# How much cash could you get to in 2 hours? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 12, 2013, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-could-you-get-to-in-2-hours/673712 "2013-11-12T10:37:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-could-you-get-to-in-2-hours/673712/1 "2013-11-12T10:37:44Z")
\*\*Please don’t fight the hypothetical: this is a question about how theoretically liquid people are, _not how much money you’re willing to trust your best friend with. Discussion of the latter question goes in the thread._ It’s Tuesday morning at 10 AM. You get a phone call from your closest friend in the world (or a family member if that’s needed for the scenario to work for you) – someone you trust implicitly. _“Hey, I’ve got a serious problem. I can’t tell you what it is, but it’s a matter of life and death. I need to borrow as much cash [literally cash] as you can possibly get your hands on. I’ll be at your house [or other agreed-upon meeting location] in two hours.”_ You trust this person completely and want to help him or her as much as possible. _“Ok. I’m pretty confident I can get you as much as…”_ ---
**Author:** ![ctnguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-could-you-get-to-in-2-hours/673712/2 "2013-11-12T11:55:58Z")
I voted “$500-$1,000” because could get to about $600 at most because of daily transaction limits on my various cards. If it was a time when bank branches are open, though, I could get considerably more by withdrawing it in person. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-could-you-get-to-in-2-hours/673712/3 "2013-11-12T12:18:15Z")
I went big. I would have to cash in some instruments at a cost, but it could be done I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-could-you-get-to-in-2-hours/673712/4 "2013-11-12T12:36:28Z")
I don’t have a local bank, and I honestly don’t know what my ATM withdrawal limits are. So, probably not that much, unless there’s some other way to withdraw cash that I am unaware of. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-could-you-get-to-in-2-hours/673712/5 "2013-11-12T12:42:22Z")
Never mind, I’m an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-could-you-get-to-in-2-hours/673712/6 "2013-11-12T12:56:49Z")
Closer to zero than five hundred. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-could-you-get-to-in-2-hours/673712/7 "2013-11-12T13:03:27Z")
> [@VarlosZ](#): > > It’s Tuesday morning at 10 AM. I don’t get it…what’s the problem? At 10:00 in the morning, can’t just about anybody go to his bank in person and withdraw as much as you have in any/all your accounts? I could probably bankrupt myself for this hypothetical emergency, if I wanted to. And even negotiate a second mortage on my house or something, too. ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-could-you-get-to-in-2-hours/673712/8 "2013-11-12T13:39:04Z")
We have a money market account with a little under USD 50,000 in it for emergencies so I could write a check on that. I hoping to get my [American Express Black card](http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-08-30/are-you-eligible-black-card-and-can-you-afford-one-find-out-infographic).😃 ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-could-you-get-to-in-2-hours/673712/9 "2013-11-12T13:49:02Z")
The 3-day settle rule for securities creates a bit of a delay, for sure. Whatever I have in cash accounts I could get, plus any credit card advances. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-could-you-get-to-in-2-hours/673712/10 "2013-11-12T14:17:15Z")
Okay, I put in the amount in my brick-and-mortar chequing account, more or less. I figure the online tax-free savings would take more than 2 hours to cash out, though not more than a couple days. ETA: Do cash advances on credit cards count? ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-could-you-get-to-in-2-hours/673712/11 "2013-11-12T14:45:35Z")
I could tap into an unused line of credit. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-could-you-get-to-in-2-hours/673712/12 "2013-11-12T15:18:12Z")
Given that it’s during banking hours and there’s no doubt that my friend is paying for all the scary finance charges that I’m incurring I said 50 - 100k. That’s time dependent - we’re closing on our new house in May so a lot of money is in a more liquid form at the moment that will disappear in a few months. I suspect in June next year the answer will be closer to “Here’s a quarter call someone who can actually help” ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-could-you-get-to-in-2-hours/673712/13 "2013-11-12T15:33:43Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > ETA: Do cash advances on credit cards count? Sure. Any method that will put actual currency into your hand within the allotted time is germane. This is life & death! We’ll deal with the ramifications later. > [@chappachula](#): > > … And even negotiate a second mortage on my house or something, too. Could you really do that fast enough to have cash-in-hand in two hours? As for me, I’m very liquid on a percentage basis, but I just don’t have a lot of, you know, money. I’m the one guy so far who’s voted for $4K-$6K, which is basically my poker bankroll. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-could-you-get-to-in-2-hours/673712/14 "2013-11-12T16:54:01Z")
At some point the bank can ask you to provide notice for any large cash withdrawal. Large cash withdrawal is fuzzy and is going to depend on the bank - and probably the branch, but I wouldn’t promise my friend that I could get more than $10k out of the bank within two hours, regardless of how much cash I had in my savings and checking accounts. Multiple withdrawls in one day can count. And the securities settling issue. So I don’t think anyone is going to have a lot of success getting more than $50k out of a bank in two hours, the red tape will stymie them. So after that, you need to have your cash under a mattress.