# How much money in a 'wad'? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 18, 2008, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-in-a-wad/473296 "2008-11-18T16:31:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-in-a-wad/473296/1 "2008-11-18T16:31:33Z")
(This is for my NaNoWriMo novel.) Situation: main character searches a man’s body and finds (and takes, naughty, naughty) a ‘wad’ of cash. Later on he counts it and finds it amounts to…what? Basically, the main character is going to be ‘impressed’ that this guy carried that kind of money just as his ordinary ‘walking around cash,’ rather than thinking something like “guy just robbed a bank” or thinking only some other ‘occupational’ reasons would account for having that much cash on him. So… How much money is in wad? ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-in-a-wad/473296/2 "2008-11-18T16:40:02Z")
Depends on the size of the bills, of course, but I would say $100-200. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-in-a-wad/473296/3 "2008-11-18T16:45:21Z")
I regularly carry $200 and imagine that’s comparatively low. Even conservative guys I know carry $600 or so. To be an impressive wad I think you’ve got to get up to $2300 or so. That’s way more than I’d ever carry but less than what someone could rob from a bank. ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-in-a-wad/473296/4 "2008-11-18T16:53:26Z")
**lieu**! I specifically came in here to see what hilarious one-liner you had for this thread. You’re slipping, dude. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-in-a-wad/473296/5 "2008-11-18T17:46:39Z")
> [@scout1222](#): > > **lieu**! I specifically came in here to see what hilarious one-liner you had for this thread. You’re slipping, dude. > > 😉 There’s no money in the wad. The money has been given to the hooker. So, $100 for that kind of wad, depending on her attributes. But, to agree with\*\* lieu\*\*, any less than that and the guy could have just cashed a paycheck. I’d probably say closer to $1000 for me to be impressed, though. The average amount of money I carry is less than $20; I just use my cards. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-in-a-wad/473296/6 "2008-11-18T18:02:26Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > I regularly carry $200 and imagine that’s comparatively low. Even conservative guys I know carry $600 or so. Holy crap I’m impressed with the guys who carry around $600, I can imagine why someone would do that. I define a wad as any amount that when you fold the stack in half its over an inch tall. So $100 in ones would be a wad but not really impressive. ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-in-a-wad/473296/7 "2008-11-18T18:07:10Z")
It’s the size of the wad, not the worth. A wad can be any amount really. Fifty $1 bills makes a nice wad. To be impressed with the wad though, I’d say it needs to have mostly $20s and a couple $100s. Count it out to be exactly $1637. That’s a nice figure. ---
**Author:** ![Scoobysnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Scoobysnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoobysnax)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-in-a-wad/473296/8 "2008-11-18T21:20:24Z")
I agree with Lieu and Hockey Monkey. I regularly carry $200 on me. So a “wad” would have to be north of $1,000. I think that it all depends on your frame of mind. For someone working minimum wage $200 might seem like a lot of walking around money. ---
**Author:** ![Omegaman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e480ec/32.png) [@Omegaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omegaman)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-in-a-wad/473296/9 "2008-11-18T21:38:58Z")
My uncle was a sky cap at McCarren airport in Vegas. I swear the wad he would carry would be like 7-8 hundred dollars. He would roll it up in sphere and after about a half inch it would get to the 5’s 10’s and 20’s. An impressive thing to behold it was. It would be about 4 inches in circumfrence. Uncle Bernie. My man. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-in-a-wad/473296/10 "2008-11-18T21:40:39Z")
A wad is generally defined as “somewhere south of a shitload”. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-in-a-wad/473296/11 "2008-11-18T22:35:17Z")
A wad is enough money for a mid-price hooker and some blow. I’d say about $1000. You could probably spend close to that amount on an alcoholic bender and some serious time in a champagne back room in a Vegas strip club. So yeah, I’d say a thousand bucks is a wad of cash. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-in-a-wad/473296/12 "2008-11-18T22:54:46Z")
> [@Hockey\_Monkey](#): > > It’s the size of the wad, not the worth. A wad can be any amount really. Fifty $1 bills makes a nice wad. To be impressed with the wad though, I’d say it needs to have mostly $20s and a couple $100s. Count it out to be exactly $1637. That’s a nice figure. My original thought was in the 1 to 2 thousand range, so I’m glad to have my instincts confirmed. And in honor of the SDMB, I will make it exactly $1637. Thanks to all who offered their opinions. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-in-a-wad/473296/13 "2008-11-18T23:40:04Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > My original thought was in the 1 to 2 thousand range, so I’m glad to have my instincts confirmed. > > And in honor of the SDMB, I will make it exactly $1637. > Thanks to all who offered their opinions. 🙂 Sweet! You are very welcome. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-in-a-wad/473296/14 "2008-11-19T00:54:23Z")
My dad, often, carries an honest-to-gosh wad of cash with him (which I think is stupid and dangerous, of course.) A wad of cash is indeed a few thousand dollars. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-in-a-wad/473296/15 "2008-11-19T01:39:58Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > A wad is generally defined as “somewhere south of a shitload”. When the kids were in high school, they performed an experiment to quantify a shitload. They went walking all over town, stopping at every fast food place. They’d order something that came with condiment packets. If they were asked how many packets they wanted, they answered “a shitload”. They kept notes. At the end of the day they totaled and averaged. They discovered that a shitload is six. I expect that the number would vary depending on the material being measured. Re the OP, I would have underestimated the size of a wad of cash. I try to carry less than $100. Mostly to keep from spending it. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-in-a-wad/473296/16 "2008-11-19T01:41:11Z")
I often walk around with $200 to $400 on me… and perhaps 5 times that when I am travelling. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-in-a-wad/473296/17 "2008-11-19T01:45:13Z")
I always imagined a “wad” as being defined by volume rather than value. To me, it’s between 20-100 bills. A “brick” is always a stack of 100 bills, still neatly pressed and wrapped from the bank. ---
**Author:** ![Crocodiles\_And\_Boulevards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee7513/32.png) [@Crocodiles\_And\_Boulevards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crocodiles_And_Boulevards)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-in-a-wad/473296/18 "2008-11-19T02:54:39Z")
In Korea, the largest denomination of cash bills is 10,000 won. That only amounts to about $10 US, so when I paid my rent in cash I’d have to stuff these humongous wads of bills into multiple pockets of my jacket. My left, right, and inside jacket pockets would be literally bulging with money. Makes you feel rich, but it was really only $1250! Oh, and to the OP, about $800 USD makes a good-size wad that doesn’t look too ridiculous at first glance. ---
**Author:** ![cwthree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@cwthree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cwthree)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-in-a-wad/473296/19 "2008-11-19T04:16:39Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > When the kids were in high school, they performed an experiment to quantify a shitload. They went walking all over town, stopping at every fast food place. They’d order something that came with condiment packets. If they were asked how many packets they wanted, they answered “a shitload”. > > They kept notes. At the end of the day they totaled and averaged. They discovered that a shitload is six. I expect that the number would vary depending on the material being measured. Reminds me of an exchange I witnessed at work a while back. Systems Admin: We’re low on backup tapes. We archive X number a month, and we keep the backups for Y months, plus the occasional ad-hoc backup before we re-image a server. Department Manager: So how many tapes do we need to order? IT Manager: [mumble]_A crapload_[/mumble] Department Manager: Exactly how many tapes are in a crapload, IT Manager? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-in-a-wad/473296/20 "2008-11-19T06:37:46Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Re the OP, I would have underestimated the size of a wad of cash. I try to carry less than $100. Mostly to keep from spending it. Me, too. I almost never have any cash on me. $100 at the very most. Everything else goes through my debit card or ATM if I absolutely need cash. I would have put a wad at around $300-$500.