Sad reminder - do not travel through an airport with lots of cash

[RamblingMad]

paranoia over financial institutions.

my dad didn't trust 'banks' but did trust savings & loans (depression throw back-didn't live long enough to see the savings and loan disaster crisis). a friend's uncle died and no one could figure out where he had his money squirreled away-he had dozens and dozens of small accounts at different banks b/c he figured if one went under he could go to another (basically every bank, credit union and savings and loan with a 4 hour one way drive radius of his home).

this is why it's vital if going through an elderly family member's household when they go into care or pass to check every pocket of every jacket, look between piles of sheets and quilts, OPEN FRAMED PHOTOS (this is where my mom kept her 'emergency money'-in between my kid's photos and the cardboard on the back of the frame), look in cookie jars, shoe boxes....i've known some people to hide large denomination bills inside book pages (that's a nice bookmark surprise for someone who picks it up at goodwill).

Makes no sense to me. Deposits are FDIC insured to $250k. And if you need to go higher, you can buy US Treasuries.

 

[monsterkitty]

Makes no sense to me. Deposits are FDIC insured to $250k. And if you need to go higher, you can buy US Treasuries.

Of course it doesn't make sense to us, but we didn't grow up during the depression.

My paternal grandmother hid money all over the house. She did have a savings account, but hid a significant amount of cash in the house. When she died we found over $20,000 hidden in coffee cans. More was hidden in books, under loose floor boards, etc.

My maternal grandmother used a bank and din't hide money. She lost her money in the Silverado scandal.

 

[RamblingMad]

Of course it doesn't make sense to us, but we didn't grow up during the depression.

My paternal grandmother hid money all over the house. She did have a savings account, but hid a significant amount of cash in the house. When she died we found over $20,000 hidden in coffee cans. More was hidden in books, under loose floor boards, etc.

My maternal grandmother used a bank and din't hide money. She lost her money in the Silverado scandal.

My grandma lived during the depression too. She put all of her money in EE bonds.

 

[SaintsManiac]

I only trust credit unions at this point. I cannot get over this story. I sweat walking around with more than $100 in cash on me.

 

[NYCgrrl]

There's a saying that dates to the stock market crash of 1929 that relates to the Depression and was still in use until the advent of wireless cellphone ear buds.
If you caught someone talking to themselves/the radio/TV and pointed it out to them they'd tend to laugh ruefully and say: "Not crazy yet. I still have money in the bank".
That's because people didn't know if the banks would be open or not and would muse aloud if they should take their money out or not.

There is a special type of money transfer that allows you to transfer money overseas which I learned about back in the early 80s when debt cards debuted and you couldn't access your funds internationally.

 

[SaintsManiac]

There's a saying that dates to the stock market crash of 1929 that relates to the Depression and was still in use until the advent of wireless cellphone ear buds.
If you caught someone talking to themselves/the radio/TV and pointed it out to them they'd tend to laugh ruefully and say: "Not crazy yet. I still have money in the bank".
That's because people didn't know if the banks would be open or not and would muse aloud if they should take their money out or not.

Reminds me of the scene from It's a Wonderful Life when George gives his customers his own money.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Reminds me of the scene from It's a Wonderful Life when George gives his customers his own money.

Just watched a Paul Muni film (The World Changes) on TCM and he wound up giving all his money back to stockholders due to the market crash. Had the obligatory scene of someone shooting self after learning he was ruined financially too.

The man's father lost his pension a year or two before he was due to retire during the 80s; never recovered.

There are many institutions we take for granted now that other generations have reasons to doubt.

 

[Imzadi]

Where does is say they told her they were just going to keep it?
From the article you posted:
“The DEA declined to comment on the lawsuit, but law enforcement sources told Channel 11 there is more to the story and probable cause is needed to seize the money.”

I'm wondering if the father now has Alzheimer's and the daughter found the money, or had the dad give her the money. As soon as she got the money she high-tailed it out of there. Why would someone travel with that much money instead of paying the fee to change travel dates? It was suddenly OK with the dad to put the money in a bank - and not one close by??? Maybe the daughter is still being investigated for that.

 

[wenrob]

I'm wondering if the father now has Alzheimer's and the daughter found the money, or had the dad give her the money. As soon as she got the money she high-tailed it out of there. Why would someone travel with that much money instead of paying the fee to change travel dates? It was suddenly OK with the dad to put the money in a bank - and not one close by??? Maybe the daughter is still being investigated for that.

Kind of along the same lines I’m thinking. *Something* is off here. The lawyer mentions the dad’s confusion as a reason why she’s opening up a joint account but then waking him up confused him and their stories don’t match. Did he really agree to let her take the money and was all that actually in cash around the house? Don’t get me wrong, I’ve dealt with elderly people who have had dementia/Alzheimer’s and I know two older folks who have stashed cash in weird places throughout their homes but something just isn’t sitting right for me. Who doesn’t think traveling (or even going to the bank) with $82,000 in cash isn’t going to raise questions?

 

[tcufrog]

There are better ways to handle this other than what they did. For example, if the dad wanted to open a joint account where is daughter lives and deposit the money there he could have travelled to his daughter, opened the joint account here, wired the money to the new account and then closed the old account.

As for travelling with large amounts of money, you don't keep all of it in one place. When my mother-in-law brings money to the US for her visits, she keeps some in her purse, some hidden in her suitcase and some pinned in her bra so that if one bag is stolen or rifled through she still has money left. While the dad in this story obviously didn't have a bra, he could have used a hidden money pouch.