how fast could you come up with two thousand dollars?

[pondrast]

http://www.daytondailynews.com/busin...0-1182312.html

[troutkiller]

JJ Luna, author of How To Be Invisible, advises having $5000 COH (cash on hand). Even Suzie Orman, the financial diva, now advises building up a cash reserve rather than falling back on credit cards in an emergency (as she used to advise).

[mitchr]

I imagine a lot of folks, especially in this economy, are living from paycheck to paycheck. At the same time, I wonder how selective they were in deciding who to ask?

[TuxAir]

I was advised early on to have a $10K reserve/emergency fund. The current economy has taken its toll on my stash a few times, but it is always line item #1 on our budget to get it back up there. It is something you "should" do.

[gun sane]

Had it not been for the wife, I would be scratching a poor man's a$$ right now. Like Tuxair, she likes to keep a stash of cash around and she gets the heebie jeebies when it gets low. She can't stand to be in debt. When the credit card bill comes it's paid in full within 5 minutes. The only fixed debt we have is the house. She's not cheap, just frugal. With such a keen eye for value, I'm still trying to figure out what she saw in me. I guess love truly is blind.

[Eliminator]

I agree. the only debt we have is the house. Gave up credit cards 16 years ago. Everything is cash now and the savings is what I would call comfortable.
This weekend we gave up fast food. Prices of these places keep going up and the food is not good for us. My estimate is we should be saving another $300 a month which we will roll into prepardness.

[Pokeman]

I was advised early on to have a $10K reserve/emergency fund. The current economy has taken its toll on my stash a few times, but it is always line item #1 on our budget to get it back up there. It is something you "should" do.

this

if you can find away to have 6 months living expenses liquid....financial life gets mush less stressful. I would like to get to this position some day.

[Mason]

Only thing I owe on is commercial property. And if they want it they can come and get it. Everything else is paid for, house, cars/trucks everything... And because of this it only takes a little to get buy on each month. I have a little cash buried out back in Mason Jars.. Thats why I think them damn aliens are always rooting around out back. They're trying to find my stash. Them damn "Grays" are trying to get my Green.

[gun sane]

Mason, I think it's time to bring out the big guns:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/68449558...y-gun-necklace

http://hubpages.com/hub/Earthlings-A...lien-Abduction

[mitchr]

While it may be possible for us to get our hands on that amount in a matter of days, it relies on banks being open or internet being up & running. In some catastrophies, such as Katrina & similar wide spread destruction, that may not be possible. At the same time, I hesitate to have large amounts of cash stashed at the house for obvious reasons.

For these reasons, credit cards can be a viable alternative if a person doesn't abuse their use. Then a smaller amount, maybe $500 or so in cash, would be enough for travel to outside of the area where the credit card could be used. Of course, in a nation wide scenario, even that could be useless. I believe that that was what was intended when they attacked the world trade center.