# Where Can One Keep Money If You Hate Banks
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-one-keep-money-if-you-hate-banks/628861
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [July 20, 2012, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-one-keep-money-if-you-hate-banks/628861 "2012-07-20T15:17:34Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@AndyLee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndyLee)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2012, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-one-keep-money-if-you-hate-banks/628861/1 "2012-07-20T15:17:34Z")
I am sick of banks. The bank I have now is good, but they just come out with this big poster in front that says “12 month CD 0.05% interest.” I wanted to laugh. You want me to tie my money up for that amount?
Even Mr Drysdale paid 5%
I don’t have much, but I hate the thought of letting the bank have my money to use 🙂
I looked online, and I read that it wasn’t illegal to store money in a safe deposit box, so long as you don’t store it there and don’t report it on your taxes. True or not?
A safe deposit box wouldn’t be insured if the bank burned down, but if I means they don’t get to use my $1,000 I’m for it 😃
Any place else you can think of to put money so it’s not in a bank. With my luck my mattress would get bed bugs who’d eat the money. And I don’t have a yard to bury it in.
Not that I’d do any of those things, but I just got to wondering…
Suggestions. Legal.
Thanks
---
### Author:  [@PacifistPorcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PacifistPorcupine)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-one-keep-money-if-you-hate-banks/628861/2 "2012-07-20T15:26:45Z")
Credit Union?
---
### Author:  [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2012, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-one-keep-money-if-you-hate-banks/628861/3 "2012-07-20T15:36:10Z")
The Japanese post office.
---
### Author:  [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-one-keep-money-if-you-hate-banks/628861/4 "2012-07-20T15:41:47Z")
Credit union. I get 0.25% interest on my free checking account- no minimum balance, no fees at all. A free Visa debit/secured credit card and free ATM access at any branch is included. Online banking is free.
The bad- penalty fees for stuff like bounced checks or overdrafts are higher than the banks, but I always figured people who can’t keep from writing bad checks or otherwise screwing up that bad shouldn’t have accounts anyway.
---
### Author:  [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-one-keep-money-if-you-hate-banks/628861/5 "2012-07-20T15:41:51Z")
Mattress?
---
### Author:  [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-one-keep-money-if-you-hate-banks/628861/6 "2012-07-20T15:43:01Z")
If you’re just holding onto your money, it’s not making any interest. How is that any different from not taking them up on the CD offer? It’s not like you’re required to “tie up” your money in that . . .
---
### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-one-keep-money-if-you-hate-banks/628861/7 "2012-07-20T15:43:35Z")
> [@AndyLee](#):
>
> I looked online, and I read that it wasn’t illegal to store money in a safe deposit box, so long as you don’t store it there and don’t report it on your taxes. True or not?
I think you’re only required to report on your tax return any income on your savings and investments, not any savings in a safe deposit box.
---
### Author:  [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2012, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-one-keep-money-if-you-hate-banks/628861/8 "2012-07-20T15:47:51Z")
In a brown bag in the fridge. So… in times of need… you’ll have a ready supply of…
Cold Cash!
😃
---
### Author:  [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2012, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-one-keep-money-if-you-hate-banks/628861/9 "2012-07-20T15:58:32Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#):
>
> In a brown bag in the fridge. So… in times of need… you’ll have a ready supply of…
And get it in coins. Then, it will be…
Cold hard cash! 🙂
---
### Author:  [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2012, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-one-keep-money-if-you-hate-banks/628861/10 "2012-07-20T16:01:51Z")
If there is an institution that holds onto your money for you, and keeps it safe, it is, to all intents and purposes, a bank, no matter what it is called.
---
### Author:  [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emtar_KronJonDerSohn)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2012, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-one-keep-money-if-you-hate-banks/628861/11 "2012-07-20T16:03:50Z")
Or gold coins, so you can have…
Cold hard gold coins… In your fridge… When… You need it…
Damn, I failed the shit out of that.
---
### Author:  [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2012, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-one-keep-money-if-you-hate-banks/628861/12 "2012-07-20T16:11:29Z")
> [@AndyLee](#):
>
> I looked online, and I read that it wasn’t illegal to store money in a safe deposit box,
Wouldn’t that still be keeping it in a bank? Those are the only places I know of that have safety deposit boxes.
---
### Author:  [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-one-keep-money-if-you-hate-banks/628861/13 "2012-07-20T16:13:08Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#):
>
> Wouldn’t that still be keeping it in a bank? Those are the only places I know of that have safety deposit boxes.
True, but the “benefit” of that in the OP’s eyes is that the bank does not have the money available to invest themselves.
---
### Author:  [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2012, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-one-keep-money-if-you-hate-banks/628861/14 "2012-07-20T16:21:14Z")
The safety deposit box has the added feature of a fee that you pay to the bank for the box. So, there is that benefit too.
---
### Author:  [@curious11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curious11)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2012, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-one-keep-money-if-you-hate-banks/628861/15 "2012-07-20T16:24:39Z")
Money market account of a stock trading account.
---
### Author:  [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-one-keep-money-if-you-hate-banks/628861/16 "2012-07-20T16:25:09Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#):
>
> The safety deposit box has the added feature of a fee that you pay to the bank for the box. So, there is that benefit too.
Good point - a pretty steep negative interest rate, depending on how much dough you stick in the box. That’ll show them! 😃
---
### Author:  [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2012, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-one-keep-money-if-you-hate-banks/628861/17 "2012-07-20T16:33:54Z")
You could have your money loaded onto a prepaid VISA card at a check-cashing store. The card will cost you $5-7 plus another $5 or so every month for “maintenance” or whatever. Pretty crappy deal if you ask me, but it’s not a bank.
---
### Author:  [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-one-keep-money-if-you-hate-banks/628861/18 "2012-07-20T16:34:13Z")
Send it to me; I’ll keep it safe for you! 😃
---
### Author:  [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2012, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-one-keep-money-if-you-hate-banks/628861/19 "2012-07-20T16:53:01Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#):
>
> The safety deposit box has the added feature of a fee that you pay to the bank for the box. So, there is that benefit too.
I was confused about that. The OP hates the banking system so much, he’d rather give them some of his money just so they can’t use some of his other money. Wouldn’t it make more [del]sense[/del]cents to keep the safety deposit box fee and let them use your deposited funds while you don’t need them? Not only would it cost less, it would be insured.
---
### Author:  [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2012, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-one-keep-money-if-you-hate-banks/628861/20 "2012-07-20T16:55:49Z")
> [@Moonlitherial](#):
>
> Mattress?
Didn’t you read the OP? He’s got a bad bed bug problem. Or crabs. Or something.
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-one-keep-money-if-you-hate-banks/628861.md?page=2)