Believe it or not having some money saved is part of your self defense. You need to have some cash to get you through some ruff times. If you need someone to help you wouldn’t it be nice to just have the money and buy it! You should keep some of that money on you. It’s amazing what $100 in cash will still get you these days. Most places it will still you get you a room for the night, a change of clothes, a cheap jacket if it’s cold, or a can full of gas if you run out. I know this sounds mundane, but it really keeps you safe. Simple problems become great tragedies when we are not prepared.
Last week when going to a picnic for my kids school (I was the only one in the truck) I saw a car blocking a lane on the on-ramp with 2 women in it. I pulled past them to check out what was going on and then got out next to my truck about 30 yards up the road. I waited for one of the ladies to get out and then we yelled back and forth over the highway noise. Turns out they where out of gas (a gas station was less then a mile down the road) and they need someone to come get them because they didn’t have any money. I only carry diesel fuel in my truck and was considering running up the road to get a gallon of gas for them when they said they got in touch with one of their boyfriends and he was coming out.
Of course the ladies didn’t want to get in my truck and head to the gas station with me, but if they had cash they could have handed someone the money and asked them to get the gas and paid them for their troubles. Offering money for help goes a long way in getting it. Expecting someone to help you just because you are breathing isn’t a good plan. Some will help, some will not. It’s nice to have options and money will do that for you.
I carry a “Red Neck Emergency Fund” in my wallet. It’s just a hundred dollars normally in 20s that I can use to get help or anything else if I need it. Remember cash always works. When the power is out at the 7-11 they will still take cash for food, but the credit card machines aren’t going to work.
Here are some other boring reasons to have cash saved; buy something big, take advantage of a sale, things always break, cover a crappy month at work or forced time off because the company isn’t doing so well, or full blown emergencies.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to hang out with someone really cool and his wife. We had lunch and just talked about life, because I have a little money saved I was able to pay for all or our lunches. It’s nice to have some money to give to really cool people or people in need when you have the want.
Bottom line is having cash on hand will make your life better and easier anytime something happens out of the norm.
Stay Safe,
Ben