me here, so I'm only buying about $100-150 a month in food, depending. But I see sites where you can just rack up coupons, and I see things that I personally buy. Thing is, I don't have a printer. So, I have to get one of those first.That expense could be paid for with a month or three of really good coupon finding. I love it when things pay for themselves. After that, gravy. Say that 100-150 becomes 75-100. Cash money. 25 in savings a month is 300 a year. 50 is obviously 600. Not sure about anyone else, but I could use that dough. That's a month's rent.

[Mimi in Maine]

Thanks and hope it all works out for you. It is one way to save; a little at a time. It reminds me of the turtle and the hare.

[OH, let me try that!]

Mimi in Maine wrote:
Thanks and hope it all works out for you. It is one way to save; a little at a time. It reminds me of the turtle and the hare.

All those 'littles' add up. I've found that out. Don't hate on me for this, folks, but I'm a smoker. I was buying cartons until October of last year. Then, I started really looking at that expense, and did a little math and found that I could make my own for $10 a carton. So I bought an electric machine that makes cigs, which paid for itself the first month, and after that I'm saving over 200 a month. That's a tidy sum, and it's so cool to roll them myself. Every time I fire up the machine, I know that it's saving me money, and I smile. So I kick that money right into my savings. $2400 a year, just that one little change. So, I see that and I think, well, what else can I pare down and still get what I want into my savings? I'm looking seriously at my internet and cable. If need be, I can eliminate both expenses entirely and that's a big bill on my end. I don't want or need to, because I enjoy the entertainment they provide and don't spend money on any other. But if it came to it, That would be a gone bill with little off my back. I also love word/math puzzles and reading and they're far cheaper entertainment hobbies, heheh. I lose nothing there except coming to places like this.

Then I think what else? Well, I personally like to be unclothed at home. I know. TMI, probably, but that precludes a higher gas bill because I like to be comfy while doing so. But if need be, I can shave 8-10 degrees off my thermostat, and bundle up. This is another place I can cut into and save. So, there's another place where I could make a simple change and save.

Lights. I can change that as well. I like the heat, so AC is rarely used here. I do keep some lights perpetually on in my house, though. It's just me, and I like that at this time of year, my house looks lived in until I get home. I COULD stop this, or set some of these on timers, inexpensive, but haven't. Not on my radar yet, but could be.

Then coupons. Easy. I've already been using a grocery card, which saves on items picked by the store for the week or whatever. Got on the mail list for coupons from the store, so I use them when they come. Got myself added to their list sos I can add electronic coupons from their site to my store card. Buy it, and use the card and it's added. I figure if I get a printer, I'm golden. So many sites out there have coupons, it would just take a little time to get in the groove. I've watched some couponer's videos on You Tube, and they sometimes come home zero sum, or are paid for shopping with rebates. Now, this takes diligence, but heck... You work to pay yourself to be and do what you want. Just a little work on my part could have me saving even more of this money I work to earn, and that's never a bad thing. Then, I get to do more of what I want, or sock it onto savings, which is my main goal now. I want to buy a house.

I've talked myself into it, heheh. You too? I can't save on water. It is what it is, and that's all of my expenses, beyond rent. I'm debt free.

[paulawylma]

Couponing can help but don't expect to make the big hauls they show on tv. The stores have changed policies from people taking advantage. Most stores no longer allow stacking (using a manufacturer coupon and a store coupon). The store has smaller limits on the number of items per coupon. Most stores still double coupons but some Kroger stores have stopped doubling. A word of warning-- digital coupons on your loyalty card never doubles. To maximize your savings you want to combine sales with coupons-- most sales have a 3 month cycle and you want to have at least 6 weeks of newspper inserts for matching the sales. Most coupons are for processed foods which can be a problem if you have allergies. That said I've been couponing about a year now and I no longer pay for Dawn dish soap or toothpaste. you can always match a 50 cent coupon that doubles with a dollar sale. Some sites will match coupons with sales for you or have coupon databases so you can match what you need with a coupon location. The site I use is becentsable.net.

[paulawylma]

More on couponing. I forgot to mention that since extreme couponing has become popular some people think theft is OK and steals the inserts out of newspapers. It's best to buy papers in stores near cash register. I get mine either at Starbucks or Krogers. Walmart or a machine are the two worst places.

If you belong to swagbucks then you can print out web coupons and get swagbucks when you use them. BTW you can print two copies of coupons. Click the back button on the browser and then the reload button and you will get a second print.

These are the basics -- checkout becentsable.net or another site-- just do a web search.