Any recommendations for cash safe-keeping in the home?

FatherAbraham

Hello,

The recent Cypriot situation, where the banks were closed for two weeks, has made me think more about what "cash" means.

Often, we lazily say "cash" when we mean "bank deposits", because we're contrasting saving with investment. But see http://monevator.com/buffett-family/

However, it seems a good idea to keep some cash at home, as an insutance against liquidity problems. Especially since the interest-rate loss is not huge these days.

What I'm struggling with is the best way to store cash at home.

Probably it's a good idea to distribute the cash holding through various rooms in the house, so it takes time for intruders to discover it all.

Alternatively, a small domestic safe might be the answer -- does anyone have recommendations?

Thanks for any clues.
FA

MoneyMate

Just an idea

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Heinz-baked-beans-can-safe/dp/B000FO6MRQ :beer:

pqrdef

I once hid £500 and it took me years to find it. A burglar would probably have found it more easily.

Perelandra

I would imagine that unscrewing one of the electrical sockets from one of your walls, and placing the cash in the hole made there would be pretty safe. There's plenty of room in the ones in my house for this, even given the wires in there!

quotememiserable

MoneyMate wrote: »

Just an idea

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Heinz-baked-beans-can-safe/dp/B000FO6MRQ :beer:

I doubt there's a burgler in the land who doesn't know to check bean tins.

This is generally an issue - what you think is a good hiding place is where a burgler would know to look.

cepheus

FatherAbraham wrote: »

Hello,

The recent Cypriot situation, where the banks were closed for two weeks, has made me think more about what "cash" means.

Often, we lazily say "cash" when we mean "bank deposits", because we're contrasting saving with investment. But see http://monevator.com/buffett-family/

However, it seems a good idea to keep some cash at home, as an insutance against liquidity problems. Especially since the interest-rate loss is not huge these days.

What I'm struggling with is the best way to store cash at home.

Probably it's a good idea to distribute the cash holding through various rooms in the house, so it takes time for intruders to discover it all.

Alternatively, a small domestic safe might be the answer -- does anyone have recommendations?

Thanks for any clues.
FA

Someone once sawed the hinges of a cupboard searching for what I had hidden in a Tesco bag on the table. The safest place though is inside a cash dispenser because you don't have any liability for it.

I can't understand how you can have liquidity problems. Do you have any cash dispensers nearby? Get an account with a bank, building society, and credit union if you are really that paranoid. In practice most retailers accept debit cards directly anyway.

gkerr4

firstly, let me say that no-one in the UK should be keeping cash at home - especially not "because of the cyprus thing" - it's a daft idea and you'll easily become a cropper if you have a break in - or even just forget where you hide it!

then - i guess if you do need to hold 'cash', i'd probably consider holding it in gold coins - sovereigns / britannia - a britannia isn't much bigger than a £2 coin, but is worth around £1000 - the sovereign not much bigger than a £1 but worth £250 - much easier to hide

much easier to lose too of course!

a slight lull in the gold price at the moment to - might make a little in a recover case (although i think gold will be a little choppy in value over the next few months)

FatherAbraham

cepheus wrote: »

I can't understand how you can have liquidity problems. Do you have any cash dispensers nearby? Get an account with a bank, building society, and credit union if you are really that paranoid. In practice most retailers accept debit cards directly anyway.

Cyprus is full of cash dispensers. The banking system there shut down, and came close to not reopening again less than two months ago. While the banks were closed, retailers stopped accepting card payments. Their suppliers demanded cash payments, so the retailers needed to sell for cash only.

Many of us have gotten into a lazy way of thinking, where we expect the banking system to always be available, and cash to be available on demand. This may not always be the case.

Holding a thousand pounds as a cash reserve will cost a premium of perhaps fifteen pounds a year. That may prove to be a cheap price to pay for being able to buy food or petrol when the electronic-payments system has gone down indefinitely.

Warmest regards,
FA

grey_gym_sock

governments know that ppl like cash dispensers to work. our government can print money, because it has its own currency. unlike cyprus.

i'd keep enough cash to cover glitches in the banks' IT systems, but that's it.

FatherAbraham

MoneyMate wrote: »

Just an idea

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Heinz-baked-beans-can-safe/dp/B000FO6MRQ :beer:

Thanks, I'd forgotten that product existed.

Of course, a Heinz bean tin would stand out like a sore thumb in my cupboard, amongst the cheaper Aldi and Tesco-value products! ;-)

I'm beginning to think that one advantage of a real safe would be the protection against fire. We probably overestimate the risk of burglary, because it's more dramatic, whilst underestimating the risk of boring, mundane fire.

Warmest regards,
FA

gkerr4

FatherAbraham wrote: »

I'm beginning to think that one advantage of a real safe would be the protection against fire. We probably overestimate the risk of burglary, because it's more dramatic, whilst underestimating the risk of boring, mundane fire.

This is a very valid point and probably true - you have got me thinking too. I'd like to protect not just cash, but a backup drive of pictures etc - for both theft and faire protection.