What is a Deep Pantry, Why You Need One and How to Start PT 12 ” Money Stash”

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I always suggest putting money back in all my food storage challenges, well a while back I received this question in one of the comments.

Could you please explain a bit more about the money stash. Food storage challenge is a brilliant help to me and have just been through them all again to see what else I may have missed. Cannot find original post about money stash though. I take it this is different to an emergency fund and rather if banks were not open or chaos prevails. Thank you for all your ideas and help you provide here.

I thought instead of just answering her I would do a small post about this.
In all my food storage challenges, I recommend putting back money every week, however much you can afford. For a few different reasons.

# 1 If the power is out for an extended time and you can’t get money out of your bank, then you have some cash on hand to get by until the power comes back on.

# 2 If the banks have a bank holiday once again you have cash on hand.

# 3 If at all possible I do recommend having enough cash for 3 to 6 months of bills and living expenses. I know this is difficult for a lot of people, that is why I say to try and put back something every week, even if a very small amount, it all adds up. I would hope that we would never have bank holidays, but they have happened in other countries.

#4 And it is also nice to have if you are a little short and need a few extra dollars for whatever ( especially if you have teens) Just be sure to try and replace it.

#5 Peace of mind. Just knowing that you have that little back up helps to give a little peace of mind. Back when I was a single parent and very broke I would scrounge everywhere all over the house looking for change just to get something that the girls needed. I don’t want to ever have to do that again, that is a feeling that I will never forget.

Ok so you are putting money back, the next question is where do you keep it. The ideal place is a fireproof safe, but that is not an option for everyone. Before we had a safe I keep ours in the freezer. With the freezer, if you have a fire it is less apt to burn. If you put it in the freezer make it looks like it belongs, wrap it in freezer paper, put it in a bag that vegetables were in, or a box of frozen food just make it blend in and then put it at the very back of the freezer where you have to take out several things out to get to it. You might also want to add a silica jell pack ( like what comes in vitamins and other things) just to help keep the moister out. All though not necessary, I have kept it in just as small bag, hidden in the freezer without much issue.

I don’t recommend burying it. My Mother in Law use to do this years ago and never kept a record of where it was, I am pretty sure there is money buried in her yard that will never be found. She lived through the depression, so she stashed money everywhere.

2 Replies to “What is a Deep Pantry, Why You Need One and How to Start PT 12 ” Money Stash””

  1. NRP

    Had a friend once tell me he kept his “extra” money in a Safety-Deposit-Box at the Bank…..
    Anyone here see a problem with that? I had to actually explain to him that the S-D-B is INSIDE the bank, so how the heck you going to get to your cash, documents, PM’s, so-on ????? UGHHHH

    I do suggest using a Seal A Meal and sealing that paper before dropping in the Freezer, ever seen a hunk of Beef that’s been in the freezer for a few years? Frost can ruin Paper Money.
    BUT I do like the Freezer, if anyone has ever seen a home burn down, take a look at the Freezer, the shell may be destroyed, but 95% of the time the core of the stuff inside is still rock hard frozen.

    1. watkinsranches@yahoo.com Post author

      NRP,
      Love the idea of vacuum sealing it hadn’t ever thought of that Thanks 🙂 And you are so correct about the freezer. Completely agrees on the safety deposit boxes a lot of people don’t even think about trying to get to it in a bank shut down of if you need it and the bank is closed.

      Have a great day
      COnnie