Based off the WSJ section of Personal Finance by Anne Tergesen and Jeremy Olshan "The right amount of cash to keep at home for emergencies. Hint: not $480,000.", explicitly identified observations of content from the feature related to personal finance.

URL: https://www.wsj.com/personal-finance/emergency-fund-cash-on-hand-b04136d1?mod=retirement_more_article_pos23 

 

 

PERSONAL FINANCE The Right Amount of Cash to Keep at Home for Emergencies. Hint: Not $480,000 Credit cards and mobile apps won't pay for much in a power outage By Anne Tergesen Follow and Jeremy Olshan Follow Updated Sept. 26, 2023 11:40 am ET AA Resize 380 | Gift unlocked article (4 Listen min) 30 87000 A 50 People storing a significant amount of cash should protect their money from theft, fire and flooding. PHOTO: ISTOCK So, just how much cash should people keep at home in case of an emergency? When the question was put to more than a dozen advisers and disaster- preparation experts, the answers ranged from $200 to more than two weeks' worth of expenses. Though it is personal-finance gospel to save an emergency fund of three to six months of expenses, advisers say money should be collecting interest, not dust at the back of your sock drawer. There was some consensus: Few, if any, Americans need to stash anything near the $480,000 in cash investigators found in the home of Sen. Bob Menendez (D., N.J.), which he said was for emergencies. Those who live in areas prone to hurricanes, wildfires, snowstorms and power outages might need to hold on to more cash than others, said Paul Auslander, a financial adviser based in Clearwater, Fla. "Here in Florida, you tend to keep enough cash on hand to get through two to four weeks of no ATMs and electrical power failure sufficient to keep your credit card from working at a grocery store," Auslander said.