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In the US, three-quarters of all non-cash payments are done so electronically. Debit cards make up 35 percent of all non-cash payments, and has surpassed all other forms of non-cash payments. 80 percent of consumers own a debit card.
Electronic money, like debit cards, is convenient and easy to use, and is favored by most merchants (despite the small percentage paid to VISA, etc… for the convenience). Merchants save money while transacting with electronic money because it enables electronic book-keeping methods that eliminate most human intervention.
Without getting into the argument about the current “Fiat” money system (paper money), and the definition of “real” money, the fact is that humans have been trained to work for either paper money, or invisible electronic money.
Implications of using electronic versus paper money
Using electronic money will leave a definitive footprint, captured forever, of your purchase (where, when, and sometimes… what). Spending habits are quickly profiled and updated each time electronic money is used. This is not an issue for most people, while it mainly affects the type of junk mail and solicitations that comes to them.
Cash, or paper money, is obviously not tagged to you and your profile with your purchase date, place, and product (unless you provide a store discount card, etc…
. For a few, this method is preferred, simply upon principal.
How much cash money to keep
In a world of electronic money, how much actual cash money should one keep on ones person and how much cash should one keep safely at home? Under what circumstances will one need actual cash money?
…while traveling
If you are typically close enough to home and not traveling outside your local region, $100 minimum should be enough to get you out of a typical jam should the need arise. A better recommendation may be to keep several hundred, enough to cover a minor automobile repair if stranded, or to somehow get yourself back home without relying on the assumption of full acceptance of electronic money during an emergency.
…at home
In a scenario where “the system” goes down, for whatever reason, cash will be king during Part 1 of the event. The more, the better. Period.
Since humans have been trained that paper money has value, cash will be demanded until such time that things get bad enough, and ones value system begins to change.
Enough cash should be kept at home (don’t assume that you’ll get yours out of the bank) to at least pay the rent (mortgage) for the roof over your head for an amount of time that you wish to avoid homelessness – until the situation gets back in order, perhaps from a job loss, outside circumstance, or even an economic collapse. Add in the other expenses that you could not live without for that time period, then add 20 percent more as a cushion, and you will have your minimum number.
Example: 4 months survival on cash
Rent $1,200 per month = $4,800
Utilities, Heat, Electric, City, etc… $400 per month = $1,600
Food (if you have food storage, then this is zero) $600 per month = $2,400
Cushion $1,200
Do you see how fast this can add up? Not even including gasoline, insurances, other loans, etc… this already totals $10,000. Of course, everyone’s budget is different, but the point being that things can go downhill very, very fast if the system (your system or “the” system) gets disrupted.
Cash will be King
Although most people do not believe that the current financial system could collapse, the fact is, it certainly could. In today’s electronic world of money, there is only a very tiny amount of actual real paper money cash out there in circulation compared to the total transactions that occur each day.
If there were to be panic, and enough people began withdrawing some or all of their money from the banks, the cash would run dry very fast. Sure, this a worse case scenario, but many people believe, deep down, that the system is in trouble and that something like this could truly happen given the right circumstances.
Remember this, Cash will be King, during Part 1 of an economic collapse. Part 2 will be more about tangible goods than Fiat money.
One last thing… keep most of it in 20′s, nothing higher.
If you enjoy this post or topics of preparedness, geophsyical phenomenon, current event risks (natural or human), consider our survival blog RSS feed, E-mail of new posts, or bookmark us at Modern Survival Blog
Modern Survival Blog
Great Danger Lies Ahead
Posted on Sat, 11 Dec 2010 18:50:59 +0000 at http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ModernSurvivalBlog/~3/Am5L81n94ZI/
Comments: http://modernsurvivalblog.com/security/cash-will-be-king/#comments
In the US, three-quarters of all non-cash payments are done so electronically. Debit cards make up 35 percent of all non-cash payments, and has surpassed all other forms of non-cash payments. 80 percent of consumers own a debit card.
Electronic money, like debit cards, is convenient and easy to use, and is favored by most merchants (despite the small percentage paid to VISA, etc… for the convenience). Merchants save money while transacting with electronic money because it enables electronic book-keeping methods that eliminate most human intervention.
Without getting into the argument about the current “Fiat” money system (paper money), and the definition of “real” money, the fact is that humans have been trained to work for either paper money, or invisible electronic money.
Implications of using electronic versus paper money
Using electronic money will leave a definitive footprint, captured forever, of your purchase (where, when, and sometimes… what). Spending habits are quickly profiled and updated each time electronic money is used. This is not an issue for most people, while it mainly affects the type of junk mail and solicitations that comes to them.
Cash, or paper money, is obviously not tagged to you and your profile with your purchase date, place, and product (unless you provide a store discount card, etc…
. For a few, this method is preferred, simply upon principal.How much cash money to keep
In a world of electronic money, how much actual cash money should one keep on ones person and how much cash should one keep safely at home? Under what circumstances will one need actual cash money?
…while traveling
If you are typically close enough to home and not traveling outside your local region, $100 minimum should be enough to get you out of a typical jam should the need arise. A better recommendation may be to keep several hundred, enough to cover a minor automobile repair if stranded, or to somehow get yourself back home without relying on the assumption of full acceptance of electronic money during an emergency.
…at home
In a scenario where “the system” goes down, for whatever reason, cash will be king during Part 1 of the event. The more, the better. Period.
Since humans have been trained that paper money has value, cash will be demanded until such time that things get bad enough, and ones value system begins to change.
Enough cash should be kept at home (don’t assume that you’ll get yours out of the bank) to at least pay the rent (mortgage) for the roof over your head for an amount of time that you wish to avoid homelessness – until the situation gets back in order, perhaps from a job loss, outside circumstance, or even an economic collapse. Add in the other expenses that you could not live without for that time period, then add 20 percent more as a cushion, and you will have your minimum number.
Example: 4 months survival on cash
Rent $1,200 per month = $4,800
Utilities, Heat, Electric, City, etc… $400 per month = $1,600
Food (if you have food storage, then this is zero) $600 per month = $2,400
Cushion $1,200
Do you see how fast this can add up? Not even including gasoline, insurances, other loans, etc… this already totals $10,000. Of course, everyone’s budget is different, but the point being that things can go downhill very, very fast if the system (your system or “the” system) gets disrupted.
Cash will be King
Although most people do not believe that the current financial system could collapse, the fact is, it certainly could. In today’s electronic world of money, there is only a very tiny amount of actual real paper money cash out there in circulation compared to the total transactions that occur each day.
If there were to be panic, and enough people began withdrawing some or all of their money from the banks, the cash would run dry very fast. Sure, this a worse case scenario, but many people believe, deep down, that the system is in trouble and that something like this could truly happen given the right circumstances.
Remember this, Cash will be King, during Part 1 of an economic collapse. Part 2 will be more about tangible goods than Fiat money.
One last thing… keep most of it in 20′s, nothing higher.
If you enjoy this post or topics of preparedness, geophsyical phenomenon, current event risks (natural or human), consider our survival blog RSS feed, E-mail of new posts, or bookmark us at Modern Survival Blog
Modern Survival Blog
Great Danger Lies Ahead
Posted on Sat, 11 Dec 2010 18:50:59 +0000 at http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ModernSurvivalBlog/~3/Am5L81n94ZI/
Comments: http://modernsurvivalblog.com/security/cash-will-be-king/#comments