Examples do not include going to the bank to deposit cash, coming home from the strip club, things like that
Edit: ok so I’m seeing a lot of $50 , and some $500 , though there are going to be some income discrepancies. Maybe if I was on vacation I would be carrying around closer to $500 but that would be quite rare….
Edit 2: ok so I’m thinking $300-$500 if outa town or on vacation, but that’s going somewhere safe on my person. And around town no more than $200, but most likely $20-$50
Edit 3: This was intended for Dollar currency
Edit 4: I would say for days that you are buying marijuana in the states maybe at least $30 if you don’t usually carry cash
Edit 5: For those saying to not carry more than I am willing to lose, I wouldn’t feel comfortable carrying around more than $40 at this point with my income from the past couple years 😬
Edit 6: HCOL could also show higher cash needs….
Comments
In the USA from zero up to a few hundred would be normal
if I’m doing something that’s exclusively cash only, maybe up to $500.
otherwise, only what’s needed.
depends i usually keep like 30-50$ on me at any time, ive been to fast food places and i get to the window and they are like our system is down, cash only
or just general emergency
At one point I used to keep around $500 on me. It was enough to be stupid with, but NOT enough to make REALLY bad life choices with. Now with e-payments and direct p2p transfers being so prevalent, I leave any cash I have at home.
Everyone saying $500 is crazy. I feel paranoid holding a $50 on me
A Loonie and a quarter so I can get a shopping cart at any store.
I generally keep $40 or less. You never know when your wallet could go missing or get stolen. The only time I ever carry more is if I’m buying a car. Even then, I leave the cash at home when I test drive and inspect the car, then go home to grab the cash and sign the title.
Obviously the answer is 3k, looking at you Nome.
Couple hundred bucks if I’m headed to the dispensary.
I can’t recall the last time I used cash!
What do you mean by acceptable? Like safe?
On a day to day basis where you usually use your cards or your phone to pay for something? Then I would say enough to cover your expenses getting home and covering some food. That would make the amount dependent on where you live.
You need to be prepared for emergency situations. Finding out your cards won’t work because the back-end systems are down is not a thing you want to find out when you’re hungry and miles from home.
Only you will know your local prices so my advice would be to have enough cash to cover your basic expenses in an emergency.
I try to keep around $100 or so on me
800,000
Generally, no more than 10 of whatever the local equivalent is of a 20 Euro note.
That’s plenty to cover any minor event or purchase and not too much to lose should it be liberated from my person.
There is always a $100 bill in all of my cars, just in case. Rarely carry cash in my pocket unless I know the thing I’m doing is cash only. I try to remember cash for sit-down restaurants so I can tip in cash.
I just carry about $25 – $50 in cash since there are still some places near me that are cash/check only and I just use my credit cards for everything else. If you carry several hundreds or even thousands in cash, someone may suspect you’re a drug dealer.
For me Enough cash to get home, growing up my uncle said to have enough for 2 rounds with a Friend at the bar. You never know when you will run into people.
I usually get $40 out of the atm. So whatever is left after that. Unless I’m buying something Anything over $5 I’m swiping a card.
I hardly ever use cash, but I always keep a $100 in a secret spot for emergencies. Maybe a couple more twenties for random cash only stuff. Like if I see a something cool at a garage sale or if I run into some Girl Scouts or something.
$3,000.
I’d say whatever amount you feel comfortable losing, depending upon your financial circumstances. I rarely carry more than $100.
However, if you’re in the U.S., if you have too much cash—$10,000 or more—and you get crosswise with the cops, you can lose it to civil forfeiture.
Usually enough for two haircuts. I usually pay in cash just in case they don’t accept card.
Day to day, max $100.
Vacation, max $300-500
I think it mostly depends on your financial situation
As a 48yo person of middle class/upper middle class, it’s incredibly rare I’ve ever had more than like $120-150 on me and that would usually be prior to going to a street fest or something where I knew I’d be spending lots of cash. Since COVID, I’d bet I haven’t spent $250 total in cash in past 5+ years.
Depends, right now, $477
I like to keep £10 or £20 cash on me at all times in case I happen to need cash unexpectedly.
I keep a million dollars in petty cash on my person at all times
I always keep an emergency 20 in my wallet but I don’t have cash outside of that
> coming home from the strip club
I’d say the only acceptable amount of cash to have in this instance would be zero.
20 bucks
Never have any on me. Although I do have an emergency $20 bill in my glove box.
I normally try to keep about $100 on me in different sized bills
According to the Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, $3,000.00 USD.
As a professional pickpocketer, I would like to suggest a minimum of $500, but it’s always better to keep more just in case 🙂
I keep 20-100 on me in cash at all times. Mostly closer to 20, that way if I ever need it for a cash only store, or to tip someone helping me with something. Random things. Always keep at least a 20 on me though.
I never keep more than $100 on me
Usually I only keep $40 bucks or so
$50 in different denominations
I keep a $20 in my car but that’s about it
Depends on what kinda public you’re out and about in
I don’t tend to carry any. I can have up to $400, but pulling out cash is usually a prelude to using it. And these days, I really don’t want to use any of it. If I were to look now, I think there is $4 in there. ATMs are so available, I can get cash if I want it.
In the old days, I may keep about $30, if I was strolling downtown. Enough for stupid nibbles and stuff that I didn’t want to use a card for. But Downtown is pretty much closed now, small businesses cannot afford the unreasonable rents.
Way back, I used to like to carry about $30 in $2 bills and use them for tips.
Usually only use cash for weed store (you have to pay in cash there) and tips at various places. So either like $20 in fives and ones for tips or like $150 for weed store.
If you’re Kristy Noem, apparently $3K.
For everyone else, a couple hundred bucks, tops.
$200 max, but usually if I have cash in my wallet it’s because I’ve just taken it out of the ATM and I plan to use it shortly thereafter.
I think it’s an interesting question. I’ve always felt that in the US anything more than $200 is pointless. My Swiss friends though seemed to carry $500-$1000 and think nothing of it. I’m not sure what the cultural drivers are of that.
Less than 3k.
If traveling, 300. Otherwise, 100
I never carry more than 100 but usually like 5 bucks. I don’t use cash anywhere.
Usually I have about $50 on me but about a month ago I gave the $14 I had on me to a homeless guy and haven’t replenished it. I might be a zero cash guy for here out.
I usually have 2-5.
But I never pull it out in public. Emergency only
As much as you’re willing to lose.
Day to day I typically have 100-300cad in my wallet and a 100 bill rolled up in the little capsule on my keychain. I prefer using cash for everyday expenses like groceries, a bite to eat, gas, and so on
Depends on what you’re doing. If I’m on vacation I probably have a couple hundreds. If I’m going to the stores the most im carrying is $100. Daily is $20 or less
Cash is nasty so I usually don’t carry any at all during my day to day.
I only carry cash when abroad or if I know I’ll need it (like to pay a toll or if I’ll pass through a small town where cards readers aren’t everywhere).
When I used to carry cash around I’d start at around $200 and only grab a few extra bills when I was down to about $50.
About tree fiddy. I currently have $55 in my wallet that has been in there for as long as I can remember. Don’t even know where I got it
$100-200, almost always. Cash makes lots of little transactions quicker and easier, and businesses around me frequently give discounts for cash.
John Green carries 40$ in a money clip labeled “M.M” for mugging money. So, he seems to think that’s the correct amount
Enough to have around for an impulse purchase, not so much you’d miss it. For me that’s $50-100
I keep $0-$20 on my person. Maybe a bit more if someone gives me cash for a reason. My parents will carry a couple hundred, but different generation.
$0.0000
I almost never carry cash. It’s just an inconvenience when everybody takes debit cards nowadays.
I usually have $50 on me. I also almost never use it, the same bills will sometimes be in my wallet for months.
I usually have between $80 and $200 on me
I also have $40 behind my phone case.
Cash is king.
Like maybe $10? If you don’t accept card I’m prob not going, but ill bring cash if I got a barber appointment
1k or under.
I carry $50. Enough to pay for most cash situations I may run into, not enough to cripple me if it was lost or stolen.
Day to day when im just going to and from work or going about normal things – no cash. I use apple pay for any small purchases and dont carry a handbag.
Going out for the night maybe £200-300, enough to split dinner and buy a couple of rounds of drink should the bar take cash only. But mostly apple pay again. I would return home with most of the cash intact.
Holidays – maybe upto 500 in dollars or euros, as not everywhere outside the uk takes applepay, and especially in the US its always good to have cash for tips
Usually in the general realm of 100$ maybe a bit more
I basically never use cash. If I have 100 on me it’s surprising.
Coming up the men in my family all carried $250 on their person or considered themselves “Broke” That was a bout a week’s pay for most of those gents. Now I carry $20. I would carry more, but I don’t have more to carry.
Just daily $200 max, but normally I don’t have any tbh
Vacation, honestly the same but if I’m in Vegas it can change greatly
Honestly I may be more concerned about the number of bills as a bulging wallet may signal you as a prime robbery target. I don’t like having more than like $200 in general between crime and civil forfeiture.
I haven’t carried cash on me in years I’ll do maybe $100 in 20s for long road trips
Whatever i get for “tips” at my part time job. So less than $10 + change USD.
As much as you’re willing to have stolen in a mugging.
I usually have a $20 in my wallet though I don’t rush out to replace it if I spend part or all of it. If I’m going to a place I know only takes cash, I’ll bring more but never above $50. Maaaybe $75.
Apparently not 3K lol
Zero. In the United States the police are legally allowed to take your physical money if they suspect that it was used in a crime. It is called civil asset forfeiture. The police take more money every year than thieves steal. There is no way to get your money back from them.
I never carry cash, just a couple cards. My SO feels naked without a money clip with $500 in it.
I only use cash when I can. Typically I don’t leave my house without $200-$300. I own my own business though and have cash available 24/7
That depends on what you mean by acceptable. If you mean wise, then I would never leave the house with more than $500 in cash since the US has been enforcing the fake crime of traveling with cash for a few decades now.
Carry only what you can afford to lose. Carry enough for tips and impulse purchases. I generally keep $80-$160 on me.
On a day to day basis I carry £100 in cash….. on holiday £300 in local currency (hundred in wallet two hundred about my person).
“Acceptable”? $9,999. Because above that the government assumes that you’re up to no good and will civil asset forfeture your ass. (Which is theft, and I disagree with it, but had to point out).
From a personal risk perspective, on a day to day I never have more than a few hundred (i.e. when I’m stocking up on weed) unless I’m on vacation.
When I’m traveling in a place that is more cash heavy, I tend to keep closer to $600 to $1000 equivalent at max going through the airport, and cut that to $300-500 when out and about, leaving the rest in the hotel safe. A good chunk of that will be hidden outside of my wallet just in case of theft.
I keep a $100 bill and a $2 bill in my wallet at all times. The two dollar bill was a gift from my dad with my first wallet. It comes with me to every new wallet or purse. The $100 bill is because I’m never tempted to just break it on small things like I would a $20, $10, or $5. In my car, I keep a couple of 20s, plenty of quarters, and a few ones. Just in case I’m ever somewhere I need cash or hit some tolls.
It depends on where your are.
Here where I live there are many businesses that do not accept ANY cash.
Then a few places change so much for using a card that you either use cash or a check. My mechanic has a 16% upcharge just for using a card. The court house charges $4 for each $50.
So it is good to keep several hundred at home in case you have to go to a mechanic or court house. I keep at least $50 on me for yard sales unless I go to a fair, exposition or sale. Then it is at least $200.
$300. That’s enough to get you out of a sticky situation nearly anywhere on earth. Bus fare, plane, CC machines go down…
Nobody knows how much you have unless you tell them. Usually $100 is a good amount to have available.
I’m in the UK and zero cash is perfectly normal, some folk keep a £10 or £20 note tucked in their phone cases
If you are Hispanic, $1100 is enough to be used as evidence you are part of MS-13. If you are white, $3000 is a normal amount to be stolen with your handbag at a DC restaurant.
I like to have a large bill like a hundred, a couple twenties tens fives and a handful of ones.
When tipping I do so in cash and tell them it’s a gift.
Larger bills in case cards are down. Medium bills because some places are cash only or give discount such as gas small bills for tipping or vending machine
I keep a single $100 and a single $50 deeeeep in my wallet. That should be enough to get me out of a sticky situation. Vacation, probably $300 for the week in smallish bills and I’ll bring a little at a time to tip when we’re out and about. Usually bring home $150 or so.
The amount you are willing to lose in case of an unfortunate situation. (Accident, mugging, lost wallet, etc.)
I typically walk around with $3k in case I need to bribe someone or pay off a hit-and-run victim. So, the essentials.
usually 2 20s and a couple 1s in my wallet, and maybe 20 in my phone case. just enough to grab a meal with friends or a card not working type of thing. rest stays at home.
This is a complicated question. Technically, you can carry any sum of cash with you in the USA, but… Civil Forfeiture is a thing.
The raw truth of this is, if you are a minority or in a poor part of town, a police officer could argue that $500 is a suspicious amount of currency to hold and they can take that money from you to investigate if it was acquired legally.
Well dressed, rich part of town, $2000 would be acceptable. $10,000 is international disclosure amount, and you need to explain to a bank how you got it if you try to deposit it.
Day to day, $200 is all I would carry. Strip club/bar… probably $500 max. Cash can cause more problems then not, just follow the rule : estimated cost + 25%.
I got weirded out the other day when I had nine bucks cash on me 🤣I don’t usually have cash on me
200 dollars
Minimum of $20 but I usually have $50-$100 cash in my wallet
I prefer zero. People suck, shit happens, and if I get robbed, my lack of cash will greatly minimize my losses.
Don’t be like someone and carry 3k in your purse around.
$20 and a valid credit card
I carry no more than 50 euros and some change, paying with card is optimal for me
Brit here and the majority of us don’t carry any cash. I can’t actually remember last time I used cash to pay for something
I’d say about 38.88. Then you have one denomination of each part of the currency you’re most likely to use.
Day to day, zero.
Vacation, <500DKK
Australia: 0-150
Vietnam: 200,000-1.5mil
I haven’t carried cash on me since Covid, unless I specifically know I need to be tipping someone.
Bout tree fitty
I’ve had about $25 on me for months after getting some cash to give to my daughter on a field trip for school. I almost never spend cash day to day.
I’m agreeing with $500. More than that seems too risky to lose and could get a person in trouble if they were stopped by the law in that you’d be suspected of having it unlawfully or getting it taken outright. I’m not saying carry $500 all the time, just that that’s the upper amount I’m comfortable with carrying.
Considering I always have my bank card that I can use like a credit card with me, I rarely take out more than $80 cash at a time, which I primarily use for tipping or things like a soda/snack from a convenience store, and that usually enough to get me through a month or two.
At the moment, I have $32 in my wallet that I haven’t looked at in weeks (actually had to count it just now), and don’t really have a need for any more than that just because of how cashless everything has become.
Well considering i would try stuff to eat and i have friends i wanna share the joys… Maybe $100 daily.
If by my own well reduce it to $50, unless i make full $100 usage in a whole day outside.
imo $40-50 cash
$1k, you never know where you’ll find a profitable back room poker game
Wilt Chamberlain reportedly carried at least $10,000 in cash on him at all times.
IIRC they asked him if he had any concerns about carrying that much money and he said something akin to “ what’s anyone gonna do to me.”
As much as I’m willing to lose
I keep about 200 in my wallet, when I am traveling I also keep 1,000 in a hidden money belt
Definitely not the supposed 3k an important government official had in their purse that was stolen!
Fifty, enough for spending, and if you get robbed it’ll satisfy the robber.
I always have at least $80 in my purse.
I live in a city so never more than 40 unless I’m planning on buying something that’s a card can’t be used for
The real answer is depends on how well you can defend yourself. Personally, I’d say max 20 bucks.
Do I have a choice in the matter or does the money get to decide?
A friend of a friend said $3000
Your annual income divided by 100, not to exceed 10G .
Depends on what I’m doing. If I’m staying local for the day about $50 or more depending if I’m going shopping. If I’m out of the area and traveling, I’d carry a couple hundreds if my car happens to break down or something else comes up.
$20, just enough to get me to a gas station that takes cards. I haven’t carried cash for any other reason in almost 15 years.
I always have a folded up $100 behind my driver’s license for emergencies. I rarely use it, but when I do I replace it immediately. My walking around money is $100-$200 in various denominations not including my emergency $100.
My usual metric is always keeping cash that is between double and triple the amount of your daily spending just in case. I usually carry around 600 turkish lira on me since with 200 I can get lunch water and 1 snack item with that money.
Few thousand dollars at all time. I have for years.
$50-100
I seldom use cash, but when I do go to the ATM I pull out the max ($500) and use that over the next few months.
In the past I’ve had maybe $2,000 to $5,000 for a long vacation / road trip but now it’s easy to use cards almost anywhere.
Enough to for for what you want. Groceries are expensive.
Normal $300.
Enough for the average tank of gas for your vehicle in your area + $20.
Honestly in today’s day and age there is very little reason to have money on your person between credit and debit cards. Last time I paid for something with cash was maybe 6-7 years ago at least.
Normally $20- $200
ATM trip-300, as it dwindles down, 0
Then ATM trip…
Only as much as you’re willing to be robbed of
$200 day to day cash
California, Los Angeles area. When I get cash, it’s usually $300 or $400.
I have a ‘poker fund’, which started with about $1500 in poker winnings, but I put cash savings in there, too, so it’s about $3,000 right now, a stack of $100 bills. I bought a laptop with it a few weeks ago, and it was very strange carrying around $1500 in cash.
My mother in law, on the other hand, was the opposite. Dad was a contractor, a lot of cash business. Dad was also lousy with money, so Momma hid the cash whenever possible. They were probably not paying taxes, either, but that’s a whole other post.
Imagine a tiny lady, no taller than 4 foot 6 inches, 80 pounds soaking wet. A bit frail, one good arm and one good leg because polio 50 years ago. She pretty much never left the house without $500-$1000 in her purse. I would freak out every single day. Even carried that much cash in the 1980’s and 90’s, when that was much more money!
About 100 bucks. If I’m going to a farmers market or something like that maybe 500 tops.
Under 10k usd
I rarely carry cash. 0-100 I dont think about day to day. $120 seems fine to me, $130 sure but $150 is too much
Cash? Like banknotes and coins? I don’t do those anymore, other then some ocvasions. I do all my payment with watch.
None. I genuinely don’t understand why anyone would carry cash today. I’m in the UK if this adds context. I haven’t carried cash since Covid.
I keep $120 in my wallet, a $100 bill and a twenty, just in case I need cash. I use tap to pay for everything whenever possible.
After the hurricane last year, even after the power was restored, the stores that were open couldn’t process credit cards. My daughter asked ” you’re a boomer, you don’t happen to have any actual cash do you?”. She was really relieved when I told her I probably had $500 or so with me. I try to keep $100 on my person but I keep an emergency $200 in my car and I had some extra because I was visiting.
Since we have moved to an essentially cashless society, I carry maybe $100 cash daily.
How much I would take on vacation depends entirely on where I’m going. I might be taking a cruise this summer, so need to think about all the different places I’ll be tipping.
Jeez. I barely use cash, and rarely have more than $200 walking around money as cash. Usually closer to $60.
However, there are also two $100 bills hidden behind my driver’s license for emergencies. That has saved my butt more than once.
$50 enough to get you a cab or whatever in emergency situations. You don’t want to be caught with nothing in a situation you need it.
100000000000000000
At any one point, I can be walking around between £250-£1. £250 is the max I can get out at a cashpoint, and it stays with me until it’s depleted. Day to day I have no reason for more.
Anywhere between 100-500 bucks?
in the city, $300 including a bunch of small bills for tipping
Many of the people I associate with carry thousands with them because we are frequently playing poker in a casino.
Put it in your shoe if concerned.
I usually keep a Crisp 100 on me. you never know when youll need cash.
Is “cash money” different than “cash”?
40$ at all times. In 5 or 10usd amounts.
If you lose it or get robbed it sucks but can’t ruin your whole week
$200 out of the ATM lasts a month or so
The amount you feel safe carrying.
At home I carry like 20 dollars but when I went to Japan I was carrying the equivalent to 300-400 USD around mostly because I did not do great on the conversions.
200-500$
Never carry more than you’re willing to have confiscated by law enforcement.