When helping clients organize their finances, we often begin by organizing their papers and belongings. We find the most interesting things… including cash!
Cash was king for older generations. They operated in a world without PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, and other electronic transfers. So, if you help your parents with their personal finances and deal with their paper piles, you’ll probably uncover some cash, too.
Why so much cash in the house?
Some experts recommend keeping some cash at home for emergencies. However, one study showed that more than 43% of Americans keep most, if not all, of their savings in cash, with 53% of those folks stashing it at home.
The reasons people keep large amounts of cash at home vary. When discussing cash findings with our clients, we’ve often found they have trust issues with the financial system. Some have a perception of risk concerning technology – data breaches, hackers, or terrorist attacks that could compromise access to their money.
Some of our clients’ mobility challenges make accessing an ATM difficult. Many rely on family or friends to bring them cash when their access to it is limited. As a result, that money accumulates in their home.
Clients who remember their parents or themselves fleeing to another country may have been cautioned to always have ready access to their cash, jewelry, and other valuables.
So, listen carefully to your parents’ reasons for keeping cash in the house so you can help identify a safer solution.
Where to Look
Look carefully when helping your parents. You may be surprised where you find cash.
Search under couch cushions and furniture, even in curtain seams. Comb through papers that look like ads, check file drawers and kitchen cupboards, and examine wrapped freezer items.
In one case, a client used envelopes of cash gifts as bookmarks in her voluminous collection of books. We had to shake out each book to find the money. What we collected was substantial!
Discoveries of coins are more common than hordes of bills. What might start as a few coins on the kitchen table could turn into a large number by the time you’ve cleaned out the house. When gathering them, check to see if any are very old, as they may be worth more than their actual spending value.
What to Do with All That Cash
If appropriate, deposit your parents’ cash in their bank account to cover expenses or to begin earning interest.
Be aware that depositing cash in their account at a bank where you do not have a relationship may restrict you from making the deposit, or the bank may charge a fee. Also, when depositing a large number of coins, banks will generally require them to be rolled.
If your parents resist putting their cash in the bank, explain that checking and savings accounts, money market accounts, and CDs are all protected by FDIC insurance. Many institutions offer additional insurance on top of that. Both coverages make these accounts much safer than keeping money at home.
If your parents can’t be convinced to trust a bank, get a fireproof, waterproof safe for storing cash, documents, and other valuables at home.
See other articles in this series – Part 1: “Stock Documents Buried in Piles of Papers;“ Part 3: “Uncashed Checks Going Stale,” and Part 4: “Uncovering the Coverage.”
For information on our services in this area, please visit our LifeKeeping page.