If you did not trust banks, what would you do with your money?

[kathyinmo]

If you did not trust banks, what would you do with your money?
I remember my grandma hiding her "tips," money in an apron pocket in her apron drawer. Grandparents on the other side of the family used to bury their cash - everywhere! - in the garden, in the barn, in the walls of the house....

What would you do? AND, if the banks did fail, would our paper cash be worth anything anyway?

 

[justbugged]

The problem is that money is only worth what a bank will give you for it. You may be better off saving everything in gold. Of course money in this country hasn't been based on gold since the 1930's. If you hate banks, I would recommend that you try a credit union. It is very difficult to live in today's world world without some form of banking. There are any number of people that are not allow bank accounts, due to what the bank has determined to be fraud on the customers part. These folks have higher costs for managing all sorts of transactions. It is a rare landlord that will accept rent in the form of cash. The most banks will also charge a non customer to cash a check anymore. So you get it coming and going.

I recall a customer that needed to pay property taxes. The cost of the certified check was nearly double, because she didn't have a bank account anywhere. Your credit scores are also effected by the lack of a bank account. You are less likely to get any type of loan.

Cash is only as safe as the system that produces the cash. There have been a number of financial failures over the course of the USA's history. When that happens the old cash is only worth a fraction of what the new cash is worth.
Sometimes you can only cash in a certain amount per person. So you could end up with a lot of worthless paper. This is similar to what happened in the South after the Civil war. Confederate dollars were essentially worthless. If they weren't exchange promptly then you may as well use them to start the fire.

So I don't know that I have a better idea about where to safely store a cash hoard, I don;t know that I would start hiding, or burying around the house. One of the problems with stashing it around your home, is if the wrong person learns about it. Then you are are a much greater risk of loosing all of the cash in a robbery. There are people of East Indian descent in the the US, that are now being robbed of their gold. It is traditional for a bride to be given gold jewelry for her future. It is so common, that now there are people targeting homes of people from India, so that the gold can be stolen.

At this point most of us are better off by playing with the current financial system in place. There are ways too play the game without supporting the big banks.

 

[dewey]

I would hide it my kids' room...nobody can ever find anything in there.

 

[Baymule]

any body know about petrodollars?

http://ftmdaily.com/preparing-for-the-collapse-of-the-petrodollar-system/

http://ftmdaily.com/preparing-for-the-collapse-of-the-petrodollar-part-2/

http://ftmdaily.com/preparing-for-the-collapse-of-the-petrodollar-system-part-3/

If you take the time to read these links, you will REALLY love those politicians!!!!

The short version is, the Fed has over printed trillions of U.S. dollars, most of which are overseas being traded for oil. All oil sales and trade is conducted in U.S. dollars. If the rest of the world gets tired of trading inU.S. dollars and wants to buy in their own currency as China and Russia are cozing up to each other to do, then there is an over supply of U.S. dollars and they get sent back home. Our economy will totally bomb, hyperinflation will ensue, banks will clamp shut and busineses will close. Other countries are chafing at the petrodollar constraints imposed on them. It is only a matter of time before another more fiscally responsible country steps to the forefront with the blessing of the rest of the world.

I am not a doomsday, gloom and doom prepper. However I consider myself to have at least a glimmer of intelligence, at least enough to look at both sides of the story. I sincerely pray the above links do not come true, but what if they do? What if the U.S. falls off it's exalted pedastal? History supports the facts that no country stays on top forever.

Yes, I have money in a local bank and I have a savings account. Not a lot, but it would hurt my feelings if I lost it. And yes, I am invested in rice too.

And wheat and cannned goods and heritage garden seeds and I even have chickens. Given the state of things, I think a full pantry is a smart thing to have.

 

[Matthew3590]

Have it in a safe.

 

[cassie]

One old woman I read about hid her money in a mattress. Trouble was, no one knew it. While she was in the hospital her daughter bought her a brand new mattress. The old one, with about $30,000 inside, went to the dump. I don't know if they ever found it or not. As for the safe, I have read about people being killed for the contents of their safe. The perpetrators were the guys who installed it. You can rent a safety deposit box. Even if the bank fails, you will have access to the box. BTW, even if the bank fails your deposits are insured up to a certain amount. I have had my money in a couple banks that went belly up. Not a problem. The accounts just rolled over to the bank that took over.

In the movie, The Color Purple, one man hid his money in the chicken house.

 

[thaiturkey]

Not trusting banks is a different issue from the possible collapse of the money system.

If the money system collapsed, we would be left with barter and gold as currencies. The ability to barter depends on one's individual skills and the possession of articles that others want. Skill runs out with age and trade-able articles run out after a period of bartering unless more can be made or grown. Gold may be a better currency than barter but keeping it safe would be a problem.

As for mis-trusting banks, you would need also to question the trustworthiness of all other financial institutions. Whilst interest on deposits is a low as it is now, hoarding cash is an alternative. You tell everyone that your money is in a bank, of course. You might invest in something that will gain in value, such as animal breeding or real estate that can be leased or sold.

The real issue is that banks control modern economies and have be found lacking in prudence and honesty. That's an astounding failure on their part, especially considering the protection afforded them by the law. If we all went to our banks to withdraw our cash, they could shut up shop and legally refuse us. The law allows them to do this because they don't have all of the cash we put there, of course. Also, they charge both fees and interest. They charge interest on interest if we don't pay on time. I bet your plumber wishes he could do that.

Banks are crooks and they are proud of it. We can reduce out dependence on them by not borrowing from them or using credit cards.That's not easy if you want to keep up with the Jones's down the road but it's possible for those who are able to repay a debt not to have the debt in the first place.

 

[chickened]

Banks are insured by the FDIC so I usually do not worry much about them handling the cash.

Now about them being crooks with thier fees and all... yes, they are already untrustworthy which is why I use private loans for financing stuff if I can.

 

[JD4570]

I do not use traditional banks. I'm happy to say that I'm a member of a credit union, making me part owner. So there are none of those %#&^$^ fees.

 

[Capvin]

The incompetence of banks and bankers is not a new phenominum but goes way back to the very beginnings of our countries development. The founding fathers felt the banking establishment was very dangerous and in the early 1900's bank robbers (i.e. Willie Sutton) were considered folk heros. Today the banks and bankers are probably worse then ever, but that does not mean you should not put your money in a bank since it is, by far, the safest place and as pointed out, insured. If the US goes kaput and is unable to back the FDIC insurance I am afraid that the least of your worries at that time will be your money. JD's observation regarding credit unions is a good one, providing that it is a good credit union. Like banks, there are some awfully bad credit unions. I have been a member of Navy Federal Credit Union since 1968 and they are really a great institution both as a depository of funds and as a lender for every and all occasions.