everyone says take out cash i dont want to sit here with less than or more than i need - what would be the right amount? Im in south jersey
This is a hard thing for someone – who’s not you – to answer. Assume the storm is disruptive enough for there to be no power for several days so that ATMs don’t work and banks don’t open. How much money do you usually spend in that time period? If you really don’t have an idea, we can’t help. Consider 'tho, what will you spend it on – gasoline pumps don’t work without electricity, will supermarkets be open? Or convenience stores? Do you need chips and beer that desperately? Can you keep the cash you have secure?
I personally keep several hundred dollars in my hurricane kit. $50 in fives, $50 in ones, and the rest in 20s.
Not only do ATMs not work without power, but there may be stores that are open, but don’t have change because everyone is paying with $20s. Having exact change might mean you don’t pay $20 for something that’s only worth $5.
I should mention that having cash on hand turned out not to be an issue in Hurricane Wilma for me…but it’s an easy thing to do as part of preparation, so I still do it.
-D/a
Moved thread to IMHO. Also added “[cash in emergency kit]” to thread title so people would know what the thread’s about.
Our bug-out bag usually has about a thousand bucks stashed, in twenties and tens. That’s enough to handle most emergencies where you can’t get to an ATM or they won’t take credit cards. YMMV.
if you have to leave, you may want enough for a hotel room for 3-5 days. that would take you to silenus’ amount.
I have some cash in an emergency kit at home, but it’s mostly in $100 and $50 bills. Do you all think that $20 bills would be better? Some retailers refuse to accept anything larger than a twenty, but the hundred-dollar bills make for a smaller stack.
Absolutely. Those hundreds can be hard to spend sometimes, and I’ve actually had clerks eye $50 bills and ask if they were real money!
I have 1,000 in my go bag. I figure I can always put it back if I don’t need it. Better too much than too little in an emergency.
I came here to post my experiences in Hurricane Wilma. We had $500 in the emergency box, and I couldn’t have been happier to have it. For about a week after the hurricane, the local stores had no power, and therefore no debit cards, credit cards, and certainly and still no personal checks.
I think that we spent about $200 of that $500, but about $50 of that was me at the local tavern that opened during the day (again, no power, drinks kept on ice). Sure, we had prepared beforehand and would have survived without the cash, but I think that without the ability to get out and do a few minor things, I would have been forced to sit in the house and probably shoot the whole family. 