Accumulating Cash

[barkley]

My credit union has a cap on how much I can take out at an ATM per day, so I don't even think that would have worked for me. Never really considered it and now you got me thinking about what my options for something like that might be.

if your own credit is union is a distance away you can find out if they belong to any of the cooperatives of credit unions that permit each other's customers to do banking in each other's branches ('shared branching'). that way you can to the c.u. that's closest and arrange for an immediate transfer of funds to do a cash withdrawl.

I'd never get involved with a bank that doesn't have a local physical location.

same here-i tell dh that I won't consider a bank or credit union unless we are within 'pitchfork and torch carrying' distance (I CLEARLY remember just happening to drive into town back in 2008 past the local WAMU branch and seeing the customer line out the door, around the bank, down the street).

 

[tvguy]

I always try to have enough cash on me to buy a tank of gas. About $60. And about $300 at home. We had a contractor cut a major data line here last year that knocked out all the gas station Point Of Sale systems. Was interesting to see cars pulling in and out while I was fueling up, asking if the POS was working at that gas station as they were on fumes. And on a normal business day, I probably could get any amount of cash I would likely need in a few minutes.

 

[barkley]

I'm having to change to a new high yield savings option because I don't want hiccups! I WANT a brick and mortar institution, but I NEED the higher yield options.

I get it, i'm brick and mortar all the way. fortunately the rates at some of the credit unions are pretty good right now-i just locked a CD at 4.3% and the money markets are paying 3.04%. not as high as the online's but I like being able to walk into the branch.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I know it's not the point of the thread but I don't think I would pay cash for that high of an amount. I bought my car with my money from the bank when I was 17, it was $7,000. I did a teller's check. Yes not every seller has a bank account but that's my protection too so I'd have proof I did provide payment. Too many issues with people paying high enough dollar cash and running into issues.

To the topic I don't think there's an issue with having an account with a digital bank like Ally Bank but I would have a backup locally to be able to funnel money in in cases like this. Locally can mean different things to different people, rural people may have to go greater distances but the point is you'd have a backup bank you could reasonably and realistically get to should you need to.

 

[wvjules]

Ehhh, cash with a bill of sale is just as good as any other payment method as far as protections go.

It's probably sold "as-is" anyway.

 

[soccerdad72]

Curious where you live that there are no brick and mortar banks? My bank is a half a mile from me. And Bank of America is in the middle of building new brick and mortar branches here. Granted, they ARE different than branches of the past. The new branches no longer have safe deposit boxes. But they do every other kind of banking. And as for cash, every grocery store as an ATM.

All our investments and liquid cash is with Morgan Stanley, which (as far as I know) doesn't have brick and mortar banks. We can go to whatever ATM we want and the fees are credited back to us, so I got to know many different ATMs in the past few days. I know now which ones dispense what bills.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Ehhh, cash with a bill of sale is just as good as any other payment method as far as protections go.

It's probably sold "as-is" anyway.

I'm speaking broadly to paying cash for things that are of a high enough value from workmanship to buying a slew of things. It's hard to dispute things even with a bill of sale if what you bought has issues, even for an 'as is' purchase. Physical cash has no backing from a financial institution and is much harder to trace, etc. It's okay if you have a difference in threshold for your comfort level but I personally wouldn't pay $6,500 in cash for a jetski, I'd want proof and aid should something occur due to the result of that purchase especially off Facebook marketplace. I would also do the transaction at a deemed safe spot (in my area it's typically the police station). Obviously YMMV.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

And on a normal business day, I probably could get any amount of cash I would likely need in a few minutes.

It was always the advice my mom had when I first got an actual bank account as opposed to just a savings account I had when I was 9 to do it at a bank with enough locations and access to ATMs. The downside I think some people can run into is if their bank closes (which happens even to big name ones for specific locations) or ATMs get removed.

I do think it helps if people's banks have agreements with ATMs where you'll just pay a fee to get money out even if it's not your own bank, in a pinch that's helpful.

 

[goofyernmost]

If a vender takes cash only, they are going to take someone else's cash, not mine. I carry about $20 cash on me for something unexpected, but that is it. I do all my bill paying online and use debit or credit cards for all purchased online or in person. I would never have a large stash of cash in my home. To me that is a good way to get killed. Cash was needed about 4 decades back but it just makes one look very old fashioned, for a lack of a better phrase, to use now. I even use a Credit Union that pays me 5% on my average checking balance every month if I use my debit card 15 times in that month. I can't think of an easier way to make a little money on your money. I can count on the fingers of one hand the amount of checks I write a year. Paying in cash has no traceability. Unless one is doing something illegal it is much better to have a paper trail to protect yourself.

 

[_19disnA]

Hopefully the OP has some way to make sure the jet ski is in good working order and not stolen before the transaction takes place? That seems like a LOT of cash to be carrying around, so I would assume you plan to arrange to meet this person in some public place? If the item is stolen, likely any contact information the seller provides is probably fake as well.

 

[AustinTink]

I know it's not the point of the thread but I don't think I would pay cash for that high of an amount

We do it all the time for antiques collectibles, buying and selling. It’s standard in our hobby group.

 

[barkley]

We do it all the time for antiques collectibles, buying and selling. It’s standard in our hobby group.

it's also common in our area for certain types of vendors/trades.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We do it all the time for antiques collectibles, buying and selling. It’s standard in our hobby group.

I can see specific groups doing it, especially when there is a set of rules and norms from a subculture, but random marketplace posts to me are much more risky.

 

[OhDannyBoy]

We always have anywhere from 5-10k in cash on hand at the house. Can’t imagine not having it at the ready for whatever pops up.

Keeping cash on hand is a part of our hurricane prep kit.

 

[wvjules]

I'm speaking broadly to paying cash for things that are of a high enough value from workmanship to buying a slew of things. It's hard to dispute things even with a bill of sale if what you bought has issues, even for an 'as is' purchase. Physical cash has no backing from a financial institution and is much harder to trace, etc. It's okay if you have a difference in threshold for your comfort level but I personally wouldn't pay $6,500 in cash for a jetski, I'd want proof and aid should something occur due to the result of that purchase especially off Facebook marketplace. I would also do the transaction at a deemed safe spot (in my area it's typically the police station). Obviously YMMV.

I’m pretty sure Steve and Mrs. Steve know what they are doing. They are pretty smart folks.

 

[AustinTink]

Keeping cash on hand is a part of our hurricane prep kit.

It just makes sense.

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

A majority of our money is with Navy Federal Credit Union with the closest branch 150 miles (2 1/2 hours) from us. The last time I actually went into one of their branches was in 1999.

I have a local bank where our checks are deposited, but I transfer a majority each check over to Navy Federal I also have a different local credit union with a CD incase I need access to a fair amount of cash instantly. Never been a problem for us banking this way. Earlier this year I knew of an upcoming expense of $6,500 in cash so I just planned accordingly and didn't transfer money to Navy Federal for a bit. But then when I went into my local branch (where our checks go) to get $6,500 in cash they gave me a hard time and told me they wanted advance notice when withdrawing that much money (and this is a large regional bank with 200+ branches).

Funny story though, last year a friend (who also banks at Navy Federal and lives near us) stopped over to get a physical check from us to pay our share of event tickets. He then said how he was running down to Navy Federal to deposit checks the following week. He'd hold onto paper checks until he had a certain dollar amount then drive down there, he's been doing that for years. Wow, was he sure grateful when he came over to get the check from us, that I showed him in the app how you just take a pic of a check and it automatically deposits.

 

[tvguy]

All our investments and liquid cash is with Morgan Stanley, which (as far as I know) doesn't have brick and mortar banks. We can go to whatever ATM we want and the fees are credited back to us, so I got to know many different ATMs in the past few days. I know now which ones dispense what bills.

My Brokerage has an affiliation with my bank. So I have an extra step of transferring money from the brokerage account to a bank account that is linked to an ATM.
Dispensing bills can be frustrating. I was forced once to take $50 bills. A lot of businesses won't take anything larger than a $20. I did watch a guy pay for gas with a $100. I asked the station owner if that caused him problems. He said it just comes with gasoline prices. He gets 25 to 30 $100 bills in a typical day. But he has one of those safe/change machines that won't give changes unless it detects a $100 bill being put it.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

guy pay for gas with a $100. I asked the station owner if that caused him problems. He said it just comes with gasoline prices. He gets 25 to 30 $100 bills in a typical day.

It wouldn't even dawn on me to think paying with a $100 bill for gas would be a hardship for a gas station. Not with SUVs and the like that have huge tanks. It doesn't take much fluctuation in gas prices for someone to get up there in cost so for every $20 gasoline sale that someone paid with a $100 bill there's someone who purchased $75+ on gasoline and paid with $100; easy figures used for examples sake but you get the point.

I actually used to pay in case for gasoline a lot in high school and early college somewhere down the road it was far easier for me to just use my card probably because it seemed like every time I was in there to pre-pay it'd be the slowest line ever to get to the clerk lol.

 

[tvguy]

It wouldn't even dawn on me to think paying with a $100 bill for gas would be a hardship for a gas station. Not with SUVs and the like that have huge tanks. It doesn't take much fluctuation in gas prices for someone to get up there in cost so for every $20 gasoline sale that someone paid with a $100 bill there's someone who purchased $75+ on gasoline and paid with $100; easy figures used for examples sake but you get the point.

I actually used to pay in case for gasoline a lot in high school and early college somewhere down the road it was far easier for me to just use my card probably because it seemed like every time I was in there to pre-pay it'd be the slowest line ever to get to the clerk lol.

I have gotten lazy and use the credit card most often. We drive so little anymore, in the first 7 months of this year I put just 1,000 miles on my car, I don't buy gas often. My daughter visited for two week week before last and w drove 1,700 miles in those two weeks! My wife has a hybrid, and it gets driven more, but not much more. I have gone 3 months without putting gas in it.