Why keep some cash at home? Here is why....

Visa network crashes and sparks card payment chaos

"Millions of people have been left unable to pay for goods and services in shops, petrol stations and railway stations across Britain and Europe after an unprecedented crash in Visa’s payment system.

Shoppers and travelers were unable to use their debit and credit cards when the meltdown began at around 2.30pm on Friday across Europe.

Visa issued a statement saying it was experiencing “a service disruption”, without identifying the cause.

“This incident is preventing some Visa transactions in Europe from being processed. We are investigating the cause and working as quickly as possible to resolve the situation,” Visa said.

Democrats calling it Russian hacking in 3...2...1...

For now anyway, it is worth keeping enough for a full tank of gas (or two) and a weekends worth of normal spending.

However, if it goes past the weekend, time to get to the SDB and pull some real dough out...

What plans do you have if the CC network crash here? (your home area)

 

I've been in a situation in a remote town where the internet connection dropped and I needed gas. Other people had to leave their purchases at the counter. Fortunately I brought cash as well as credit card. Could probably have made it some 50 miles to the next available gas, but it would have been close.

Takeaway was, always carry cash and keep enough at home (in a safe) for about a month to six weeks of expenses, including mortgage payment and utilities. Always have at least one vehicle parked with a topped up gas tank, 3-days of preps and extra fluids such as anti-freeze, engine oil, PS fluid etc. Drive another back and forth to work. I would store another 10-20 gallons of gas away from the house, but the wife would have a fit.

 

Visa DOWN: Millions affected as 'service disruption' blocks payments across UK and EUROPE


It be instructive to see what this does to their stock price...

 

It just gets better - all EU based CC are down - even if used here in the States.

 

The problems appear to have begun shortly after 2.30pm on Friday. (EU time)
What is causing the problem?

Visa says it is investigating and will update people as soon as possible. An Asda spokesman suggested the problem was with the authorization that is supposed to be sent to a chip and pin machine when you make a transaction. “When you try and pay something, it sends a message to Visa and then Visa have to send a message back to the chip and pin machine to say this is OK and then the banks are in between at some point. The message that is coming back to the chip and pin, that is where the fault is,” he said.

 

A widespread reliance on fake wealth...

 

The other problem no one has yet addressed is the move away from cash. Many stores and fuel stations do not accept cash, so many folks are still S.O.L.!

 

so some one can rob you

I agree with having cash on hand I always have a hundred when I get down to 40 or 50 I get some more cash. 100 is hardly enough to get from a major city out to the suburbs in a cab if you do not have a good BOB your going to need liquids to hydrate with and most people have never walked 30 to 50 miles so a pair of tennis shoes and the list goes on.

 

If you have money in the bank and use credit cards, you do not own it. They, the government and the banks may let you access it or not, their choice, and with the new chips, it requires a handshake between the credit card and the company to get the money, all in the name of fraud protection. The government at its will can and has thru out the world changed the value of the money, collected any amount over x amount as taxes or redistributions, can seize it in the name of its powers of controlling money laundering or illegal income or suspected tax evasion. It was before my time but in Korea the military used script to pay the troops and the locals and at odd intervals changed the notes used and made the old ones worthless. Heard funny stories of troops being paid to have sex with the girls outside the gates. If you exchanged 1,000 0f the old notes for 800 of the new ones, they would take care of you as in a few days the old ones were worth nothing and the girls money could not be exchanged by them as it had been made illegally.
Money itself, even gold, etc, has no real value, it is only a medium of exchange, as the crypto money proves, it doesn't even have to exist in the real world. As we enter more and more into the "cashless society" with Europe leading the charge, you have lost control of both your assets and your privacy. It is no accident and in most of the USA your property is no longer yous either as thru eniment domain, taxes, environmental protection, suspected illegal activities, etc, it can be removed from your control, you may have documents showing money in the bank, ownership of property, etc, but the goods they describe exist at the whim of the government and the legal system it controls. Don't mean to be a pessimist, that is the simple unvarnished truth. Divorce, bankruptcy, court orders or police actions, zoning or agency actions can take your assets in normal times and the government already has the actions on the books to do so in any emergency they declare. Money in your hands is always valuable in normal times, may save your butt in transition, but is probably worth less in the long run, now 223 ammo would in some senses seem to be a better asset is cached well as is productive farmland that can be kept, but in many cases, China, USSR, NAZI Germany, etc , that hasn't always worked out well. Do the best you can, make as many dependable friends as you can, and trust in the Lord, it looks like we are in for a rough ride and a lot of the natives are unfriendly..

 

Walked into a pizza place to order take out one day and got a real deal on a couple.....the counter was piled high with them as their card reader (or something) went out about rush hour, and almost none of the people ordering had cash......

 

Now fixed,

"Hardware failure" was the only explanation given.

 

Have 200 gallons gas and diesel .and food and water for 3 years .
Cash not so much , but working on that.

 

Living in a provincial area of a Third World country, you learn to keep things that you wouldn't necessarily keep on hand, in a larger city. Money, and a good supply of food and dairy products are part of that.

Although the USD is widely available at ATMs, and used for buying products throughout the country, in provincial areas, locals really prefer the Cambodian Riel (KHR), over the dollar. So, we make it a point to keep an ample supply of Riel in the ol' safe.

 

Dairy is one thing we can easily keep today since there is canned milk powdered and in a carton no need to refrigerate.
the longer a can sits you need to shake it up so the milk fat that settled mixes in I somehow bo9ught low fat and that stuff was nasty more like colostrum. I really don't drink enough milk to warrant buying it so I keep it in the 3 I mentioned.
I would not store powdered milk that comes in a plastic bag for longer than a year before using it it can get oxidized and wehn your counting on it, may have turned off tasting enough everything you make with it will have a poor flavor.

Look up Ghee butter making that is a good way of making and canning your own butter. there is also powdered margarine butter sour cream and then freeze dried cheese and canned cheese sauce like velveta look out for aged cheddar if your not a fan of strong cheese or try it before you buy a case.

Might be a good time to explain that the better option of long term milk storage is powdered in #10 cans next is regular canned milk for short term use as in a few years the liquid box is fine it is hard to know if it is good or not and your mucking around with your health in my opinion as I don't trust pouches and boxes as much, and expiry dates are not accurate I have eaten "C" rations and there was no way to tell, as it was bad when it was originally canned so opening a can was just further evidence of what we already knew I especially liked the saw dust that they called peanut butter dry and I chipped it on put it on another American innovation something like pilot crackers in a can pretty tough your spit made it peanut butter and allowed you to get the cracker soft enough to swallow without scratching your throat lungs and puncturing your stomach.

 

I got caught with no cash in the 89 quake in SF. Keep cash at home aways have,but after that I keep a hundred hidden in my wallet at all times.

 

I keep $20 in the glove box exactly because of this.
Well I originally started do that because my ex wife would spend all the money in my checking account and I wouldn't be able to buy any gas. Happened more than once.

Now I maintain the gun show change box. But it has limitations. Nothing larger than a $20 bill and probably never has more than $200 or $300 total in it. Mostly $1, $5 and coins.

Now buying gas and diesel is largely obsolete for me since I have a nissan leaf.

Here is my analog debit card it only works at my bank, when it's open.

 

Keep cash,coin,rice,beans,brass and bullets around.......