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Have you ever hidden some money from yourself?


MrKnobs

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This would seem to be off topic but maybe not. Musicians, recording engineers, people who buy and sell gear (isn't that all of us?) often use cash because who's going to hand over an expensive amplifier or instrument to a stranger from Craig's list who offers you a personal check? :idk:

 

So I have a little cash fund I keep at my house for occasions where I need to pay a session musician or someone pays ME in cash. And to be honest, also to show my missus that I only buy stuff out of the cash fund which is replenished by my musical / recording endeavors and by selling one thing to buy another. The amount fluctuates a lot.

 

And so I found myself about to go backpacking for two weeks out of contact with civilization (yep, not even cell phones) and I was thinking if someone broke into my house they'd be likely to rip through my underwear drawer and my bookshelf. Seemed like putting it in a plastic bag and hanging it in the toilet tank has been shown in movies too often lately so I thought of something a little more original which I will keep to myself.

 

I counted the money twice, scanned some of the serial numbers, and hid it just before packing for my trip which was in late August. Or did I? :confused:

 

Yesterday I was getting my studio piano tuned by a pro and he offered me a discount for paying in cash vs a credit card. Fair enough, I went to grab some bills from my stash and it WAS... NOT.... THERE. :eek:

 

That was four months ago. I couldn't even remember for sure if I'd hidden it. However I reasoned that my alarm would have gone off for a break in and anyone who did that would probably not take the time to put the books neatly back on the shelf and refold my underwear so probably what must have happened is I HID it.

 

Took a deep breath, sat down, and tried to remember all the events of August 4th. Nothin. So then I took the approach of where would I hide money if I was doing it right now? I came up with a few ideas, paid the tuner guy with a credit card, and waited until he left to start looking.

 

I searched high and low and in between, dug through insulation in my attic, turned the house and studio inside out and found lots of stuff I hadn't seen in forever, but still no cash. I gave up about 3AM as my eyes were tired and I didn't trust my balance in the attic anymore. :freak:

 

I didn't sleep well. I woke at 8AM and started looking again. I prayed first! I repeated every place I searched before, but more thoroughly. and about four hours later I found an envelope with the money it - in a place I had thoroughly searched last night. I wouldn't have found it this time either except while I was putting something back into place an envelope fell in my lap. The tape that was holding it underneath something else let go and it literally fell right in my lap.

 

So now I'm asking you guys these questions (only answer as much as you feel safe):

 

(1) Have you ever hidden something so well that you couldn't find it yourself? Did you EVER find it? If not, will it bug you the rest of your life?

 

(2) Do you sometimes keep cash at home, and if you did, would you buy a safe or something?

 

(3) How do you handle the cash transations that inevitably occur with musicians?

 

Terry D.

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Ha! - I was just hunting for my little stash of cash today. I got into the habit of stashing a little cash while the kids were growing up because, if I didn't have a secret stash, it would be gone in no time. Cash for some school thing, or a kid is going out for pizza with friends, or there's a fundraiser for a church thing or camp, or lunch money or tickets for something, it just never ended. "You got any cash? X needs $ for Y..." I realized I would never have any cash for my own use if I didn't play pirate.

 

Almost every year I find a gift I bought for someone for Christmas doing early shopping, and I forget I bought it, where I hid it, until I run across it in July or something. If it's edible...well...

 

But I think having a bunch of cash lying around is asking for trouble. I just have a little bank account with a debit card (no credit card, thank you) and stash almost all the cash in there. There's no service charge, and unless I use the wrong ATM, I don't even get hit with ATM fees.

 

nat whilk ii

 

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The short answer is yes I have "hidden"/protected stuff. The few really valuable things I own (some jewelry from my parents, my dad's silver dollar collection, etc) I keep in a safety deposit box in a bank. To protect my less goodies--cash and "valuables" like car title and passport, I purchased a small fire and water proof safe. (If you ever buy a safe, it is best to get one that is also waterproof....if the place burns, fire departments often use water to try and put it out!) Of course, it isn't 100% secure. There is a combination on the front and a push in lock. I doubt if it would deter a determined thief with lots of time but I am surrounded by stay-at-home neighbors and I think it would protect me for the 15 minutes or so the average thief stays inside your home. In order to prevent forgetting things like the combination, where the key is hidden or key# (in case I lose the key and the company has to make a new one for me) I keep things like that in a password protected database on my computer. Also in there are things like current credit card #s and phone # for reporting them stolen, bank account #s etc. I keep the data on a removable drive and every three months (I also use it to back up photos, music etc.) I take it to another location and bring the other removable drive back. That way I have a copy of important info even if my house is trashed. However, that hasn't helped with things like forgetting where I put the stapler when I reorganized the desk and closet. To answer one of your questions....yes, I usually find those things (after 3 months, just found the stapler and after hunting all over the house found some Christmas decorations we got in July.) That is my approach to "real" things (as opposed to electronic possessions like bank accounts) that I try to protect.

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This would seem to be off topic but maybe not. Musicians, recording engineers, people who buy and sell gear (isn't that all of us?) often use cash because who's going to hand over an expensive amplifier or instrument to a stranger from Craig's list who offers you a personal check? :idk:

 

So I have a little cash fund I keep at my house for occasions where I need to pay a session musician or someone pays ME in cash. And to be honest, also to show my missus that I only buy stuff out of the cash fund which is replenished by my musical / recording endeavors and by selling one thing to buy another. The amount fluctuates a lot.

 

And so I found myself about to go backpacking for two weeks out of contact with civilization (yep, not even cell phones) and I was thinking if someone broke into my house they'd be likely to rip through my underwear drawer and my bookshelf. Seemed like putting it in a plastic bag and hanging it in the toilet tank has been shown in movies too often lately so I thought of something a little more original which I will keep to myself.

 

I counted the money twice, scanned some of the serial numbers, and hid it just before packing for my trip which was in late August. Or did I? :confused:

 

Yesterday I was getting my studio piano tuned by a pro and he offered me a discount for paying in cash vs a credit card. Fair enough, I went to grab some bills from my stash and it WAS... NOT.... THERE. :eek:

 

That was four months ago. I couldn't even remember for sure if I'd hidden it. However I reasoned that my alarm would have gone off for a break in and anyone who did that would probably not take the time to put the books neatly back on the shelf and refold my underwear so probably what must have happened is I HID it.

 

Took a deep breath, sat down, and tried to remember all the events of August 4th. Nothin. So then I took the approach of where would I hide money if I was doing it right now? I came up with a few ideas, paid the tuner guy with a credit card, and waited until he left to start looking.

 

I searched high and low and in between, dug through insulation in my attic, turned the house and studio inside out and found lots of stuff I hadn't seen in forever, but still no cash. I gave up about 3AM as my eyes were tired and I didn't trust my balance in the attic anymore. :freak:

 

I didn't sleep well. I woke at 8AM and started looking again. I prayed first! I repeated every place I searched before, but more thoroughly. and about four hours later I found an envelope with the money it - in a place I had thoroughly searched last night. I wouldn't have found it this time either except while I was putting something back into place an envelope fell in my lap. The tape that was holding it underneath something else let go and it literally fell right in my lap.

 

So now I'm asking you guys these questions (only answer as much as you feel safe):

 

(1) Have you ever hidden something so well that you couldn't find it yourself? Did you EVER find it? If not, will it bug you the rest of your life?

 

(2) Do you sometimes keep cash at home, and if you did, would you buy a safe or something?

 

(3) How do you handle the cash transations that inevitably occur with musicians?

 

Terry D.

 

I had this experience a few months ago… but not with gear. I opened up a bank account in my teens, the bank changed names several times. I completely forgot about the account. Anyway, we decided to open another account in Citibank for my kids and the teller tells us we already had an account with cash!!! It wasn`t a lot but lets just say it was a nice surprise.

 

I haven`t touched the money and I won`t. Just nice to know its there.

 

 

 

 

 

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I used to save some of my lunch money and hide it so I wouldn't have to clear it with my wife before I bought some gadget for music or, when I was into it, ham radio. I figured it was much easier to get forgiveness than permission. It was really not necessary, because she never cared what I bought, as long as I used it.

 

I kind of got caught one day when we were going through receipts to do our taxes. This was back in the days when you could write off state sales tax. I'd keep every receipt, even the 10 cent receipts from McDonnalds. I'd read off the numbers, and she'd add them up. I went something like, "10 cents, 5 cents, 8 cents, 10 cents, 25 cents, 15 dollars", and I was busted! :D

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Well in my case, it was $6,504 and it kept me from sleeping well for a couple of nights! ;)

 

Terry D.

 

That is a nice bit of cash to have stashed and would certainly freak me out if I misplaced it!

 

You might look into one of the false cans of soup or whipped cream. That way you will always know where it is :)

 

BTW: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

 

Michael

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