YNAB You Need A Budget

[sarham]

2) If There were an extended power outtage, merchants would process credit cards the old fashioned way. They'd use the manual imprinter. I actually had this happen recently.

As long as the cards you use still have the raised lettering, I imagine this would work. But a lot of my new cards are coming with the laser lettering rather than the raised letters, and I can imagine a store not accepting the handwritten transcription of the card in place of an imprint.

[terrabyte]

Lots of stories this weekend showing that cash was very useful during all those horrible storms on the east coast.

[bookman413]

2) If There were an extended power outtage, merchants would process credit cards the old fashioned way. They'd use the manual imprinter. I actually had this happen recently.

As long as the cards you use still have the raised lettering, I imagine this would work. But a lot of my new cards are coming with the laser lettering rather than the raised letters, and I can imagine a store not accepting the handwritten transcription of the card in place of an imprint.

a smart merchant would just record the credit card numbers by hand, and phone number, and CSC, and get a signature on a piece of paper,...that would form a legal contract in all cases, which only matters if the customer disputes the charge later. but in most cases you are dealing with low level clerks without the mindset or the authority to do that.

cash is VERY useful in transacting hand to hand business where registers and computer terminals are not working...or don't even exist, like at the side of the road for that really cool lawnmower the guy is offering for $10, --(happened to me today...proud new owner of a Sears mastercraft 60s-era 7-bladed reel mower in STUNNING working condition..)

In an *extended* emergency, like a nuclear war or zombies, eventually cash might not be useful....but for the garden variety, power out for a month in one region and the US still exists, cash is very useful.

[tallison]

This is something I've never thought of. I tend not to keep cash around at all, am heavily reliant on eft-pos.

Anything I have which could possibly be traded I doubt I would have the means to contact a possible trader without electronic means.

You may have figured out by now - they won't do you much good in an emergency.
My answer: Emergency Fund is commonly referenced at $1,000. I keep $1,000 in cash in the house somewhere between my HK2000 and my Walther PPS so don't get any funny ideas! But seriously, I figure $1,000 is enough to get me what I need to get out of the area. Whatever the "emergency" might be, sitting in a large city with a reputation for being pretty rough is not where I would want to be.

Last time we had an extensive emergency we lost power for days across the lower half of the state. At the time I was camping in the upper half. When we came down we realized we were in a perfect position. We had all our camping gear.

Camping is a good hobby.

[venmarvel]

What is good having a money problem is that you can think and do something to cope, on how to survive in times of financial distress. We have the character to adopt and cope with situations, that's the best thing in life. Get the cash to your banking account right away whenever you have an emergency. Everyone knows what this is like. Every once in a while, every person needs some quick cash, whether it is to cover a hospital visit or to fix your car that just stopped working.

[TheBSquared]

This has been a fun thread to ready. I agree with the campers - it's a really useful hobby in the case of an emergency. We probably have every possible gadget we can. So we should be all good for a while. The only thing we don't have is cash. But I have made a note to add some to our "Every Camping Trip" box. That way we have it for those days we forget to draw at an ATM before we get into the wilderness with no reception.

It's highly unlikely that Durban will experience severe weather, earthquakes or wild fires anytime soon, that would affect the city for any length of time. Even if the sea rises 5m we won't be affected, but the beach will be closer. So there aren't really any examples that I can think of when we wouldn't be able to get money quickly from an ATM. But I would rather be a little prepared.

And I love all the comments about Zombies! B and I joke whenever we are driving somewhere new, that we are looking for the best place to retreat to in the Zombie Apocalypse. We have a few spots picked out!

[camelli]

TheBSquared, how do you find these old threads that are fun to read?

I agree that it makes sense to have some cash in the house. How much - depends on the person and what kind of emergencies they expect.

I had the following situation about 4 weeks ago:
I went to a kids consignment store and when I got there the lights in the whole shopping mall were out. They told me they are closed until power is on again. I went to the sports store next door and asked if they were open. Yes, if I could pay with cash and had a bit of time, I could shop. I just bought a $3 item. They were using their phones to add taxes and then wrote me a receipt by hand. I was glad that I did not have to come back later because of the power outage.