The following article was originally published by Daisy Luther at The Organic Prepper.
Daisy is the author of The Organic Canner and The Pantry Primer: How To Build A One Year Food Supply In Three Months.
Should You Trust Your Bank? 43% of Americans Don’t. Here’s Why.
By Daisy Luther
If you read between the lines on a recent report from American Express, it looks like more Americans are veering away from the traditional bank savings accounts:
A majority consumers say they’ll keep their savings at a local bank (57% vs. 55% in 2014) but more than half of those who keep their savings in cash plan to hide bills in a secret location at home (53%).
This means that 43% of the people who are saving money are not putting it in the bank. This is good news for those of us who wish people would wake up and see the net being cast around them, but bad news for the banks that depend on deposit accounts to be able to give out loans and earn interest.
Most folks have been trained to keep their savings in the bank. It’s just the way things have been for over 100 years. But there are a lot of reasons why that is no longer a good idea. For one, deposit accounts are no longer legally protected. As well, the Federal Reserve passed a policy that in the event of an economic crisis (think “bank run) that accounts can be frozen to preserve the liquidity of the banks.
In an recent interview, alternative asset manager Eric Sprott explains why stashing fiat currency in a bank is a bad idea:
In my mind the biggest reason to own precious metals is because of the risks in the banking system… you get nothing for putting your money in the bank… and yet when you have your money in the bank you take on all the risks of a leveraged bank… and I’ve always thought it’s the risks in the banking system that would cause people to go to gold…
And now you have another level of concern out there and that is, of course, the currency risk. We’ve seen so many currencies that have been incredibly weak… (Source: SHTFplan)
Of course, the government has several reasons they’d like everyone to stash their money in a bank account:
1.) Ease of confiscation
We need only to look at the horrible situation a couple of years ago in Cyprus to see how bank accounts are like all-you-can-steal-buffets for the powers that be. A suggested theft TAX of up to 20% of the money in Cypriot bank accounts may be levied in order for the country to meet its staggering debts in the terms of the proposed EU bailout. The banks of Cyprus were loaded with the money of residents and businesses of other countries that have used them as a tax haven. The banks were closed for several days and frantic customers were left to withdraw the maximum daily balances from ATM machines in an attempt to salvage what they could.
Think it can’t happen here? I wonder if the people of Iceland, Greece, Ireland, Hungary, Argentina, Spain, and Portugal thought that too.
2.) Surveillance
The second reason that “everyone should have access to banking services” is the digital trail that it leaves. Every dime you receive and spend out of these accounts is part of an intricate system of surveillance. When your money goes into a bank – any bank – Big Brother knows about it. It’s a simple matter of compiling information via your social security number (or other federally- assigned number) to find out how much you make, how much you have, and where it comes from. This can be used to prosecute you for tax purposes, to locate you through where your pay comes from, and to follow your personal money trail for a variety of different reasons.
It can also be used to track your spending – Big Brother can find out that you spent $2000 at a gun store, that you purchased online from a prepper supply website, or that you bought some books with “questionable” content in order to paint you as a threat.
3.) Revenue Generation
In 2013, US banks generated a stunning $31.9 billion in overdraft fees. That’s right. They took billions of dollars from people who were clearly financially struggling or they wouldn’t have bounced payments in the first place. This number doesn’t even touch upon the fees you pay to stand in line and use a human teller instead of an ATM, the fees you pay for the privilege of having the bank hold on to your money, or the fees you pay per transaction in many accounts.
If you don’t use a bank, where should you stash your cash?
For most of us, banking is a necessary evil. Our paychecks are directly deposited. We pay our bills online. Our mortgage payments are automatically debited. My recommendation is not to leave in any more money than is required to meet these expenses. I personally withdraw everything beyond the bills coming out between pay periods.
For the reasons mentioned above, safety deposit boxes are also not a place you want to keep your savings. If the banks doors are locked, your precious metals and cash are locked in too, and you will have no access until the bank reopens. In the event of a disaster, that might be a very long time, if ever.
This doesn’t mean to stuff your mattress with bills or to put the money in an assortment of shoeboxes under the bed. Consider investing in one or more fireproof safes
You can also invest in tangible goods like food, firearms, preparedness supplies,property investments, and precious metals. Gold and silver retain their value far better than the dollar, and the metals are easily liquidated if an emergency arises and it becomes necessary to change them to fiat currency. This being said, metals are harder to spend, and it takes a little bit of effort to cash them in, so it can help deter you from spending unwisely if you tend to have difficulty saving money.
Remember: If you don’t hold it, you don’t own it.
Please feel free to share any information from this article in part or in full, giving credit to the author and including a link to The Organic Prepper and the following bio.
Daisy Luther is the author of The Pantry Primer: How to Build a One Year Food Supply in Three Months. Her website, The Organic Prepper, offers information on healthy prepping, including premium nutritional choices, general wellness and non-tech solutions. You can follow Daisy on Facebook and Twitter, and you can email her at [email protected]
More From Daisy Luther:
30 Signs That You’re One of Those “Crazy Preppers”
45 MORE Signs That You Might Be One of Those Crazy Preppers
“Grid Jihad”: What If You Had a Week to Prep for the End of the World?
Somewhere to put my cash,,,,
How about into an envelope and sent off to pay bills, whatevers left easily fits in my pocket,,,
Livin on the edge baby!
I knew an older lady that wore her cash around her
waist in a canvas money belt.
If anyone would have reached for it, they would have
pulled back a bloody stump.
I have a money belt but it will only hold 800. might have to get a few more.
I need a money collar for my intimidating German Shepherd.
The File on Purim
http://mauricepinay.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-file-on-purim.html
Accurate Shooter’s guide to gun safes:
http://www.accurateshooter.com/technical-articles/gun-safe-buyers-guide/
That’s where I keep my spare house key . I have five German Shepherds, so you may get one, but not all five; besides their just a distraction from the real threat.
Keep your head on a swivel people.
I have three German Shepherds. Great dogs! I have for the same reasons as you.
German Shepherd; everything else is just a dog.
When I’m asked if I have a dog I always say, “No I have German Shepherds”.
I use to have an Australian Cattle Dog.That was an incredible dog.
Hey, love German shepherds, had a beautiful one myself… Great girl!
Pure bred, papers, etc.
I think she got Lyme disease before it was diagnosed and died of it. Anyway…
Adopted a “mutt” from an adoption website and she is the best dog ever!
We think she is a mix of a golden and a beagle, making her a golden eagle
Had a great lab too
This mutt is better than both pure breeds
Just got lucky and maybe picked right
Any dog is cool if worked with, loved, and nurtured, and fed right especially
I have an aussie and a border collie, they do my taxes and invest my money for me. good puppies
Safes cost money! I have little of that as it is. Gold, unless I mine it myself, costs me to buy and to sell. I think I will just stick with the old coffee can buried, unbeknownst to him, in my neighbors back yard. lol
BigB
Latest news, BATF has backed off and won’t ban M588 green tip. It seems they got to much flack from the American people. But just like 22LR it will probably be a long time in coming back down in price to where it was before. Trekker Out.
I think M855 is overrated cause it’s military ammo and a mild steel penetrator. It’s cheaper to stockpile and practice with like M193 but there are better 5.56 like the Black Hills MK262 Mod 1, Hornady TAP, Hornady Superformance MBTHP and all can do 1 or sub-MOA. Not that I would like to get hit with a M855 and no doubt it’s attempted backdoor gun control, the WH practically admitted this from Josh Earnest’s “common sense” statement. No one can find any instance of a cop killed by it, and what’s to stop them from banning other rifle ammo if they got away with it? Any rifles bullet above .22 can penetrate soft body armor, all 5.56 can go through them. Criminals generally don’t use rifles or high dollar guns anyway, but not so according to the antis. First they got 5.45 7N6, I’m glad this time people aren’t putting up with it but this won’t be the last assault on the 2A.
I actually was in a store this past week and they have about 8 900 rd. cans of 855 for $449.00 a can. That’s just about $.50 a round.
Went to a gun show the previous week and some guy there was selling the exact same stuff for $900.00
I was really surprised that they had it, but even more surprised that they weren’t gouging on the price.
Actually, this particular store did not gouge on .22LR ammo either. They just limited to 2 boxes per customer.
I don’t think it will take long for the price to come back down.
22lr IS coming back, but….will it all come crashing down around U.S. before it’s readily available without limits? and at a reasonable price?
I Know of a Website that holds back on the release of certain “headlines” ’till the numbers on current items up for debate have reached a “that will do” outcome!… TOTAL BALDERDASH.
Lol, I was thinking along same lines. Where to stash my cash? LMAO, what cash?
Thats how i feel lately
“For one, deposit accounts are no longer legally protected.”
Not true, Daisy and the reference you make is to BROKERAGE accounts which were NOT FDIC insured. Those monies are a whole new breed of account.
Moreover the depositors in those brokerage accounts alluded to had authorized the re-hypothecation of their funds for the “privilege” of having Jon Corzine manage their money. (Go figure). These were primarily money managers and hedge fund managers looking to leverage their accounts 40 TIMES.
Savings and checking accounts are insured by the FDIC up to $250k per account. Yes the funds in the FDIC are not adequate to cover ALL deposits; and they need not be.
The FED can create money out of thin air to REPLACE any dollars lost by an insolvent bank. Dollars are destroyed and created all of the time. That is the way the system works.
Right now, there is a SHORTAGE of dollars available for global commerce.
For the record, I suggested a few weeks ago that preppers should keep some of their dollars out of the banks and at home, here, a couple weeks ago. 🙂
Durango,even if insured believe the fdic has up to 10 years to covers your losses,big help there.Face it,the msm banks cannot be trusted.Hope all doing well here,the job working in Cali. having a lot of issues,even with the snow hope to be going home in a few weeks.Take care all and enjoy the day while trying to ready yourselves,the information about the country does not seem to be getting any better.
WD: I have never heard of the “the ten year” timeline you mentioned, so I can’t address that issue.
I cannot imagine a scenario other than nuclear war, emp, or the eruption of Yellowstone where the banks would not want to resolve and restore the “full faith and credit” in the US banking system at the earliest possible date.
That confidence is the linchpin of their wealth.
Particularly when they have the power to print the dollars they would need to replace your dollars lost by an insolvent member institution.
How much time would that take?
Say what you want, but Ponzi is rolling over in his grave jealous and filled with envy at the thought of the FED’s ability to print money whenever an investor wants out of their scheme.
Its the perfect Ponzi scheme. 🙂
I’m smart I invested it all in Pizza Coupons. Great Prepper item and useful
Great article Daisy. I’d tell you how I hide my valuables, but then I’d have to kill ya… 🙂
I use a Sentry brand safe with the combination spin-dial lock for storing cash, valuables, important documents, etc. I keep my rifles and shotguns in a long gun safe. My handguns are stored in handgun safes. Memorize the combinations of your safes. Keep the written copies of your safe combinations in a safe place that NOBODY else knows about and NEVER give out any safe combination to ANYONE, PERIOD!
Hey, everyone, I just changed my browser from IE to Firefox and I can post comments under braveheart again. Maverick is Braveheart again! WOOHOO!
Hey Braveheart, glad to see you back under your old name. Braveheart just seems to fit you better.
Hmmm….,Brave,change your search engine and change names,dual personality disorder?!Firefox is a improvement over ie any day of the week.Now,get your self a cheap/used laptop,change out harddrive and other memory and make the switch to Linux,open source OS.Anyhow,good to see some regulars returning!
Let’s see, a stack of $1 bills, where could the most enjoyment be had with those?…
Support working single moms one lap dance at a time!
Checkout the kids aisle at Walmart. They stock a good selection of coloring books and crayons that should keep you entertained for hours.
Depends,,
Are you in a strip club or is there a pile of blow in front of your face,,,,
Tip: I’ve been using a water bladder instead of a canteen to save weight in my pack.
A bladder from what specific creature may I be so bold to ask?
Living large brother.
Keep your head on a swivel people.
Living large,,,
Like a geenie in a bottle!
Heads swivelling,
Am in awe of how many people chose to think everything is ok and that we need to just go along to get along,,,
People real close to me as well,
Those are the most disconcerting,
Think ill be piling everything on the jeep and bugging when things go south, leave them to enjoy their choices rather than be drug down by them
“Boys!! There’s another one travellin alone. Easy pickins”
good luck with that
he wont be alone.. and anyone who fucks with him will lose 99 of their closest friends and family including the schmuck that thought he was an easy target
You key a good “phrase” In the defence of your buddy EotS which is nobble but reality has a habit of being B-R-U-T-A-L 100% all of the time…you’d do well to lose the sentiment fella.
why would anyone keep more than a few months worth of expenses in cash if they honestly were afraid of wealth confiscation, a market crash, or the death of the petrodollar..?? That’s a lot of expensive toilet paper if the shtf.
Ditch the bank notes in favor of hard goods.
TL 30 x 6. Problem solved.
there ain’t no preppin’ for this
Arctic Methane Emergency: Economy vs. Ecology
http://youtu.be/ATIm8Ov1Fks
Not to mention a string of massive methane vents on either side of the Baja. 🙁
So it’s not just cow farts that’s destroying the ozone?
I didn’t know they could fart under water…
Sounds more like farts from the trolls.
Its the emissions from DC
It’s a good thing I probably won’t be around when those things finally go off ! 🙂
1- Stash in cash 3-6 months of living expenses. Preferably off-site. That is for our upcoming National Bank Holiday and the “Haircut” similar to the one Greece got last year.
2- Convert all excess cash into purchasing Silver coinage from the U.S. Mint and/or the Royal Canadian Mint and do it soon. Silver always exceeds fiat [paper] currency’s so-called value.
3- Store [hide] your Silver coinage off-site as well. You will need it to barter for goods in the post-fiat economy when paper currency is too dirty to wipe your butt.
As always, make sure you have plenty of non-perishable food, water, flashlights, batteries, and four seasons’ worth of extra clothing.
-the Lone Ranger
Lone Ranger has it exactly.
Keep enough at home for some period of expenses. Convert the rest into something (ANYTHING) that will keep pace with inflation, and ideally, that you could turn back to cash if needed.
Right now, what banks are paying simply doesn’t justify the risk of keeping it there….the inflation risk, the risk of ‘bank holiday’, and so on. We should be getting junk bond rate of return for the amount of true risk we are taking for passbook savings.
My plan, except my storage is on-site (1/4 acre in mountains). I hope those ground squirrels whose hole I invaded don’t carry off my stash jars. I know someone who stashed cash behind a cable plate on the wall. When he opened it, rats had eaten half.
That reminds me of the time I let a “main squeeze” of mine, move in for a while back in the early 80’s.
She was a great lay and quite easy on the eyes, especially with those 44 double d’s. I never really did quite trust her though because she had a tendency to drink a few too many cold ones, and then do stupid shit.
It was before I got a gun safe, and I didn’t really have a good place to hide my COH (cash on hand). I just put it in a quart plastic container with a snap on lid, inside of a zip lock baggie, and dug a small hole at the edge of the woods and buried it. Not a huge amount, but about $1000.00.
After about a couple months she pulled some really stupid shit with an ex boyfriend, so I told her it was time to leave. After a couple weeks, I decided to go get my cash from the little hidey hole.
When I arrived, the 10 lb. rock on top of the hole was moved, the dirt dug up, and the lid popped off my container and half full of water from rain. The baggie with the cash was not in there. My heart dropped like a sinking stone in a pond. I just plopped down right there and cussed myself, cussed her, and cussed everyone I could think of, that had ever backstabbed me.
After about five minutes, I was starting to get up and about twelve feet away, something caught my eye. It was a plastic baggie in the leaves. I thought to myself, the bastard that stole my $$, just threw the baggie down.
As I went to pick it up, to my utter surprise, the cash was there in it. The baggie was torn like something had chewed on it, and then it hit me…..damned coons.
The friggin racoons had smelled the old plastic food container, I used, and dug it up thinking they had found a treat. The cash was damp, but still good.
A valuable lesson learned. A full size coon can lift a lot of weight, and they are very destructive. It is one of God’s creatures that I don’t care for. Rabies carrying varmints.
HEY! give that coon credit.
He saved your stash of cash.
Gonna kill ’em? give him a break.
..cheesh…
Up in the attic, under the R-30 insulation. Or knock out some dry-wall, and stash a small box of gold between two studs. Then patch the dry-wall up again. When SHTF, you’ll need to remember where to refer back to it though.
A fake or dead outlet could, hypothetically, fit many thousands of dollars worth of gold. One plastic gas can size container could potentially hold more silver than I could afford or lift.
Too bad I don’t have the problem of “where to put my money”, I have an ex-wife.
Hmmmmmmm where to keep my cash
How about
Brass
Lead
Copper
Steel
Silver
Canned food
Water filtration
Water storage
Land
Paying off debt
More lead
More copper
More brass
More steel
More silver
After that more canned food
If there is any left over keep it in my safe
Best of luck to you all when this little party kicks off
CC
Did you read my mind?
This is just what I would do with it. This what I’m doing!
Keep the faith and keep on Prepping!
Sgt.
Sarge – hehehe yes I’m the internet psychic !! Lol
Keep on keepin on and be safe out there
I like your personality LOL, at least you made me laugh, and at the little kick off party only a small handful of us INFORMED being will be prepared, so I can’t go to the party, I will be watching from a distance PREPARED, Keep being funny, serious, SMILES lol
Cheri glad you liked it
You keep on prepping too and be safe out there
CC, I already do the same things myself. You sound like a prepper. [PUN INTENDED]
Store your cash in air tight container in the toilet tank. you’ll save water that way too!
That’s actually one of the common places people robbing you look They’re usually looking for drugs but they will gladly take your cash as well.
I knew a guy once that had on of those big kilogram gold bars. He painted it black and used it for a door stop. His home actually got burglarized and the thief(s) made of with a little bit of cash and a few minor items but ignored that gold bar.
Creativity in hiding things in plain sight is better than finding what you think are clever hiding places.
My grandmother did crochet covers that encased a brick and used those for door stops. Could do the same for the gold bar. I just have to find someone that knows how to crochet.
PO Patriot:
Send that gold bar to me. I will crochet around it for you…….
Just kidding…..
Ask them to crochet it in paracord . . . but maybe that would be obvious
Thanks 4 da tip little ol lady.
Just Me,
How is my one roll of quarters going to affect my water usage?
Uh, it will effect it by waterlogging the coin wrapper and jamming up the flapper.
I would have to move that loaded .45 Govt I don’t own.
Oh. That’s just fine & dandy for you Mr SH*TTY ASS.
Never, never, never sign up for automatic deductions when handling your bills! Each bill time, manually pay your bills through your bank, then withdraw what’s left and stash it!
Cash also has its liabilities no matter where you stash it.
Currencies undergo constant redesign. Look at the US $100 bill over the last 20 years, how many changes have been made.
Governments can and do, revalue and redesign currency. Sometimes the old currency design has an expiration date by which time it must be exchanged into the new currency. What do you do then? Take your $85,000 in a shoe box to the bank to trade it for the new currency? I’m sure that would engender questions as to why you have $85,000 cash stuffed in a shoe box.
There have been examples of currency redesign and revaluations in my lifetime, that I think stashing [much] cash is more dangerous at this point than keeping it in a financial institution.
But let’s face it, government can invent more ways to steal your stuff than you can invent to avoid them.
“government can invent more ways to steal your stuff than you can invent to avoid them”
Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure of that…
Sixpack, I agree. There ARE ways to keep govt. thugs away from your stuff. And, no, I don’t care about the LEGALITY OR ILLEGALITY of whatever methods I choose to use.
I hear the Rothschilds are planning on avenging themselves on Andrew Jackson. Remember he refused to renew their central bank charter, resulting in the British invasion in 1812. Old Hickory did what Hezbollah did to Rothschild Israel in 2006, and waxed the Brit’s ass. The plan is to put a woman’s face on the $20. I heard Margaret Sanger the abortion champion, is under consideration.
MP, most people don’t know that Margaret Sanger originally came up with the idea of abortion to be used on BLACK PEOPLE. She was also a devout supporter of Hitler and the Nazis.
If I was the government I’d call a bank holiday and then at the end of the holiday state that all old style bills have to be turned in for a new style bill within a time period at a rate of say 20 to 1 and that old style money is no longer good. Do not like paper. Gold-silver etc good. Also, keep lots of coins cause I do not think coin face values would change.
You can still spend those “old” American dollars south or north of the border, one-for-one….you’ve just got to keep “law enforcement” from stealing them from you.
The best place to hide things is a place least expected to be a hiding place. You can make a hole on top of a door and stuff a few ounces of gold or silver in it (no rattle). When was the last time anyone checked the top of a door to see if there’s anything hidden there? Well, I guess now it’s not so secret anymore. You could also tape it to the inside of an obsolete appliance, use a diversion safe, stuff it inside a hollow curtain rod, hide it within a pillow that’s sewn back up, hide it within furniture or a carved out book with the pages glued, hide it behind a wall in the house or under it. Be creative. Though a fireproof safe or burial would be best for fire sensitive things.
There was a news story once, about a heroin kingpin who hid 100 pounds of high-grade heroin inside the door of his refrigerator. He replaced the insulation with it. The DEA never found it, until the wife went back to the apartment and tried to buy the old, failing refrigerator for $1500. They ALMOST got away with it, had it not been for greed.
Curiosity killed that cat.
Be careful when you are cleaning out grandma’s house!!!
Both of my grandparents had stashes about which no one knew. When my grandfather died we were cleaning out his citing and found a bundle of underwear wrapped up with cord. We almost through it out but thinking it odd we began to untie it and after several layers found a wood block that had been hollowed out and filled with bills…30k to be exact. My grandmother was a prepper if I ever knew one. In her pantry we found food at the back of the shelf that had been stored since the 1950s. Shame on you gramms for not rotating! My other grandmother had a can of coffee next to other cans of coffee in a fully stocked pantry…only this one was filled with money!
My grandparents lived through the Nazis and Red Army, and the depression respectively, they had seen hyperinflation, forced labor camps, totalitarianism and starvation…they learned from their experiences.
Too bad more folks didnt pay attention to what they learned,,,,
Reminds me of my youth, when I knew everything, worked with aPolish lady from Warsaw, everyday she would straighten out the aluminum foil she put her sandwich in. I said Donna this is America we have plenty of foil. She proceeded to tell me how by not wasting, she had paid cash for her, house, car, all clothes. Both of her children’s collage educations and so forth. She had experienced WW2 first hand. Needless to say I learned a good lesson that day.
A student of mine worked at a Trash To Steam Electrical Generating facility. The stuff that came in the trash was interesting. The guy that operated a crane that fed refuse to a conveyer tried to equalize the BTU content by sight of the debris involved. In the process they pushed the potentially valuable stuff off to the side for inspection. An old desk came in with a Mason Jar filled with Silver Dollars. That was their best find. New clothing still wrapped in plastic from stores was not uncommon.
Ha my boss said I’m gonna get him in trouble if I don’t get direct deposit . I told him I don’t have a bank and he said how do you cash your check. My work runs credit checks on the help if you don’t pay your bills you won’t be working there. Company’s are not stupid they want to make sure that THEIR $ isn’t going to places it can’t be tracked to. Before I got the job they knew my financial situation if I had payments on cars or other big $ debts. All company’s do this now that’s why they want your personal info up front. They want to know what bank you use the account number they will deposit payroll. Oh if they overpay you they will go back in and take $ out. I hate it but that’s how it is. My work fucks the dumbest shit up so I don’t trust them with my $. They claim it saves them on payroll costs and gets me my $ faster. I don’t care I don’t need it Thursday night I can wait till I get to the bank no big deal. Stash it inside a brick wall I keep a trowel handy or you can shove it up wife’s ass. That’s protected hahahaha.
Once they deposit money into your account, THEY CANNOT LEGALLY TAKE IT OUT WITHOUT YOUR PERMISSION. The bank made that kind of mistake with a friend of mine. Her brother put his check into her account, then the bank let him draw it out, even though he was not on the account…the bank had to replace the money in her account. The bank wouldn’t let your work take it out, no matter how loud he whined.
The govt and/or thieves are the only one who can steal your money without your permission… er, I meant “the govt thieves”…
Actually you are correct, banks will not steal you’re money until they get a GREEN LIGHT from the government to do so. They still have to follow FINCEN regulations until the government declares it an “emergency” of some kind … THEN they’ll be granted permission to become thieves, and you know a large chunk of that cash will be allocated directly to the government as “royalty.” Banks and corrupted governments deserve to be trusted as much as the MAFIAA.
Let’s just hope future generations can learn from the coming fiscal pain that so many Americans are about to become victims to. I’ll never trust the banks as long as I live ever again.
Killcen, there will be very little in my account for the govt. to take if they ever decide on it. Most of my cash is in my safe, I can easily access it, so I know DAMNED well it’s mine.
I don’t see a shortage of money. I see lots of money having little value.
Padre,
I’d give you 10 thumbs up if I could. Thanks for the history lesson.
Your checking/savings account should be a with a credit union, not a bank. That’s my advice for what it’s worth. With much sacrifice and frugality, I am now debt-free with my house and car paid for in full. I am now using my income to pay bills off in advance for months or for the entire year now. Very soon, I will have no bills due at the 1st or 15th of the month.
Think I’m gonna tell the world by posting my stash locations on SHTFPlan? Really? OPSEC, baby.
Attn INTHEWIND –
[email protected]
WTF?
Sorry passininthewind not for you , that’s just an informal mutual contact for another poster who uses INTHEWIND
Disregard
Stay safe out there PITW
Hide your cash y’all
Or better yet , spend it on preps while it’s worth something
Attn INTHEWIND
r u s s g r a n t 6 1 @ g m a i l . c o m
I hope that’s not your name in that email. A simple search can find ya. Is 61 your age too?
When the Soviet Union collapsed and the Soviet Ruble was converted to a new currency, people were given a short period in which they could convert to the new one before the old ones were declared invalid.
Having too many of them to convert resulted in investigation and confiscation if you could not prove you had acquired them legally so many of those with large amounts hidden away ended up paying very large percentages to those with very little to cash some of them in for them.
The same was true for American troops in Vietnam who were paid in “MPC” and only officially allowed to receive a few Piasters (which were actually officially named “dong”) as a small part of their pay. The MPC notes were regularly changed over to a new issue and you were allowed to convert only so much to the new MPC (the reason given was to keep it off of the local black markets where the locals were not allowed to convert it if they had been paid illicitly for services and goods with it. Illicit usually meaning women and drugs.).
So when you go to convert your stashed cash to the new one here, which may be a fully electronic one, a day that will almost surely come, be sure to have all tax papers income records and such to prove that you aren’t a criminal or drug dealer or under the table black market worker or you may end up paying someone else most of it just to cash it in for you.
You may also find yourself criminally charged for something or just have it confiscated outright if that someone is an agent or informer.
Happy stashing.
On the other hand when the Berlin Wall came down, West Germany agreed to exchange Ostmarks for DMarks at one for one. The amount of stashed cash among Easties was so great that every used car in the West was bought up overnight. I was there.
The Soviet “rubble” dontcha mean!
When I was a chid I knew of a man that didnt Believe in Banks. When the crash of 1929 came he had money while other lost theirs in Bank crashes. This man bought land homes, oil Rights for pennies on the dollar and became filty rich. THis ole man at one time owned 6000 acres. Timber rights alone was worth a small fortune, then they started finding oil on his land. Old saying that cash is King worked for this guy!
Quite right… People just LOVE the sight of ready cash.
Didn’t someone used to say #10 cans?
Ah man….’ol Mushroom. I used to think he was crazier than a shit house rat.
Mushroom was crazier than a bedbug in a Louisiana whore house on Saturday Night.
Money is nothing more than a tool, the more you have of it the more you can get done. Use it wisely and you tend to make more of it. Use it foolishly and you tend to waste or lose it. In todays times, a sound place for money is hard to pin down. Ammo….
Miss the up or down votes again !
Hopefully AM, Mac will come up with something. I can’t believe he would let one or a few intimidate him into giving up on the thumbs. But just like Government, it seems like a few can always bully or by whatever means control the masses. Trekker Out.
“”Mac Slavo says:
Comment ID: 3344900
March 8, 2015 at 10:57 pm
We pulled the Thumbing system because we are unable to secure it unless we force users to login to ‘thumb’. This feature should be available once we allow for user logins, private messaging, etc…. “”
It was a lot more simplistic when only having to leaving a “THUMB” Either up or down as your chosen indication of agreement or not towards somebodies opinion rather than having to express ones self via typing out and sending a pro/anti comment in response… Bring back the thumbs please. “K.I.S.S”
me too, AM!
Mormons, have #10 can sealing machines, Put money, ammo, even a pistol. Fill with rice. and seal it. They even have label, which you can use a code. You can purchase the cans, lids, even he cardboard box. I purchase, rice, sugar,instant potatoes,and the such. Wholesale, the can & box it. Label, and seal the boxes.
why money, it would be worthless, buy junk silver and keep it where you can reach it in a half minute.
Three feet deep nineteen yards south southwest of that northernmost larchmont pine in a 9000 acres county park seventy-seven meters southeast of the northernmost bend in the hiking trail, the one that’s more than twenty yards east southeast of the oldest picnic tables. That “they” were supposed to replace in 2013.
No one should be hiding their assets “offsite” if they are a property owner. If you don’t control it you don’t own it. If you don’t control it, you cannot protect it.
Neither would I recommend burying it in a public park or national forest. Once you do it becomes a fixture on someone else’s land: the taxpayers.
Worse yet, it would be classified as an “artifact”, “antiquity”, or “treasure” if on public property. Fees, penalties, and prison time are possible.
You can defend your life and property with a gun. A national forest? Not so much. Don’t compromise your ownership rights. 🙁
Dude I tried digging there and even went 4 feet deep to be sure. I think you left out a step.
Bank of Sealy?
Meanwhile!
Twenty twenty twenty four hours to go ho ho!
And then we’ll see if Mr. Nutjob was in fact a nutjob.
I certainly hope so. Given the whole Ukraine thing though it’s kind of coin toss odds at the moment.
I spend everything we have coming in to survive, food, utilities, license plates, all the insurance, buying things that I even think someone may need some day, stocking up, anything extra goes to junk silver or parts that we may need one day and can’t make, plus we’re building another house a couple hundred miles from here, all cash, ten grand a yr and one son and I doing all the work, even hand mixed all the concrete, two yrs down, two to go and it’ll be finished.
Just my two cents, but make sure your safe isn’t just fireproof, but water proof too. Fires take a lot away, the remainder is ruined by water damage.
the day your banks are messed up so that you need to keep that paper cash fiat money under your mattress, the damn stuff wont be worth a damn so stop worrying about where you are going to hide it.
Things that matter to you in life.
I lost a good friend of mine of 14 years. My pet dog Wally. His quality of life was poor and had to put him down. He was always there to greet me. Gave warning when things were not right. A good listener and always wagged his tail.
Take care of those you love, for life is short.
Amen to that.
@slingshot…I’m so sorry for your loss. It has been my experience that losing a trusted and loving pet can be a much harder loss than losing most people. God Bless.
NPGH.
You got that right.
It was for me.
RIP Wally
What kind of dog was he?
Captain Crunch
Wally was a mix Breed. Chow and some other hound. His top weight was 58 pounds before getting sick. My son found him in a cardboard box with 8 other dead newborn pups. Had to Eye Dropper feed. I called him my ditch Dog.
Right on!
Sounds like a damn good dog
The wife and I got a Mastiff pup 3 years ago. 1/2 English/ 1/2 Italian and she is awesome
Good nanny dog , listens , she has green eyes too. Her name is Skye and she has earned her spot in my home
Life fuckin’ sucks at times… My heart goes out to you. Poor little doggy friend… FUCK… It takes time to numb it but it’ll never goe away… EVER… That’s the price of love I’m afraid… Sorry for your loss.
someone once said, “A good dog never dies, they always stay. They walk beside you when frost is on the field, and winter’s drawing near, their head within your hand in their old way.” So sorry for the loss of your beautiful friend.
Yessir, slingshot. I know from where you come.
Heartfelt condolences. I’ve had a Beagle 21 years before the big “C” got her. My eyes still get misty thinking about her.
Your consolation: look at all the great times you had together with your dog. No one else in the world loved him more than you AND he knew it!
So sorry for your loss. I lost my Kootie to breast cancer 1.5 years ago; still miss her. Many people besides me were upset at her passing.
She was a Norwegian Forest cat but acted more like a dog including pacing at the window or door when she saw someone she believed up to no good. She was always right. I often said that if I got on a plane with her (yes, traveled with her and her sister) and she growled at someone as I was boarding that I’d get off the plane. I’d like another guard cat like her. It was great to be so protected.
what cash, it got all spent on ammo
Sling put my beagle down back in October he had cancer on his spleen they said he wouldn’t live more than 90 days so I opted to put him down before he really suffered. He was a good dog never chewed up my home. He would sometimes dig out side small holes before I caught him. We miss him it was hard to say goodbye I left the vet with a major headache. It’s hard to make decisions like these but I believe in handling matters and not putting them off. At least he didn’t suffer and I didn’t find him dead in the house one morning. Dog as only like 7 years old healthy otherwise no other issues. I had no idea he was that sick. This is how things happen here today gone tomorrow. Life is short. Having a dog is expensive mine had medical insurance costs $400 a year gotta but food for him. When I travel gotta board him. Just all the things you gotta buy. Not gonna get another dog till my kids are older and more independent. Anyway my credit union I have a box in their safe and there is a brochure that has terms of agreement for the lockbox. I have two brochures for this an old one and a new one the new one the terms have changed and not in my favor looks like the banks and the states favor. I’m not looking at it right now but if you have a bank box get a terms of agreement and keep it in your homes safe with a list of items in the banks box this is what I’ve done. If I go and take anything out of there I scratch it off the list but I haven’t been in it for a couple of years now. The only reason I use the banks safe is I don’t want everything in one spot. I would suggest not putting it in a mattress or some hole in the wall if there is a fire you will lose it. If a tornado comes through and wipes your house out it could be five miles away. If your gonna hide it do smaller amounts in multiple locations .I’m just not a fan of this method.
Ass Hat.
Sorry about your Beagle. I Got One hell of a headache too.
One time, Wally swallowed a pine cone cob and plugged himself. $600 for the operation but he would not eat a damn thing till he smelled it after that go round.
Our animals are being poisoned via their food, just as we are. I think I read somewhere that the rise in cancer in animals is going up right along side the rise in caner in people. Same thing with diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and liver/kidney problems.
It’s in the air. It’s in the food and it’s in the water. It’s in every plastic container and most electronic devices.
It’s killing us all, man and beast alike.
At some point it won’t pay to rob a bank. The money won’t have enough value. You’d have to rob a grocery truck.
Then we’ll be seeing wonder bread/Brinks armored trucks, with SWAT-style compliments of guards. Never thought I’d see the day Lil Debbies were delivered in MRAPS…
People are viewing this problem too literally. The way to store wealth is not to just acquire a mountain of gold and silver coins, nor is it through various sketchy bank accounts, but through income streams. Why income streams? Because income streams will fluctuate with inflation and will keep a constant flow of wealth coming into your bank account, no matter what happens to the currency. This is the trick the rich use to stay wealthy. It also affords many ways to off-set your tax and basically get it down to zero, another trick the rich do.
You are always vulnerable if you just hoard things. This leaves you open to confiscation, theft, law suits, fire, or natural disasters (what will you do with all your ‘in possession’ gold if a Tsunami is coming towards your house?).
But an income stream – or ideally several – will be there for you if disaster strikes or you need to shift locations. For example, Jim likes surfing and has invested in a small surf brand based in Brazil. Jim has been nurturing this little business with Jao, his partner. The Brazilian real has gone up and down over the years but the brand keeps growing in success and sales. When the real was high against the dollar, Jim was able to pocket the profits and smooth out the weaker dollar. Now, with the real tanking, Jim is using the cheaper currency to expand the business, hiring more brand designers and marketers to increase the product line. Amazingly, he has grown sales exponentially while, with the real crashing, his payroll costs are going down. He has also used various government schemes to pay for the training of his staff and he also pays no tax because much of the manufacturing is done in poor neighborhoods. Jim has similar businesses like this in other countries, including in Norway, where the currency is strong and living standards very high, and in Haiti, where it is a sh#t pit but labor is very cheap and there are literally dozens of schemes he gets money from who pay for him to run his businesses there.
While many suffered since 2007, Jim has ridden it out and massively increased both his core wealth and his income streams. He also has a great lifestyle, at times he hangs out on the beach with two Brazilian girlfriends, or he has a babe or two on the go in Scandinavia, and he is never short for company in Haiti. He does the occasional iron man contest to push his fitness to the max but otherwise he moves around from country to country meeting with his teams and clients. Jim is very happy.
What, no pitch for the $1000 “how-to” video?
Don’t see how Jim has time to be happy with all that running around and scheming. I was worn out just reading about him.
He won’t be running around after shtf, unless he can outrun a 9mm. Wouldn’t want MY income stream to depend on my ability to “get around”. Let’s see if Mr. Jet setter could maintain his many income streams on foot.
‘A SHOT OF WHISKEY’
In the old west a .45 cartridge for a six-gun cost 12 cents, so did a
glass of whiskey. If a cowhand was low on cash he would often give the
bartender a cartridge in exchange for a drink. This became known as a
“shot” of whiskey.
THE WHOLE NINE YARDS
American fighter planes in WW2 had machine guns that were fed by a
belt of cartridges. The average plane held belts that were 27 feet (9
yards) long. If the pilot used up all his ammo he was said to have
given it the whole nine yards.
BUYING THE FARM
This is synonymous with dying. During WW1 soldiers were given life
insurance policies worth $5,000. This was about the price of an
average farm so if you died you “bought the farm” for your survivors.
Lock, stock and barrel. Refers to a black powder gun.
BigB
Fair to Midland (often mispronounced)
Pilot talk from when a pilot would ask the tower about the weather, Texas having this east/west divide on weather issues for flying. It was good when the tower said “fair to Midland” Texas.
The best place to keep cash, is to NOT keep cash. Don’t invest, buy stuff you use every day.
If I had a choice between a dollar bill or a roll of toilet paper. Give a man a dollar bill and he wipe his butt once, give a man a roll of TP and he wipes his butt for a month.
Everything you use everyday, everyone else probably uses everyday. Things people use everyday only go up in price.
If someone brakes into your house, they are probably not going to steal that 6 cases of paper towels you have.
I’m fully prepared. I can’t buy stuff with every last dollar. Besides, you need to keep some cash for emergencies. Like when the car breaks down or you have to go to the doctor.
I have most of my savings in gold and silver coins. The rest in cash.
I strongly urge people to watch the video on methane release that I posted above
this is a game changer if it holds true
I think we will know for sure by the end of the year
but it is really looking BAD
there will be an extinction level event
ant that will include much of the human race
more info here
http://www.ameg.me/
Arctic meltdown: a catastrophic threat to our survival
“There is strong evidence of advanced acceleration in:
• Arctic warming and sea ice decline in a vicious cycle
• Substantial ice loss in Greenland with potential massive loss due to unstable glaciers
• Disruption of jet stream behaviour, with abrupt climate change leading to crop failures, rising food prices and conflict in the Northern Hemisphere
• Rapid emissions of methane from the Arctic seabed, permafrost and tundra.
The tipping point for the Arctic sea ice has already passed. “
Cool, im ready to go, not much reason for optimism at this point
Great….now I need to stock up on bottled oxygen as well. It never ends….
@ TnAndy
A recent bout of food poisoning (or was it acute gastroenteritis, d/k) where I was losing nutrients north and south clued me in to a prep I had overlooked. Now have laid in a supply of Pedialyte and Ensure. The former for the electrolytes, the latter for temporary nutrition when I might be feeling too weak to cook. Have Met-Rx gym rat protein supplement for the same reason. Protein, calories and some vitamins.
Is there a “home made” solution? Undoubtedly. Now that I have time to research it, I will. Until I bring that prep up to standard I’m covered for a finite period.
SHTF yields unsanitary water yields life-threatening illnesses = your ticket gets punched. Decide how you will deal with that now.
Emergency Essentials has a gag item, “dehydrated water” in a can for $2.49
LOL. I thought about giving one to my neighbor, but the stupid bitch would probably try to get the money back because the can was empty…
Not too much cash to be concerned about after bills paid. I have a few little stash places and dont keep all in one place. The problem is that the older I get I forget some of my stash places. This can be both bad and good. One if I can’t find it I can’t spend it on something I don’t need. However if I can not remember I may need it for emergency this can be bad. But the cool thing is to find a hundred dollar bill in a book or something like that which I have never read. Bottom line keep several places with different amounts stashed but find a way to recall lol. Or write the places down and hide the list. Just remember where you hid the list. Hope ya’ll had fun with my getting old age logic. Keep your powder dry, and instead of cash stash food , water, guns, and ammo. Just remember where all that is too. God Bless and have a great day
Mike
Canadians need to prepare for high volatility. Canada is carrying unprecedented personal debts and commodities are going into a bear market. Canada is also getting more and more involved in two wars: one in Ukraine, the other in Iraq. Both of these will escalate and will be costly, both in terms of weapons and blood.
The government will need to put more into defence and that is costly. Expect the Canadian dollar to keep diving so that the Bank of Canada can ease the stress levels. This will make imports very expensive. Love Apple products? (and who doesn’t) but those things are going to get more expensive. Canadians are very dependent on American software and hardware and that is going to get more expensive. It could get like the 1990s, when Canada fell behind global developments because it couldn’t afford to purchase the latest technology and equipment. This is a common problem with commodities-based countries.
I DON’T.
Frank thought I agree with the income stream but a job for average folk is the income stream under a normal stable economy it’s reliable but now a days it’s not people are getting laid off due to company closings. If the economy is strong and stable with jobs being added at a consistent rate good. You see it all the time booms then busts. Rich people do use the backs of working people to get ahead but when they lose their business the help goes elsewhere. Hoarding $ is what the rich people do then they wait till things turn around and start another business under better market conditions. I hoard $ because I want to do the same things. I know people who bought houses for too much $ when the flippers were out in full effect. They paid $250,000 for a home that was only worth $180,000 so they were under water from the start. I got a $150,000 home for $90,000 because I was patient and hoarded while I was waiting. My philosophy is there is no hurry to buy or sell anything unless your willing to take the hit. When you have large numbers to work with the situation is different. Before 2008 people were making $ hand over fist in the flipping business. We all know how it works buy a place cheap fix it up and put it on the market again some places were sold a few times the asking price went up thousands every time it was on the market by a new flipper. That’s how the home prices got inflated. Places that have a lot of property like florida got the worst of it around my area got some of it too. There was a point where there were at least 2 houses on every street with a sale sign in the front. I remember people buying houses they could not afford the banks were happy to loan the $ because they knew they would end up with the property if it did work out. Now we have a shit load of short sales from fore closures. Wealth is in property in the long run. You just gotta pickup property cheap when you can and hold on to it then move it on when there is a shortage of inventory in the area as long as it is a desired area you will make out. This is what the flippers were doing but there was too many people doing it due to ease of getting loans. I think things will eventually stabilize with property but now is a good time to get deals I think I’ve seen homes selling for half of their highest value.
Im no home buying expert this is just my opinion
Please don’t forget about the New Bank Bail-in Rules that are now in place..
There was an X2.2 solar flare a couple of hours ago. And there have been a lot of M class flares in the past few days.
While we have small amounts in bank accounts, we also have long term strategic savings in safe places that we control and only we can access. Those savings may or may not be in precious metals, ordinary metals(brass, lead, copper), foodstuffs, and other daily use materials needed to sustain a family for a LONG period of time. Then again, we may not have a damn thing on hand at all.
Some years ago, we decided to pay cash for everything possible, for financial privacy. While I love online purchasing for strategic “needs”, locally, I can find the majority of what we need for the same or slightly lower cost, IF, I invest some “looking” time. I don’t like the tracking capabilities or invasion of financial privacy that has been occurring for over a decade now in earnest.
We use credit cards ONLY when we have to, like when traveling for lodging. For meals and fuel costs, and incidentals, we use good old fashioned cash. Pain in the butt? Yes, it is “inconvenient”, but we have greater financial privacy and security, too. Keep enough liquid assets ON HAND in your personal control, to last you at least one year’s wages. Yes, it’s hard to do, but it brings peace of mind in the long term.
IRON CLAD CONTRACT
This came about from the ironclad ships of the Civil War. It meant
something so strong it could not be broken.
PASSING THE BUCK / THE BUCK STOPS HERE
Most men in the early west carried a jack knife made by the Buck knife
company. When playing poker it as common to place one of these Buck
knives in front of the dealer so that everyone knew who he was. When
it was time for a new dealer the deck of cards and the knife were
given to the new dealer. If this person didn’t want to deal he would
“pass the buck” to the next player. If that player accepted then “the
buck stopped there”.
RIFF RAFF
The Mississippi River was the main way of traveling from north to
south. Riverboats carried passengers and freight but they were
expensive so most people used rafts. Everything had the right of way
over rafts which were considered cheap. The steering oar on the rafts
was called a “riff” and this transposed into riff-raff, meaning low
class.
COBWEB
The Old English word for “spider” was “cob”.
I have developed a list on how to hide things for anyone to use:
1) tell NO ONE about your hidden valuables or items, wife only may know and then as necessary on a need to know basis (if she doesn’t know she can’t tell anyone)
2) never hide the most valuable or important items in your own home
3) never hide items in neighbor’s house or property, if conditions get bad they may not let you have it back
4) not in a relative’s home or property if for any reason you might not fully trust them
5) never in another person’s home or property if you have reason to believe they are already hiding items
6) not in another’s home or property if the owners have in the past received any undesirable attention from the police or government
7) a friend’s property may be used but only if completely trusted and that person is a low-profile individual
8) not so close to your home that you may be discovered by observation, nor so far it would be inconvenient or difficult to retrieve your goods
9) not on property with security cameras or property with “no trespassing” signs, for obvious reasons
10) not in public areas, due to possible observation
11) not on fed., state, or local gov’t. property or structures as retrieval may become difficult or impossible
12) not near roads or where there is high foot traffic
13) not where items could be found with a metal detector
14) not where exposed to weather or water
15) do not hide everything in one place, you risk the loss of everything upon chance discovery
16) do not disturb the area of hidden items so that it may appear something is not normal or usual
17) keep a list or inventory of hidden items and locations, the existence of that list is known only to you, carefully hide a second copy of that list
18) on some kind of intermittent basis (but never at the same times or days) casually inspect caches when you are sure you are not being observed even innocently
19) do not discuss ANYTHING, not even that are are accumulating items, never mention you are making preparations of any kind
If anyone has more ideas how to hide things please let us all know.
I tend disagree with the experts regarding to placing your stash in the basement. As a former volunteer firefighter, you learn real fast the fire tends to burn up, heat goes up and consequently, the damage is greater in the upper floors of your house. While its true, gravity will cause the debris to fall down, if you reinforce a corner of your basement to resit fires damage, you stand a better chance to have your valuables survive. Now I am not suggesting for a second for you to seek shelter down there for two primary reason. First and primary, the fire will draw all of your oxygen out of your space to suffocate you and second, debris falling down, even if your corner survives, its doubtful you could. The heat would cook you. I would suggest a get away location to avoid problems.
My goal is $1000 in twenties saved up…
and a burnbox is not a safe.
…ever watch storage wars, they just drop them on the concrete.
RE a small HD safe, take out your rifle bolts and keep them inside if you don’t have a gun safe.
that way at least the rifles are inoperable.
a roll of silver ASE’s at JMB still only $395 with a free ship…
always mark your ammo boxes with date of purchase, seal in ziplock… shoot the old stuff
save your brass, save yer ass
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w12RKy966OU
Any extra cash gets folded up and deposited between the Double D’s. Been doing this since high school. Once I went all day without eating, because I forget I had money in there, lol.
“…bad news for the banks that depend on deposit accounts to be able to give out loans and earn interest.”
This comment shows the author doesn’t know that loans are not made from the deposits the bank holds, but rather the money for a loan is created out of thin air upon approval.
Banks are NOT dependent upon depositors.
In fact, deposits are counted as liabilities, not assets. A loan is an asset to a bank.
Dear SHTFPlan, have you looked into infinite banking? yes, its in dollars, but as an alternative to where to store those dollars, I think the infinite banking concept deserves a look. Id love to see an article on it