Ants, Grasshoppers & Emergency Cash

It seems a big Nor'Easter is coming..

Going to drop some excessive amount of snow to New England down into New York and Northern parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania over the next couple days..

It should be interesting but of course not in a positive way.

We did find this tweet from Bank of America a bit interesting (and may we also say 100% correct):

"Winter Storm #Nemo may bring 2 feet of #snow to New England late Fri & Sat. Prepare now - make sure you have plenty of cash on hand."

But you see, its not only the absolutely correct advice in the case of a major blizzard/snowstorm that will undoubtedly cause major power outages and overall disruptions to daily normalcy...

Its the correct advice we all should be taking every day.

A snowstorm like this... There's usually a bit of a warning of a couple days for people to prepare.

In the case of a stock market crash, terror attack or other unforeseen event that strikes immediately, you and we don't have the luxury that is afforded when preparing for weather disasters.  Don't assume your local ATM will have cash to dole out.. Other unprepared people will be needing money too, you know..

You should always have cash on hand for emergencies if at all possible... preferably $500 in small bills minimum...   Keep it in a sock.. a coffee or empty paint can... wherever..  But every person should have cash for Immediate access in any potential and unforeseen emergency.

Because if/when there's a calamity and stores re-open, usually they're not accepting checks or credit cards.

For example, we're located in an area that was hit by Hurricane Sandy.. we didn't get the brunt of damage but we certainly got enough..  It took about a full week for the local Target to regain full power (it was using emergency back-up).  The store was able to take cash... not credit cards.

Now we're not a survivalist blog-- if you wish to stock up on 2yrs of canned goods, water, misc supplies and the like, that's your decision and we respect it but we're neither pushing it either..

Every family's level of safety and comfort is different..

But cash-- definitely. You must always have some handy-- the larger the family, the larger the amount on hand.  And what's the absolute worst that happens by doing this?  An emergency never occurs and you still have your $$ to use as you wish...

There is no greater and clearer example between who represents an 'Ant' and who represents a 'Grasshopper' than on this point..   When  figurative or literal 'Winter' comes, Ants take necessary steps and survive on their own; Grasshoppers mostly dilly-dally.. and then perish.