There's nothing like carrying large amounts of cash to make yourself feel simultaneously like a lottery winner and an obvious target.

Tell us the story behind the most cash you've ever carried...

$100?

I never carry cash.

JDINTERACTIVE said:

£600 (about $1200) - the day I left work to go back to school. I didn't have time to cash it in at the bank; they were closed.

I've carried over $20,000 in 100s. But it was for work. I even had an escort.

What REALLY blows is when we empty the soda machines and I'm lugging bags of rolled quarters up the steps and one of the bags pops open and change flies everywhere. It's happened twice.

INSATIABLE said:

is it like feeding pidgeons in trafalgar square?

Um. . . $5k, I believe. I was returning a loan to my grandparents, and they wanted it in cash. It was freakin' scary.

ooh! I have a cash-carrying story. Back when I managed a movie theatre I would have to count down the concession drawers and I'd bring all the money back to my office to do it. It was always late at night and no one was really around so I'd balance the drawer on my head (bills, change and all!) and walk all the way back to my office with it there. I never spilled once!
I have very nice posture.

$35K USD after a real estate closing on some rental property I owned....long story, but the guy buying it was an eccentric old man who only believed in cash for everything and would not buy the property if he could not deal that way...the lawyer kept the balance in cash....it was a really funny experience and unlike any real estate closing I have ever seen!

about $20,000 in cash...long story, but I got fed up with my bank because they
did something I thought was'nt right, and I closed out my account on the spot.

It is a bit unnerving to be responsible for that much cash.

Whenever I go visit a store that sells audio equipment.

my sister was carrying a large amount of cash right after she got to ecuador. (she lived there as a missionary for a while) she had her cash, her bank card, her passport, her roommate's cash and passport, and i think her roommate's bank card as well. she favored those little tiny purses with long straps that you can hang from one shoulder and across your body at the time, and the one she was carrying on this day had a flap that closed with a button. so, she and her other roommate boarded a bus, which in ecuador is an experience in itself... and they were standing there and she noticed this one guy moving closer to her, edging slowly her way. she didn't pay much attention to it, the bus was crammed with people.

pretty soon he was standing right next to her. she made direct eye contact with him, but then didn't pay him much attention again. she looked down and her flap was unbuttoned. "i thought for sure i had that buttoned..." she thought to herself, but didn't button it for some reason. a couple bumps later on this bumpy road and she could tell that her purse was much lighter. she checked and her wallet was gone.. the wallet holding ALL of her cash which she had brought to live on in ecuador, her passport, and all her roommates stuff too!!

she knew immediately what had happened, and she looked at the guy and said loudly "!!!SENOR!!! ??DONDE ESTA??" (mister!! where is it??) EVERYBODY turned to look at her. they all wondered who made the big gringa angry. (she's 6'2") without taking his eyes off her she suddenly heard this "plop" and the guy looked down and said something like "oh! you must have dropped this!" picked up her wallet and handed it to her.

afterwards she realized it could have been a very stupid thing for her to do... quite frequently pick pocketers there in ecuador carry a knife hidden under a newspaper so they can cut the purses open from the bottom.... and this guy was carrying a newspaper. but i guess since it was on a crowded bus he (hopefully) wouldn't have done anything.


that's the most interesting cash carrying story i have. sorry it's not mine.

cubic61052 said:

Spookymuffin said:

Shut up you Eton simpleton

You got paid 600 sods for work Either you charge premium or your punters are loaded

I frequently take these with me:

I think about £3000, between banks...nothing very exciting! It was from the same of my grandmothers house.

Stinky said:

About $3,000...

I kid you not, $52,000.

35.000 kronor (around $ 5.000 US). That's the amount I brought with me to Japan...and it was all gone within two weeks. I'm telling you, the cost of setting up an apartment and a life here is insaaaaane.

48,000 $ ... cash

$3,200, all in $20 bills. I had it sent to me via Western Union to a little convenience store and travel agency (odd combination, eh?) in Boston's North End. They actually went into their safe to get the cash, and I put it all in a small suitcase, took the T (subway) to Copley Station on the Green Line, walked into a nearby post office, and converted it all to United States Postal Service money orders.

While I've never felt unsafe on the T, I remember thinking, "If I ever get mugged on the T, today's probably going to be the day."

This was before 9/11 and the so-called "Patriot Act." At the time, $3,200 wasn't enough to require any special procedures at the post office. Today, purchasing money orders totalling $3,000 or more in a single day requires the customer to show photo ID and fill out some sort of form... I suppose they're trying to prevent terrorists from laundering money at the post office.

* * *

More generally, any cash transaction of $10,000 or more has to be reported to the IRS. That was the case before 9/11, and I assume the original reason was to prevent tax evasion, although I'm guessing that these reports are now also used for counterterrorism purposes.

Also, if you enter or exit the country with more than $10K in cash, you're required to declare this to U.S. Customs. (I've actually been asked by U.S. Customs on multiple occasions if I was carrying more than $10K.) However, Customs generally doesn't do exit inspections, and it's not clear how I'm supposed to make such an export declaration. I wouldn't do it, though... I'm sure it's a huge red flag, and they'd probably assume that the purpose of my trip was to pick up some "B.C. Bud" in Vancouver or something.

almost 5000 bucks

senik said:

Working in videogames pays well.

I had a quarter once.

I carry plastic...I never hardly carry cash on me...unless I need it for metro fare.

I have $2,000.00 sitting in my desk at work as we speak..... my little "Get out of marriage with all I can grab fund!"