question about storing $

Wish I could help but I've never been able to acquire enough at one time to worry about it.I do prefer a safe at home for the few coins and things that I do want to protect though.
 
You'd have limited access to it--bank/PO hours only. You'd be paying for its storage. And inflation is on the upswing. Not a time to just let money sit. Yes, you can put money in safe deposity boxes. But it won't be covered by the FDIC or NCUA.

Seems to be you 'd be better off depositing it where it would earn some interest and still have ATM type access to it at all hours. A money market account would be good if it's enough money to reach the reasonable interest earnings. You can get mutiple ATM cards if you need them for your friend.

Phil
 
There's not really any reason to stash your cash away in a box unless you need to hide it from someone (such as the IRS).
 
At the current interest rate,unless it's a pile of money,the taxes shouldn't be that bad,probably not what you'd end up paying in rent for the box.
 
Store cash in a security box? Uninsured. No interest. No dividends. No capital gains. Becoming more worthless every day due to inflation. All the while you're paying for the box. Sounds like a lose-lose-lose-lose situation.

CDs? A better bet than storing cash, but still probably won't earn enough to beat inflation. Remember last year's hype when CDs were earning 3%-5%? Inflation was 4% (according to the grossly understated gov't estimates), so CDs actually earned 1% tops.

Concerned about taxes? Probably not a big deal - you only pay taxes as a % of the interest earned. $100,000 in CDs earns maybe $3,000 interest. How much taxes on $3000 interest? If it's 20%, then $800, which leaves you $2200 profit. That's not a lot, but it's $2200 more than hoarding it in a box.

I assume you already contribute the max to an IRA and ESA/529 (if you have kids) where the money can grow tax-free, and where you may be eligible for related tax breaks?

Considered municipal bonds? Earn a small amount of interest, but pay no taxes on it.

Just tossing out ideas...
 
SkinnyJoe said:
What are your views on 401k ?
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If your employer matches, contribute the amount to get the maximum match. It's free money and will outperform the market return. Most advisors then counsel you to invest in other ways after that. True, they earn money from you investing in other ways, but you have more options and generally better returns. It's also quite likely you won't be in a lower tax bracket at retirement any more so there is some good reasoning to investing your money post tax as well.

If you live a lifestyle of high legal risk (likely to get sued) then a 401k is good as they can't attach their claims to it like they can to an IRA or other categories of assets.

An interesting and still legal (last I heard) tax dodge is the variable universal life insurance with a guaranteed wash loan provision. At least that's the name I remember it by. Basically you set up a fixed monthly deposit investment account under a life insurance policy thus the variable and universal as the pay out is based on what the investment is worth. You pick and manage the available investments. The wash loan provision gives you access to tap the funds during the term of the policy without having to pay it back and so on. And you don't pay taxes on an asset which is the life insurance. Downside is that you are paying management fees to the insurance company, but that's theoretically lower than taxes. Have your accountant go over any of these you're considering.

I'm no accountant, tax attorney or investment advisor so do further research and get qualified advisors.
 
I don't have access to a 401k - they're only available to people who's employers provide one. Few companies offer 401k programs, and they aren't available to the self-employed or unemployed either. Although self-employed people have other options available to them.

It's usually a good idea though, especially for the few lucky people who's employers offer some sort of matching program - it's like free money. If there's no company matching program, then I would consider contributing to a 401k only after the IRA deposits are maxed out. Many 401k programs have high fees and limited investment choices - something to watch out for.
 
Basic stuff:
Two types of IRAs, Traditional and Roth. With a Traditional IRA you get a tax break each year that you contribute, but pay taxes when you withdraw in the future. With a Roth IRA, you invest money that you've paid taxes on, but pay no taxes on the earnings when withdrawing. There are dozens of variable that determine which type is best for each person, but generally younger people are better off with a Roth.

Max contribution each year is $5000. Very high income people, and people with other retirement programs may not qualify for the max deposits. People over 50yrs can contribute extra.

You can start an IRA anywhere - full-service brokerage, discount brokerage, bank, or directly with a fund company.

You can have multiple IRA accounts, but still can only contribute the max to all accounts combined.

IRAs can purchase a wide variety of investments - stocks, bonds, mutual funds, REITs, CDs, money markets, or simply held in cash balances. You can NOT 'invest' in rental properties or pocketknives and call it an "IRA". ;)

My IRA tips:
Choose investments and brokerages with the very lowest fees.
Diversify!
Contribute the max each year.
 
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This thread is moving into investing, which is OK with me.

But, as per the OP, talking about cash - meaning currency, cash money, the ones with the presidents -- it is a very good thing to have a stash of it handy.
Well hidden in your home, or someplace else easily accessible.

There are times when cash is what's needed, and nothing else will do.
 
The post office does not offer safe deposit boxes. They only offer post office boxes for the delivery of mail.
 
What I've been wondering, is the OP worried about a Paper Trail or not?
 
Take the cash and buy gold if you are just going to let it sit otherwise put it to work making you money. As other have pointed out letting cash sit just slowly lowers its value.
 
Personally, an "amount" of cash -- $500? $1000? $5000? $10,000 -- depending on your expected need at a moments notice (and considering the amount you wish or are able to see drop in value due to inflation) and an equal amount of gold sounds like a good idea to me. The equal value of gold may grow in value as it sets idle, to offset the paper dollars which WILL be loosing value. Most people would accept gold readily I would think.

Just my 2 cents (well... 1.7 cents by the time I hit the "Submit Reply" button.):D
 
Skinny...

401K is primarily for pre tax dollar investment. You pay taxes when you remove the money out and pay taxes on the cash and interested earned. This is primarily for long term investment.

I would suggest for long term investment if this money is already legally aquired and you have paid taxes on thie aquisition of this money. That you invest in a ROTH IRA a Roth IRA you place monies into a roth fund and when you with draw the monies they are TAX FREE including the interest. I use a roth when I have extra cash...someday when I retire this will be the fund I use to purchase large ticket items without dipping into my 401k and have to pay taxes on this.

Short term investment I would suggest either a 12 month CD or a six month CD shop for rates at a local bank.

Roths can be set up with any financial advisor. Edward Jones, Janus, AG Edwards...even your bank..

Just putting it in a Safe deposit box..literally is a waste of money..:D
 
timcsaw said:
Personally, an "amount" of cash -- $500? $1000? $5000? $10,000 -- depending on your expected need at a moments notice (and considering the amount you wish or are able to see drop in value due to inflation) and an equal amount of gold sounds like a good idea to me. The equal value of gold may grow in value as it sets idle, to offset the paper dollars which WILL be loosing value. Most people would accept gold readily I would think.

Just my 2 cents (well... 1.7 cents by the time I hit the "Submit Reply" button.):D
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Right now is a lousy time to buy gold as an investment,gold is off a little from the highs a couple months ago but I wouldn't be surprised if it goes back up some.The problem with buying it at the present is,unless your buying it right and turning it into cash,gold is going to go back down,when it does,it may be quite a while until you could even get your initial investment back.
 
I wouldn't buy gold right now either. It's currently very high, and will probably drop when/if the dollar recovers. The drop could be substantial, based on the gold prices for the last 20 years.

One of my mutual funds has a small amount (1.5%) of gold though, good for diversification I suppose.
 
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