Money ramble

[IanC]

An old man in my neighborhood died a couple of years ago . A few years before he died he had sold another house he had but never banked the proceeds. He never took a vacation or spent money on luxury, but the money has never been found.

It got me thinking, since I am planning to sell my house before I become mobile and have my vehicle insurance as my only regular bill, which I'd pay annually and my phone bill, which I'd have to figure out how to pay , what would be the downsides (I'm sure they are numerous ) to keeping all my money with me? I'll be collecting S.S. in 2 years so I'll have to have a bank account for that, but until then ..... I've seen a thread about safes, but not for carrying a large amount of cash.

I suppose the major danger would be theft of the whole vehicle, but a hidden safe would protect from fire, a vehicle accident and such. I wonder what other alternatives there are for not using banks.

 In a doomsday scenario of bank collapse, being far away from my credit union and my money seems dangerous as well . Also, for the past few years my debit card has been compromised regularly and a new one issued. With mail being forwarded it could take weeks to access my funds.

My dream is to be as independent of every system as I possibly can, including banks. Think that's a pipe dream ?

 

[Gary68]

i'm with you on the cash thing but do note that if a cop pulls you over and you have large amounts of cash then you must be a drug dealer so they take everything you own

http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/21/us/asset-seizures/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...rogram-that-lets-cops-take-stuff-and-keep-it/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_forfeiture_in_the_United_States

 

[akrvbob]

Gold coins would solve some of your problems but it can always lose value in the short term.

It just seems the risk of theft of the van would be a constant worry to me, nagging at the back of my brain.
Bob

 

[GotSmart]

With modern internet banking, all it takes is one phone call, along with passwords and codes to get funds expressed to your location.  

In a SHTF situation, food is worth more than money, which would be useless. 

Silver coins would be a safe barter item.

 

[gcal]

Why would you want to pass on the interest or dividends your money can earn or the safety of having at least some of your funds federally insured? In the highly unlikely event of a government collapse, the only thing your money will be good for is kindling, anyway. If your debit cards are being compromised regularly, change banks and figure out what you are doing that makes you such a target. We have had the discussion about credit cards, here. They are safer than debit cards or cash, accessible via the internet, and do not give crooks direct access to your funds.

 

[speedhighway46]

If I were ever to sell "everything" and hit the road forever, after all I have learned on this great site and applying what I have learned about life in my 70 years, here is what I think I would do:

1) Close all my bank accounts at my various institutions.

2) Find the largest bank which operates in the most states and open checking, savings and credit card accounts. Get the highest credit card limit they will give you. This will serve as your "emergency fund" also in times of unplanned events. Don't touch your cash stockpile except to pay your credit card bill each month in full. Ditch debit cards; they are too easily compromised; they don't spread risk to the bank and credit card company; and why use your money when you can use theirs.

The bank with the the most branches nationally is Bank of America, I believe. Although BOA is the modern incarnation of the Evil Empire, but remember you are using them because they are convenient and provide a service to you. Not for all the bullsh*t reasons they try to hype on the consumer.

3) Change your domicile to the state that makes the most sense to you.

4) Hit the road; read CRVL; and enjoy life.

 

[IanC]

Why would you want to pass on the interest or dividends your money can earn or the safety of having at least some of your funds federally insured? In the highly unlikely event of a government collapse, the only thing your money will be good for is kindling, anyway. If your debit cards are being com I don't believe we are such apromised regularly, change banks and figure out what you are doing that makes you such a target. We have had the discussion about credit cards, here. They are safer than debit cards or cash, accessible via the internet, and do not give crooks direct access to your funds.

We'd like to think funds are federally insured, but the government doesn't have as much cash as what is deposited. Did the government come to be rescue of all the people (including myself ) who lost 1/2 the value of their 401Ks in the not so distant past? I believe that anything that has happened before can happen again , including depression , world war, famine, etc. I don't believe we are such a blessed generation that we will forever avoid the calamities that every other generation in history have experienced.

In some countries negative interest rates are normal for commercial accounts - meaning they charge for holding cash rather than pay interest. Many believe the US will follow suit. That can become the case for all accounts with the stroke of a pen. So it doesn't take a conspiracy theorist to realize that what we used to think about banks is no longer the norm. As far as dividends, etc., it is people's expectations that their stock values should increase indefinitely that has led to our manufacturing going overseas. It's not the greed of corporations, it's the expectations of the share holders who all benefit when a US plant closes. I want no part of that anymore. Personal greed is no different than corporate greed.

My goal for the last few years on this earth is to not participate in anything I find objectionable. How to do that is the quest.

 

[GotSmart]

My goal for the last few years on this earth is to not participate in anything I find objectionable. How to do that is the quest.

Good luck. 

I use USAA Banking.  
Otherwise Speedhighway gave great advice.

 

[IanC]

Good luck. 

I use USAA Banking.  
Otherwise Speedhighway gave great advice.

Not sure about the silver thing. I bought silver a few years back as an alternate savings, and we know what happened there . The value of silver is in it's use in manufacturing and in an doomsday /SHTF scenario there won't be much of that going on.

 

[rvpopeye]

I've found that my credit union with shared branching provides a place to bank just about anywhere. Very user friendly and friendly service at all locations (that I have been to).
Certainly not "the evil empire"!

I suppose you could have all your teeth replaced with gold and just pull out as needed for emergencies ! Skuh kuh kuh kuh kuh
If you don't think you could do the deed just insult a bike gang !
(I can't stop , sorry )

 

[gcal]

We'd like to think funds are federally insured, but the government doesn't have as much cash as what is deposited. Did the government come to be rescue of all the people (including myself ) who lost 1/2 the value of their 401Ks in the not so distant past? I believe that anything that has happened before can happen again , including depression , world war, famine, etc. I don't believe we are such a blessed generation that we will forever avoid the calamities that every other generation in history have experienced.

In some countries negative interest rates are normal for commercial accounts - meaning they charge for holding cash rather than pay interest. Many believe the US will follow suit. That can become the case for all accounts with the stroke of a pen. So it doesn't take a conspiracy theorist to realize that what we used to think about banks is no longer the norm. As far as dividends, etc., it is people's expectations that their stock values should increase indefinitely that has led to our manufacturing going overseas. It's not the greed of corporations, it's the expectations of the share holders who all benefit when a US plant closes. I want no part of that anymore. Personal greed is no different than corporate greed.

My goal for the last few years on this earth is to not participate in anything I find objectionable. How to do that is the quest.

Federal insurance is for funds in a bank. If you lost money, that is not where your 401k was. I lost during the recession, too, but I have it all back, now, and more. However, what we all should be demanding is tighter regulations and accountability for the financial industry, with serious consequences for bad behavior. 

At the risk of being censored here, I will say that sharks probably dominant the financial industry. People don't choose to make a career of playing with money unless they really like it. Some of these people are sharp and do well for their clients, but in the end, they are really trying to do well for themselves. They have repeatedly shown that they will not regulate themselves. They will cheerfully bring the whole economy to its knees if they are not tightly regulated by the government.

 

[BradKW]

Wells Fargo is the biggest with nearly 7k branches, BoM and Chase are nearly as big with about 5k. I was just googling it the other day...

 

[Gary68]

it's all fine and dandy right up to the moment the power goes down then your cards and interwebs are useless,you just entered a cash only world and with our power grid being 1970's...

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

If government collapses your money is worthless no matter where you have it so it's a moot point in my opinion. As far as crumbling 401k's, stock market, gold, silver, and even real estate it's always going to go up and down in the short term but over the long term it's always been up. I lost half my money in 08 but i've gained it all back and a considerable amount more over the last 8 years. It's people that panic and pull out what they have left after a market dip that lose. Or if you do high risk investments, you could lose out as well. Invest conservatively and well diversified and you should do pretty well if history is any indicator.

People have worried about the inevitable "doomsday" for thousands of years. Odds of being right are pretty slim in one's short lifespan here on earth. Speculating on an impending doomsday is really no different than speculating in the stock market.

 

[Stephen]

I was just reading last night about online banks, the pros and cons. The article seemed to say that the pros out weigh the cons except for personal service that can only be done face to face. I was thinking when I hit the road that it might be the way to go. I wonder how many here use online as opposed to a S&B bank.

 

[BradKW]

Some flyer caught my eye not long ago, and if I understood it correctly, I believe they were saying that I could deposit a check with them by taking a picture of it on my phone and I guess texting it to them. I clearly recall thinking: "huh." I get deep thoughts like that often.

 

[Almost There]

I was just reading last night about online banks, the pros and cons. The article seemed to say that the pros out weigh the cons except for personal service that can only be done face to face. I was thinking when I hit the road that it might be the way to go. I wonder how many here use online as opposed to a S&B bank.

I do when I'm in the US. One of the large Canadian banks offers their customers access to their US online affiliate utilizing your Canadian credit scores to get US dollar charge cards.

It worked wonderfully for me this past winter. I had a debit card linked to my US dollar bank account and a Visa card through them as well. I simply transferred money in bulk online from my Canadian bank with a couple of keystrokes and voila - I had US money. I got cash back when I grocery shopped and quickly learned which stores had what limits for cash back and how to circumvent the lower limit ones....a grocery clerk showed me how...

Even with a full service bank at my disposal while I'm here in Canada I do the vast majority of my banking online or at the lobby machine. No need to stand in line unless I want to actually talk to a staff member and then I can always phone them anyways.

 

[GotSmart]

I was just reading last night about online banks, the pros and cons. The article seemed to say that the pros out weigh the cons except for personal service that can only be done face to face. I was thinking when I hit the road that it might be the way to go. I wonder how many here use online as opposed to a S&B bank.

I have been using USAA bank for 12 years now.  Instant deposit credit on transfers, Instant deposit on phone checks.  Anything can be done except getting change.  I can even hit cash machines and get the fees refunded. Since I also use their insurance services, automatic payments.  No worries, no 2 week waits on deposits. If I have a card problem, one call will take care of it. 

Between that and PayPal, I am covered.

 

[Sameer]

I have been with Bank of America for 18 years. They do everything for me. It costs me nothing to have them pay my van insurance and my mailbox automatically. They even provide me with software for my laptop to protect against 'invasion'. When I needed a new card they sent it to the UPS Store as I am away from my mailbox for 6 months at a time. For me Bank of America is a wonderful bank. I want a bank where if I need help or a major problem...I can walk into a Branch....and if one is not near me....I can either chat with a live operator or make a phone call and the problem is solved. Fast and Quickly.

 

[mayble]

I was just reading last night about online banks, the pros and cons. The article seemed to say that the pros out weigh the cons except for personal service that can only be done face to face. I was thinking when I hit the road that it might be the way to go. I wonder how many here use online as opposed to a S&B bank.

I've been with Capitol One 360 for years, since it was ING.  I also have credit union accounts (mortgage, car loan) but my paycheck is deposited to and my bills all paid from Capitol One 360.
The only possible downside is lack of brick & mortar locations, but they are expanding.  I've never had need for one.