I used to roll mine up and stick it in the end of the curtain rod.

Why are you hiding money in the house? I don't get it.

I used to hide my extra cash for Christmas. Joint checking and savings made it easier to hide than arguing over where it would be spent. Now that I am older and wiser in my relationships I don't have to do it.

I used to stash any money not spent out of the grocery allotment. It was a way of rewarding myself for being careful at the grocery as well as showing actual value for the effort of doing home-made rather than spending for store-bought. I kept the paper tucked into Rodale's Book of Composting (that's almost 4" thick, holds lots of singles) and coins in the bottom of the bag that held whatever sewing project was underway. The cash usually went on DH's b'day present, since that was the only way to keep the amount spent secret.

I live alone and still stash cash....
I never used to carry money or worry about cash, I could ask and my DH would hand me a 20 or whatever I needed....and I had plastic....who needed cash.
Well when he was rushed to the hospital for what turned out to be the last time, I had $12 in cash from some old draperies I had put into someone's garage sale and they sold. Turned out that $12 had to last me for 10 days of lunches, coffee, news paper etc....
I realized that I was then responsible for keeping my self in cash....and not everyone took plastic!
Then Y2K came along....and while I believed all the talk was baloney, I still stashed some cash!
So I keep $400 to $500 in cash stashed in my secret spot!....just in case.
Linda C

This thread is incredulous! I can't believe it. A man made the bed? TURNED A MATTRESS?????

I used to keep a cache, but it was my own little secret bank account, not cash. Like Weebus, it was a relationship thing, and I don't have to do it anymore. I bailed out my ex when he/they got into money scrapes. It was hilarious, they were p.o.ed to the nth I had a secret account, but it didn't stop them from holding their palm out.

The only time I did store up hard money in the proximity of my home was like Linda said, Y2K. Not much, because money would not be where it was at if everything came to a halt.

I sometime think those who build up big stashes at home have a Silas Marner complex. They like to get it out and run their fingers over the green and smell it. LOL. Just kidding. Maybe. I'll tell you where not to hide it. The freezer. My ex, the police chief, said that is one place every thief checks.

Hmm. Well I'm glad I don't feel the need to keep money separately. Joint accounts and finances since Day 1 here. And at least 12 ATMs are usually available in my small town.

And when I was burgled and had all my jewellery stolen, at least I didn't have a wad of cash to get stolen as well!

Sara - I think stash is an Americanism indicating a 'hidden location', probably a transliteration from the French 'cache'. If your jewelry had been well-stashed, the burglar would not have found them. Most folks know that things are not well-hidden when in the freezer, under the mattress, or behind lingerie. Stash is usually used to indicate an easily accessible yet out-of-the way site, not normally considered to be a place to put valuables. My use of a book on composting was a nod to both Poe and the old-timers who used to bury their money in the backyard...

Most good burglars know where all those stashes are - under the mattress, the freezer, cans in the pantry, etc.

The only cash I keep on hand is my spare change that I throw into a bit glass urn that is a bass fishing trophy left here by the former owner of the house. It's on a shelf in the closet & I collect it all year long & then cash it in at Christmas for fun money.

Other than that, there are ATM's everywhere I go, so why have it laying around the house?

I also toss change in a jar and what I don't miss as it passes through my hands is a nice surprise when it turns into actual dollars in a worthwhile amount.

I have actually forgotten two times where I stashed my cash. I found it both times when I really needed it. I always think I'll remember.

DS was cheated out of some books from an estate and found out they had been given away. His parting shot to the executor was "That's where XXXX used to hide his hundred dollar bills"

Hubby does it, stashing cash. I prefer the bank. He's So stingy with a Dollar that he can put a hundred dollar bill in his wallet and keep it for months. Call it emergency money and actually stick with that plan! All of his family is convinced that he has the first dollar he ever earned. If he does have it, he obviously doesn't use those old stash places. I admire him, He's always wrangling $$ out of me, for everyday incidentals. But when it comes to a night on the town he's Mr Big Bucks. I hope I never find his stash.
Chip

My astonishment was not a lack of understanding of the word 'stash' - I know what that means. It was surprise that people felt it necessary to hide money from their spouses.
Each to their own I suppose, but I prefer honesty and openness . . .

And frankly, wherever I'd hidden my jewellery in my one bedroom apartment, that burglar would have found it. So, as I said before, if I'd had a wad of cash hidden as well, that would have gone too.
Or were you implying it was my fault I lost my jewellery? I do hope not. . . .

I have a change jar and when it's full I donate it to our local little library. Other than that,no,we don't hide money from each other.

I've never needed to hide money, but when XDH had pneumonia and wasn't to go anywhere for any reason I did hide the car keys. And I knew darn well that he'd never look for them in the Tampax box. (He didn't look for them, but when we talked about it years later, he agreed that that was the safest place in the entire house. lol)

I never had the need for a stash either. Now, we cash a check for a month's fun money and it's tucked in a safe spot. I would tell you, but then I'd have to kill you. But trust me, if anyone found it, it would be sheer luck.

We also dump spare change. It does add up. We have one of those clear plastic banks that look like a giant coca-cola bottle. I think it will probably hold about $1000.

I keep a $100 tucked in my wallet behind my insurance cards. Comes in handy. I didn't think I needed to stash money when I was married, but I found out I was wrong about that. I don't know what I'll do in a new relationship though, I am really fussy about MY money.

Jan

Stashes are sometimes very innocent, like Meldy's who wants to surprise her husband with a present. Stashes are sometimes life preservers. Women in potentially abusive situations or abusive ones where they are looking for a chance to literally escape sometimes keep stashes. It gives them the means to move quickly. Authorities and shelters weren't always so handy or sympathetic. Wives of alcoholics keep stashes as well. It isn't that they're dishonest, but realistic that the stash could save their home when the wages get wee wee'd down the drain instead of where they were supposed to go.

I prefer openess and honesty in relationships too, Sara......but I kept a modest and private stash for many years. I finally don't have to do that anymore. I also have recommended that to my friends whom I know who should get out but haven't yet. When they finally get the nerve, they'll have a few week's safety net.

I always have a stash, not a secret from my DH but just I guess mad money or emergency money, always feels good if we are caught short to have that little extra...I know ATM's are available 24/7 but if the balance is not there it just doesn't work. And as far as a place to hide the stash well i have my places, can remember thinking of a very clever place to hide my keys when we were away on vacation one year, it was so clever it took me forever to find them but i finally did.

I live alone so don't actually "hide" money. But do have a special place for it and feel good to have cash on hand when I need it. My granddaughters know the place and giggle when they see me take money for shopping trips or meals away from home.They both say they have never told about the special place.

If you depend on ATMs for cash, or plastic for everyday expenses, what do you do when the electricity is non-functioning?

Maybe it's because of growing up (and still living in) a hurricane-tornado-tropical storms area, but I always expect to *need* to be able to make purchases even if there is no electricity for several weeks. Thus, I always keep enough cash on hand to function without plastic for a month... but I also keep in mind that light fingers are a reality in life, so that money is [like a stash], well-hidden but easily available should it be needed.

Sara - the only way I can see the homeowner's fault in being burglarized is if s/he left the door wide open and the valuables in plain sight! OTOH, I try to look at "plain sight" from the burglar's viewpoint, which means purses/wallets, jewelry in or out of its box, and cash should never ever be left on top of a table or chest; or in the freezer; or in any easily opened drawer (or a locked one if it can be jimmied); or taped behind pictures or tucked into books, especially new-looking ones; and should not be tucked in, on, or under any kind of clothing, food storage container, or cushion/mattress - I've never understood why folks think there is some sort of magical protection in the sock or lingerie drawer, but an amazing number of people *do* keep spare cash with their socks. And I think leaving the door key easily available [under a doormat or flowerpot or hide-key stone] is just the same as leaving the door wide open. I've lived in apartments, and was burglarized once; the thief did not find my jewelry or emergency money although they were within easy reach of anyone who knew where to look.

Where's Jan and her stashing jewelry story, it's time to resurrect that one!

I have it all stashed in books, but it's our money. I might hide the entertainment money in the address book (we call friends to go out with us), for instance, or birthday money might be in a book of love poems. Some system to the mad money. I'm actually hiding it from us, we spend it if it's in our bank or our pockets! ATMs and bankcards that work like magic are way too easy for us.

I stow away a little every week. I don't know if it counts because everyone in the family knows approximately where it is. When it accumulates I use it for something special. DH usually carried his with him. One day in church there was an appeal for a mission in Brazil for orphans. I was so moved. I whispered to him to give me money. He handed over his wallet and I took all the money out of the secret compartment and gave it all to those poor orphans! Boy was he shocked. I figured they needed it more than we did. He did not whine too much but since then when I ask for money he just hands me some but keeps the wallet.