[BigTex]

How about using a Treasury money market account?

[Loki]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Heineken', 'I')'m sure you can think of better safer hiding places than a gun safe, Loki.

Trusting banks is a hard habit to break, I'll admit. They offer convenience. The issue is how safe they are. They are demonstrably getting less safe.

[mos6507]

Remember that unless you convert to a foreign currency or some stable commodity, you're going to be stuck with american dollars. I'm not sure how much american dollars will be worth if this crisis reaches the point where all the banks get wiped out and FDIC can't insure you. On the flipside, if it never gets that bad, and you keep a significant amount of money out of the bank for an extended period of time, the buying power of those dollars will gradually depreciate due to inflation. For instance, when I set up my high interest savings account to hold the money I'm saving up for the doomstead, I thought the interest I'd earn would be pitiful since interest rates are so low. But right now I'm earning something like $150 a month on it. Compound interest is a wonderful thing when you are on the receiving end but it doesn't really start rolling until you have a larger balance.

[EnergyUnlimited]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mos6507', 'R')emember that unless you convert to a foreign currency or some stable commodity, you're going to be stuck with american dollars. I'm not sure how much american dollars will be worth if this crisis reaches the point where all the banks get wiped out and FDIC can't insure you. On the flipside, if it never gets that bad, and you keep a significant amount of money out of the bank for an extended period of time, the buying power of those dollars will gradually depreciate due to inflation. For instance, when I set up my high interest savings account to hold the money I'm saving up for the doomstead, I thought the interest I'd earn would be pitiful since interest rates are so low. But right now I'm earning something like $150 a month on it. Compound interest is a wonderful thing when you are on the receiving end but it doesn't really start rolling until you have a larger balance.

[jbrovont]

Yeah it's actually a very simple decision. If you think they're going to inflate, and split your dollars to issue you new ones to make sure your savings holds it's buying power - leave it in the bank.

Key question: do you really think that they will make sure your dollar holds it's buying power while they inflate? IMO, not likely. They would have to just deposit a bunch of money in your account every time they print. Highly unlikely.

On the other hand, if you think your cash is safer and better managed in your safe or under your mattress, take it out and keep it secret; keep it safe.

Interest rates on accounts are a joke. If you made money over real inflation, it might be different, but then again the bank probably wouldn't do it.

[ReverseEngineer]

You think Euros will hold up better than the Dollar.? OK, so convert say $10K of your savings to Euros tomorrow. Now, who in Indianapolis is gonna accept your Euro to buy a Twinkie?

Diversify! Buy some Yen, buy some Gold Certificates! Whatever you buy, it won't buy a Twinkie.

Reverse Engineer

[spear]

Someone once said,"whatever money you have is that which is in your pockets."

I cant see not having access to my money in time of emergency.
I cant see myself waiting in line for two years for govt guarantees.
Greek govt. Youve got to be shitting me.lol.

I dont have much left because I started that project in central Greece,but I feel better now that its in my hand.

[Roy]

I think its good to have some cash on hand. My bank accounts consist of enough to pay my bills for a month. If my bank goes under I don't lose everything.

RE FDIC... how long does it take for them to get you your money? If its just one bank at a time then I suppose it would be pretty quick. But if more banks fail than their $52 billion can cover, it may take a while. That time is a luxury many folks may not be able to afford.

Since I earned it, I figure its my money and that I should have access to it when I want/need it.

Ergo...

I think its good to not have all of one's eggs in any one basket.

I don't believe that if EVERY member of PO.com took their money out of the banks that it would have any noticeable effect. So I think Heineken's post is on point.

We are such a small minority of Americans.

Nothing wrong with having some money in PMs, brass/lead, food, land, tools, and anything else one thinks that might be useful in a 'different' economic situation that what we are used to or the types of situations that have been envisioned and discussed on this board.

Bad things can and do happen. We have been incredibly fortunate, particularly those of us under 50, in having lived during a time of great prosperity. That doesn't mean things can't change, and suddenly at that.

My 2 ¢

[kpeavey]

The ATM at my bank is unable to dispense cash at the moment and is sorry for the inconvenience. I've had my arse covered for some time now, so it won't cause hardship. However, with the situation in the world being what it is, I prefer to have my money in a more tangible form. I'll head on down when it opens today, write a goddam check.

[vision-master]

I'm using all my cash right now for home maintenance projects before inflation wipes me out.

[bl00k]

So i'm guessing you are all saying government guarantees don't mean sh*t?

Being a student myself i don't have much money, i'm talking less than $1K. I almost never use cash money to buy or pay for anything. Debit card is way easier. I'll always have some cash at hand but i don't see the advantage of getting everything out, at this moment.

[frankthetank]

Just a question...


But do you guys ever see any of the old "hundos"? I haven't seen one in ages.

I want a $500 bill. Those things are cool. I think back in the 80's my brother had one. I'd buy lubes, dirty magazines and hookers if i had one now

My ATM told me that once, about 2 months ago. Had no money to give me. It was the ATM right in front of the main branch of a local bank... It pissed me off, cause i really needed cash (for groceries).

[Lumpy]

Here is my plan (I am speaking for myself, not my husband ... for those of you that know who he is. He agrees with most of it, but if he decides to post in support that's up to him.)

TODAY and TOMORROW
1. Add to our one year store of food, with more staples ... rice, beans, etc.
2. Spend time in town and/or online stocking up on basics -- toilet paper (one of my first threads here was about toilet paper!), extra rubber boots, wheat grinder, replacement wheel barrow, more socks, hose repair parts, more tarps, back up grow lights for the green house, motor oil to do our own oil changes, a year's worth of dog food for our big watch dog & our working shepherd, etc, etc, etc
3. Put all of our purchases on credit cards -- and we are talking several thousand dollars, here.
4. Anything we haven't thought of today or tomorrow but that falls under the same heading as above (non-luxury - but good to have (toilet paper), and some of it MANDATORY to have (food)), I want to continue to buy on plastic for as long it is possible to do that. And as SOON as possible. This is like a mission in my mind. Total stock up ... sweatshirts from the army/navy store, etc.

Since I am self-employed, I have to pay the IRS (which I do in a foot-dragging sort of way.)
Other than that, I have to make sure
1. We can pay for our necessary medications
2. The mortgage gets paid so we can keep our 7 acre farm. (Fortunately -- with property values going down, & the fact that we didn't put a lot into our down payment three years ago, so that we could use the money to work on the farm instead -- we don't have much equity. That means the farm is nothing for anyone to go after in terms of it being a big LIQUID asset.)

The only fuel we need is for me to get to my rural offices, and at present that is paid for by the state as a part of my contract. Whatever we MIGHT need from town, I can pick up while I am in one of those little towns.

If worse comes to worse funding wise, and I can't practice psychiatry any more, I can still practice some kind of medicine -- and still make enough for us to pay the IRS & the mortgage & buy our meds, I believe. If we have to go bankrupt on the plastic at that point, so be it. I don't want that, but I'll do it if I have to.

In the meantime - bank-wise - we have been keeping a little stash of cash on hand. But my paychecks are auto deposited to the bank, and our bills are auto paid from there.

I can't decide whether or not to stop this practice (auto deposit of paychecks to a major bank - one of those that if IT goes bust, we can kiss our behinds good-bye.) If things are bad enough that IT goes away, and I tried to cash a "real" pay check, where would I cash it? So I think the best idea is to continue as is ... but take a little more out of the bank for cash on hand as is possible in the coming weeks.

So you see, what I am HOPING/PLANNING FOR is that I will be able to make good on paying for all the hard goods we are buying on plastic right now. But what I am PREPARING FOR is a scenario of having to cut to the barest bones in terms of expenditures in the future.

Lumpy

[Gerben]

If you want to keep money home, then at least try to keep some coins. Coins have at least some intrinsic value, so they won't lose all their value. There have been cases where nations got a new paper currency, but kept all their coins. Spend paper, save the change.

[pedalling_faster]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Heineken', 'T')his is the real thing, friends. I'm convinced.

[Pops]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('thuja', 'P')ops you are crazy. Go ahead and believe what you want but I have personally taken all my money out of the bank and have it hidden in the basement.

[Narz]

Hmm, doesn't sound like the best advice. Keep in mind people have been suggesting this for many years now (probably many decades).

Timing is everything & if I've learned anything on this forum it's that mot of you have a poor sense of it (no offense). In the short term anyway.

[ReverseEngineer]

I'm working on a scary theory at the moment. This one is that Cash is Useless, only Digital Money will work.

Here is the thinking behind this. Cash purchases cannot be tracked, digital ones can. So in a situation where you are trying to prevent hoarding, stores will only accept Debit Cards, and in this way the Gooberment can track exactly how much you bought and who has it.

With this new thinking in mind, I am balancing out a little more into the Checking account, to make sure I have some Digital Wealth on the screen when the Paper Dollars are declared Illegal as Tender.

Reverse Engineer

[dunewalker]

Good luck with that theory, RE. I don't think there's enough residual organizational ability in the US government to pull it off.
Today I finished cleaning out most of my money from the bank, which was in a checking account. Just left enough to hold it open and to pay the next round of bills if they show up: cell phone & internet. I no longer intend to let any bank have possession of any crumbs of wealth that might fall my way, other than the bare minimum needed to pay bills by mail. No more credit card purchases--if I don't own it already, it's not needed. My bank is located some 40 miles away, so I decided to attempt to cash a largish check at the little local grocery store to empty out the account. With trepidation and my token little basket of groceries on the counter, I asked the clerk if she could cash a check of "X" amount over purchase. "No problem she replied, how do you want that--would large bills be ok?" Never asked for my ID or anything, just counted it out. Wish my bank was that accommodating & friendly. Whether there's an imminent bank "holiday" or not, it's a matter of principle here. The trust has been broken. To hell with the banking industry.

[BigTex]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('frankthetank', 'J')ust a question...


But do you guys ever see any of the old "hundos"? I haven't seen one in ages.

I want a $500 bill. Those things are cool. I think back in the 80's my brother had one. I'd buy lubes, dirty magazines and hookers if i had one now

My ATM told me that once, about 2 months ago. Had no money to give me. It was the ATM right in front of the main branch of a local bank... It pissed me off, cause i really needed cash (for groceries).