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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask how much cash you have?

217 replies

Member786488 · 12/12/2023 22:09

For various reasons I’ve been thinking that I need to be able to have cash to hand in case of emergencies…
usually in my house we have about £20 or so between 3 adults…

how much cash could you actually lay your hands on tonight if the banking system went down?

OP posts:
Cattiwampus · 13/12/2023 00:27

Around £100

Zoflorabore · 13/12/2023 00:28

I’ve got £23 in my purse 😊

GreenRedRue · 13/12/2023 03:06

Around £2k in cash, in the safe at home.

Ladyj84 · 13/12/2023 03:14

We keep 250 cash locked away at all times, a pay as you go phone with 15 quid on it should any emergency crop up stoping our contract ones, a go bag is always ready and up to date with meds,food that doesn't need cooked etc..yep we like to feel ready because we are a young family of 6 and one day we may not be sitting watching all the war,famine,diseases, weather catastrophies on tv but be experiencing them ourselves the way the world is going

mjf981 · 13/12/2023 03:39

About $85 (45 poundsish)
I hate carrying cash and much prefer tap and go.
However, I've noticed merchant fees are creeping up and up which is making me re-think things..

Spencer0220 · 13/12/2023 03:48

DH doesn't carry cash.

Me? I don't use card if I can avoid it, for anything offline. I'm in a wheelchair and not all pin machines are accessible. I refuse to hand my card or phone to a person to swipe for me in case it gets nicked.

I have £75.71 in my wallet

Spencer0220 · 13/12/2023 03:49

Ladyj84 · 13/12/2023 03:14

We keep 250 cash locked away at all times, a pay as you go phone with 15 quid on it should any emergency crop up stoping our contract ones, a go bag is always ready and up to date with meds,food that doesn't need cooked etc..yep we like to feel ready because we are a young family of 6 and one day we may not be sitting watching all the war,famine,diseases, weather catastrophies on tv but be experiencing them ourselves the way the world is going

I like your thinking! Do you remember to use the burner phone every few months to keep the line active?

FindingMeno · 13/12/2023 03:52

penjil · 12/12/2023 23:03

What's OFRS?

Show quote history

Oh Fuck Ruck Sack.
An absolute requirement anticipating the zombie apocalypse.

EconomyClassRockstar · 13/12/2023 04:00

Nothing. I haven’t carried cash since 2020

Ragwort · 13/12/2023 05:10

I always have a decent amount of cash both at home & at least £50 with me when I go out. prefer to use cash where possible, I like to support local businesses and independent retailers and many do prefer to take cash.
I go to lots of community events where it is much easier to pay by cash - paying for coffee, raffle tickets, small charity donations etc
If I go out to eat with friends I find it easier to pay my share of the meal with cash rather than expecting the restaurant to do endless individual transactions or transferring money to friends.
I also volunteer in a charity shop & the internet frequently breaks done and it is very difficult if customers don't carry cash.
My DH & I were at a very out of the way car park in the summer which only took coins .. a group of young people were utterly flummoxed as they had no idea what to do as none of them carried cash (we paid the parking for them) Grin.

Natsku · 13/12/2023 05:25

Right now I have 55 euros in cash that I got out to give DD to pay for her bus to volleyball tournament and dinner at the weekend but she forgot to take the cash with her so its in my money cup, along with about 15 or so euros in coins that are always there for just in case coins are needed for something (teeth coming out, school disco cash, that kind of thing)

I like to keep a 20 euro note in my phone case too, for emergencies, or for the market.

anybloodyname · 13/12/2023 06:27

I've got £3

€100 euros brought back from holiday

About 80p worth of Turkish lire

6 trolley coins

43ontherocksporfavor · 13/12/2023 06:43

I use Apple Pay for almost every transaction. Small businesses now have card readers ( if they’re business minded) and restaurants are easily able to separate orders digitally now. Even the poppy sellers had a card reader!

hiredandsqueak · 13/12/2023 07:05

I've got a handful of coppers because I gave my last £10 to the postman for his tip yesterday. Adult ds and dd generally have cash though so could ask to borrow from them in an emergency.

PearTreeBoat · 13/12/2023 07:15

Currently got about 4.500 Omani Rials (so the equivalent of about a tenner) in my purse. Usually have the same again in the car for tipping at the petrol station but had my car washed yesterday.

Should probably keep a bit more at home in case cash machines/card payments went down for a short while but am hardly ever more than 10 mins away from a branch of my bank that I've never really bothered about it.

ToffeePennie · 13/12/2023 07:20

Probably a good 1k. But I mostly get paid in cash: so that’s ALL my wages from the last month.

Kazzyhoward · 13/12/2023 07:28

A few hundred at home.
Maybe £50 in my purse
Around a tenner in change in the cars for car parks

I barely use cash and use cards for nearly everything but like the comfort of having cash for the rare times it's needed.

When storm Desmond caused massive power cuts in our city for several days, cash was the only way to buy things, or use taxis/buses etc.

It's nice to have a backup for when the power/internet goes down.

Itsjustmeee · 13/12/2023 07:32

I love cash and I hate the thought of my spending being tracked by debit credit cards

even though I have numerous credit cards I prefer to spend cash and won’t use any place that is card only
Ive gone to buy stuff and then not bothered if they only accept cash even though I could pay by card .

In my purse around I keep a min of £100 -£150
I always keep £20 in my car in change for any emergencies and I have a little bag in my car full of loose change from my purse it’s probably got about £30 I empty my loose change from my purse into the bag weekly

Both DH and I have a safe each where we keep passports birth certificates and stuff

we both keep a few thousand in cash that we will dip into and use and then get back to our “float “

Im Christmas shopping today and will have a around £500 on me in cash that I will spend

avocadotofu · 13/12/2023 07:43

In actual cash, nothing, I never really use it.

Ohyeahwaitaminute · 13/12/2023 08:12

I volunteer in a charity shop and we often get asked ‘Do you take cash?’ (We do)

The payments between cash and card vary, but I reckon it’s about 60-70% card and the rest cash payments.

RedPony1 · 13/12/2023 09:33

About £1.50

SgtJuneAckland · 13/12/2023 09:34

Usually less than £20 in coins, but DS just had a birthday and got some cash so there's an additional £150 at the moment

Simonjt · 13/12/2023 09:35

Kr0 cash really isn’t a thing here, you’d find it hard to find somewhere that takes cash, even things like school events are card only when paying for refreshments.

SnapdragonToadflax · 13/12/2023 09:36

Maybe £15, plus a few pound coins in a pot for non-uniform days etc.

I would feel very uncomfortable having a lot of cash in the house. Love using my card for everything, so much easier. If the banking system goes down the vast majority of us will be screwed and we'll all be in it together.

Catza · 13/12/2023 09:59

Quite a bit. My partner often pays me back in cash if I fill up his car or similar. I never spend it and just end up stashing it somewhere safe. I forever keep finding stacks of cash all over the house. I recently paid cash for my car repairs and I probably have similar amount stuffed in handbags, drawers and jacket pockets.
All in all, probably over £800 currently in the house including a few hundred euros.