Comment

Comment by Bill Priday on July 21, 2009 at 5:36pm

And yes, thumbs up to the debit card NONuse... except for completely innocuous things like food and gasoline at a normal, nearby location. I only use mine to get cash back. Like you, when I get a check, if at all possible I will present it to the issuing bank and cash it. I prefer cash though. Doesn't anyone?

Comment by Bill Priday on July 21, 2009 at 5:33pm

Tobacco is good,but ONLY if you are absolutely a non smoker. If you're a smoker, you'll be burning your capital. Wanna bet? Kinda same thing with the booze. Best bet is to have gas and food on hand NOW before you wish you did.

I'm not saying that anything you can do with your cash on hand when it hits is going to be enough, it's just that you might regret your decision to go ahead and pay cash for that 3 stooges movie or that popsicle. Just assess your last minute needs and go for it. One of them is the gasoline (or Diesel) you just used up... and maybe another week's worth of food.

Comment by Bill Priday on July 21, 2009 at 4:59pm

"ALSO IF THAT WAS TO HAPPEN I WOULD BUY ALL 100 DOLLARS IN FOOD =- because if there is a rush on the stores.... "

Ah-HA.... BUT in my fictitious scenario up there, you DID NOT KNOW that the banks had come to a screaming stop until AFTER you had made your purchase and left the store.

NOW how many of you are going to think about this every time you roll up to the checkout line? And IF the purchase doesn't happen, you now would, to be more safe than sorry, put back the Muncheez and the Little Debbies and the "meal in a bag" and pick up some long term, cheap per-serving, staple items and make the absolute most of the money you have in your pocket or purse, right? Look at it this way, if it's a hiccup, Wallyworld will take it back if it's unopened, and you can go get your bug juice and cookies. If it AIN'T a hiccup, you really think they're gonna take back the DVD and give you cash money for it? Hell, they probably won't even give you store credit for it if "the real thing" just went down.

Me, if I've got goodly amounts of food at home, and I'm getting there.... not completely but closer and closer, I'd strip the buggy down to the bare necessities--rice, beans, etc. non-refrigeration stuff and long-term low-cost-per-serving (most bang for my limited buck) and then go top off my gas tank at the Murphy out front, and then hang onto what's left for at most a day or two. Paper money will be worthless if it's a prolonged situation, and even if it's short-term, the banks could return on a devalued system. A few days (2-3) is all I'd consider my paper money to have as far as shelf life. Someone mentioned a hundred bucks... I'd top off my tank, anywhere from 15-45 dollars depending on how far down I let it get, spend maybe 30 on rice and beans (I've got propane and water at home, I can cook these things), then go home and get the other vehicle and take it to town and top it off. If nothing else, it's a storage tank for the primary one.

Anybody got a better idea? Let's hear it...

Comment by Bill Priday on July 21, 2009 at 3:46pm

Now you see where I'm going :D

Suppose the bank doesn't open back up, or does, but won't honor your little pieces of paper without "verification and study, so please let us have them...yes, the originals, we need to verify that they're not photocopies or forgeries...." but then of course that'd never happen would it?

Just for giggles' sake, the money you had when you stood at the Wallyworld checkstand and discovered your card wasn't working is ALL you have for the foreseeable future. Does that change your thoughts regarding what you'd do right there and then at the checkstand?

Comment by Bill Priday on July 21, 2009 at 3:16pm

And no, this did not just happen to me, it's a figment of my imagination in overdrive... a hypothetical situation. Over a few hours or even days, depending on how many comments it gets and how fast it gets 'em, I'm going to keep nudging the story along....

Keep thinking about it, though....

Comment by Bill Priday on July 21, 2009 at 3:11pm

You're getting too deep into it.... but thank you for the lesson :)

Now, carry it further. You get out to your car and determine that the whole banking system has shut down. NOW what?

(The object is to get people to THINK about whether they're ready or not. Money in the bank is NOT safe, and isn't drawing enough interest to make it worth putting every cent you have in there.)