Old people keeping money in their homes

lazygal

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0420/1224314970321.html



Why do older people keep money (small and larger sums) in their homes? They have the worry and risk of looking after it, so why do they think its safer than putting it in a credit union/post office/bank?

SunnyDub1

these days money is safter in your front garden then in any of the banks :rolleyes:

SEPT 23 1989

Maybe they don't trust the banks

Captain Darling

They dont trust the banks. I'd a granduncle who had fifty thousand pounds taken off him years ago. Crazy stuff.

AnonoBoy

I don't trust the banks or mattresses. Where should I put my money? So far I've just been carrying it all around in an old sock stuffed down the front of my boxers.

lazygal

But what about post office and credit union accounts? Surely the risk to the person who keeps money at home is far greater, in terms of robbery adn all the money being taken than a bank collapsing? Also, the savings in banks are guaranteed by the State now, and no major bank has failed to give savers back their money.

Pherekydes

AnonoBoy wrote: »

I don't trust the banks or mattresses. Where should I put my money? So far I've just been carrying it all around in an old sock stuffed down the front of my boxers.

You could give it to me to "invest".







* Maybe launder it first...

elasticspastic

They're less likely to have their frail bodies give up on the trip to the biscuit-tin under the kitchen sink than the epic journey of wading through countless moronic teenagers staring blankly at their handheld-internet-boombox-phones.

mickydoomsux

Old folk are panicky idiots.

The rag-newspapers tell them the banks are dodgy so they ignore the guarantee on bank deposits and put their life savings in a biscuit tin under the bed until someone pretending to be a guard takes it off them.

DEFTLEFTHAND

My mother was in hospital with her aunt when a nurse informed her that they had discovered 16k cash in her handbag. The poor auld bird thought she had been brought in to die and had taken her life savings with her.

Ellis Dee

I find that half the ATMs I go to in Portlaoise or Portarlington are not working, and the banks' opening hours are a total joke, so naturally I always have money either on me or in the house. No huge sums, naturally, but often in the hundreds. It's no consolation to know that there are gurriers prowling around the country who would kill an old person for fifty ---:eek::eek::eek:

seantorious

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

My mother was in hospital with her aunt when a nurse informed her that they had discovered 16k cash in her handbag. The poor auld bird thought she had been brought in to die and had taken her life savings with her.

She was gonna give it to the priest to get front row seats in heaven

singathim

Im a young person and I have just over 15K under my bed!
My aunt and her husband in Dublin recently took most of there money out of their bank and I know for fact she has 100K plus in cash hidden in the home safe.
The banks and Credit unions pay 0% interest! There is ZERO incentive to keep your money in a bank these days.
In fact, most banks have negative interest rates now!
So, you are actually paying them negative interest just to keep your money in your bank!

Its far safer under the bed.

seantorious

singathim wrote: »

Im a young person and I have just over 15K under my bed!
My aunt and her husband in Dublin recently took most of there money out of their bank and I know for fact she has 100K plus in cash hidden in the home safe.
The banks and Credit unions pay 0% interest! There is ZERO incentive to keep your money in a bank these days.
In fact, most banks have negative interest rates now!
So, you are actually paying them negative interest just to keep your money in your bank!

Its far safer under the bed.

Don't be stupid ffs! You are forgetting about inflation. You lose nearly 150 per percent inflation per year.at least in a bank you get security for your money

summerskin

seantorious wrote: »

Don't be stupid ffs! You are forgetting about inflation. You lose nearly 150 per percent inflation per year.at least in a bank you get security for your money

Yep, you must work in a bank.

SunnyDub1

I've heard of a lot of elderly folks keeping money in their homes.
For example my uncle done a job for his neighbor a couple of months ago. she got a discreet hatch box but in under her floor in her house... shes keeps her money there.

Smart idea as most burglars will check under the beds and the obvious places but who would check the floors....

I think elderly people are just old fashioned and not use to leaving money in the hands of other people.

Personally no matter what way the state is at the moment I don't trust any banks/credit unions etc..
lets be honest - very few people seen a crisis coming when they where spending and saving big, no one knows whats going on behind closed doors or whats around the corner financially

AboutTwoFiddy

singathim wrote: »

Im a young person and I have just over 15K under my bed!
My aunt and her husband in Dublin recently took most of there money out of their bank and I know for fact she has 100K plus in cash hidden in the home safe.
The banks and Credit unions pay 0% interest! There is ZERO incentive to keep your money in a bank these days.
In fact, most banks have negative interest rates now!
So, you are actually paying them negative interest just to keep your money in your bank!

Its far safer under the bed.

You're right too.

Sneakily bookmarks username so that in a few months I can check back to see what sort of personal info they've given away so that I can get myself €15k

foxyboxer

You have to consider that people keep money at home in order to hide it from the Social Welfare!

Imagine doing a means test, "Oh, I see you have 100k in the credit union huh?"

mathie

AboutTwoFiddy wrote: »

You're right too.

Sneakily bookmarks username so that in a few months I can check back to see what sort of personal info they've given away so that I can get myself €15k

...and what about you AboutTwoFiddy?

How much do you have in the bank?

ejmaztec

Dunlopillo 0% Savings Account.

Squiggle

singathim wrote: »

Im a young person and I have just over 15K under my bed!
My aunt and her husband in Dublin recently took most of there money out of their bank and I know for fact she has 100K plus in cash hidden in the home safe.
The banks and Credit unions pay 0% interest! There is ZERO incentive to keep your money in a bank these days.
In fact, most banks have negative interest rates now!
So, you are actually paying them negative interest just to keep your money in your bank!

Its far safer under the bed.

Until your house goes on fire and the Insurance company pays fúck all for cash in the house.

gigawatt

tbh i used to think the idea of mattress money was crazy, but more recently I am beginning to see why people do it. for example if you have money on deposit the rates of interest are so low that they are really negligible (unless you have your savings locked into some kind of high interest account where they aren't easily accessible for a long period). so interest isn't even a factor because interest won't really keep up with the rate of inflation anyway.

As well as that, when you put money in a bank the govt etc knows you have it. there is an official record of you sitting on a lump sum. if for any reason you end up in a situation where you have to be means tested, or owe money to the taxman or even end up going into a nursing home or something, they know what you have and expect you to live off that first. whereas if you don't have it on deposit you could just say you spent it in the pub over the years, its gone.

keeping money at home means you have quick easy access to cash, no questions asked, no one any the wiser.Also with the current global economic situation banks and the like don't seem to be as safe as they once were, whos to say that the banks wont go bust? it is a possibility, albeit a slim one.

also for the sake of inheritance and the like, doesn't the taxman take a significant slice of that pie too? if you have cash at home you can give it to who you like when you like without any taxman having any sniff of it.

the worst thing about keeping it at home is the lack of security, what if you get burgled or the house goes on fire or something? so thats the big disadvantage, but I'm sure if you were clever enough and split it up into different lots and put them in different locations you'd probably be alright. the other is if you were suddenly taken ill, how would you ensure the right people get the money? i'm not sure how you'd get around that one. so I think thats why people do it, and old people do it more because they are older and wiser and don't blindly believe that 'of course the banks are safe' or 'of course the govt won't find a way to take this off me'.

kowloon

My Grandparents hid money all over the house, tens of thousands.
I'd say quite a lot of it has gone missing for good, thrown out with old furniture and the likes.
I'd also say any old person doing the same is likely to have the money stolen by relatives or anyone else with access to the house.

A friends Grandmother got ripped off by a carer who used to skim cash out of her purse every visit. Everyone assumed she was just being a paranoid old lady until the carer started taking other valuables out of the house.

Skid

The man who was robbed is a legend, there was an excellent RTE Radio documentary about him a few years ago

http://www.rte.ie/radio1/doconone/convict.html

His win in the 1958 Rás is one of the epics of Irish sport. People talked about him on the Maum that day. They said he trained with weights made from stone, that he made a living as a circus performer, that on one stage during that Rás - when the freewheel on his bike had broken - he stole an ordinary bicycle from a farmer and chased down the leading pack. They said that he rode for four days with a broken collarbone, that he would cycle for 40 miles having completed a gruelling stage just to cool down, that he drank cow's blood and ate raw meat. He was indestructible.

Logical Fallacy

lazygal wrote: »

But what about post office and credit union accounts? Surely the risk to the person who keeps money at home is far greater, in terms of robbery adn all the money being taken than a bank collapsing? Also, the savings in banks are guaranteed by the State now, and no major bank has failed to give savers back their money.

It may not even be about trust, it may just be a matter of difficulty getting to the bank.

singathim

singathim wrote: »

Im a young person and I have just over 15K under my bed!
My aunt and her husband in Dublin recently took most of there money out of their bank and I know for fact she has 100K plus in cash hidden in the home safe.
The banks and Credit unions pay 0% interest! There is ZERO incentive to keep your money in a bank these days.
In fact, most banks have negative interest rates now!
So, you are actually paying them negative interest just to keep your money in your bank!

Its far safer under the bed.

they pay 4%
there's 600 euro a year

Captain Darling wrote: »

They dont trust the banks. I'd a granduncle who had fifty thousand pounds taken off him years ago. Crazy stuff.

what happened?

eyescreamcone

The increase in black economy work has meant that many don't lodge money in banks.
They get a good fire proof safe put into tha attic and fill it with bags of 50s

No good for a deposit on a house or a car but great for holidays, nights out, new furniture, posh schools for the kids etc.

I know a guy with over 100k in his safe.
If he lodged it he'd have to pay half of it in tax!

argosy2006

My question is how does an person suddenly go from keeping there cash at home, to showing up at bank with 40 k,, and trying to open an account,,Would questions be asked? Would government try to take a huge slice of it ?????

gigawatt

bluewolf wrote: »

they pay 4%
there's 600 euro a year

on the AIB website today it says; Regular Saver standard variable rate 1.00% A.E.R.*
they do have higher promotional rates available to encourage people to open accounts, but they are 'promotional' and only available for certain amounts of time.

Run_to_da_hills

SunnyDub1 wrote: »

these days money is safter in your front garden then in any of the banks :rolleyes:

Not if you run into default and they take the house away.

gigawatt

gigawatt wrote: »

on the AIB website today it says; Regular Saver standard variable rate 1.00% A.E.R.*
they do have higher promotional rates available to encourage people to open accounts, but they are 'promotional' and only available for certain amounts of time.

http://www.ulsterbank.com/roi/personal/saving/regular-savings/sida.ashx

ICANN

Another question is why old people have so much money in savings.

snubbleste

ICANN wrote: »

Another question is why old people have so much money in savings.

AboutTwoFiddy

mathie wrote: »

...and what about you AboutTwoFiddy?

How much do you have in the bank?

I think you might have missed part of my post.

Irishwolff

Yes just as long as they dont have a forgetful memory...
Some day they might look under the bed and find a load of money and think there lucky

Robdude

People who keep money out of banks are idiots....right up until they are geniuses.

Banks do have a history of failing and plenty of people have been burned by it; historically speaking.

There was a time when, if you didn't go out and buy the biggest house you could afford you were considered an idiot! NOW is the best time to buy! Prices just go up! You'll be making a small fortune when you sell it in a few years! Buy! Buy! Buy!

And they were idiots, right up until the market turned and they were geniuses.

People who keep their money out of banks are just people who choose not to avail themselves of banking services. Hell, I just got my list of 'fees' from Bank of Ireland and considering I'm getting paid 0% interest; I'm really starting to question why I'm paying them for the privilege of spending my money.

mattjack

singathim wrote: »

Im a young person and I have just over 15K under my bed!
My aunt and her husband in Dublin recently took most of there money out of their bank and I know for fact she has 100K plus in cash hidden in the home safe.
The banks and Credit unions pay 0% interest! There is ZERO incentive to keep your money in a bank these days.
In fact, most banks have negative interest rates now!
So, you are actually paying them negative interest just to keep your money in your bank!

Its far safer under the bed.

You do realise that there is a gang of burglars travelling the length and breath of this country with a specially trained money sniffer dog.

Their MO is to break in to a house , send off little Fido to search for your hidden cash , while there regale each other with stories of theft and general tomfoolery all the while eating your food.

Hulk Hands

singathim wrote: »

Im a young person and I have just over 15K under my bed!
My aunt and her husband in Dublin recently took most of there money out of their bank and I know for fact she has 100K plus in cash hidden in the home safe.
The banks and Credit unions pay 0% interest! There is ZERO incentive to keep your money in a bank these days.
In fact, most banks have negative interest rates now!
So, you are actually paying them negative interest just to keep your money in your bank!

Its far safer under the bed.

No they don't pay zero percent, many pay 4% plus. Your basically throwing away 600 quid a year by not having it in a savings account.

This is what the media does to people. " there is zero incentive to keep your money in banks these days". In fact, with the banks needing money so they can lend, and interest rates so high, there has never been a better time to keep your money in a bank

Jet Black

My uncle was robbed for thousands a couple of years back. He had people in fixing the back garden who went sniffing around his house while he was distracted. We told him to take the rest of the money out, but he didn't listen. Two weeks after a gang of armed men came and beat him until he gave them the rest of the money he had hidden. The men were later caught but the money was never recovered.

Safes seem like a good idea, problem is if someone breaks in and finds it they'll be more inclined to come back later and force you to open it.

AlmightyCushion

Hulk Hands wrote: »

singathim wrote: »

Im a young person and I have just over 15K under my bed!
My aunt and her husband in Dublin recently took most of there money out of their bank and I know for fact she has 100K plus in cash hidden in the home safe.
The banks and Credit unions pay 0% interest! There is ZERO incentive to keep your money in a bank these days.
In fact, most banks have negative interest rates now!
So, you are actually paying them negative interest just to keep your money in your bank!

Its far safer under the bed.

No they don't pay zero percent, many pay 4% plus. Your basically throwing away 600 quid a year by not having it in a savings account.

This is what the media does to people. " there is zero incentive to keep your money in banks these days". In fact, with the banks needing money so they can lend, and interest rates so high, there has never been a better time to keep your money in a bank

It's actually 420 euro once the government takes 30% dirt but still better than the nothing you'll get sticking it under the bed.

uncle_sam_ie

If your going to keep your money at home. Wouldn't you be better off converting it to gold or silver coin and then bury it somewhere safe. It's risky keeping cash and history repeats, http://www.businessinsider.com/10-hyperinflation-stories-of-the-20th-century-2011-3

Amalgam

I wouldn't think of it just as a, 'bank thing'.

The elderly often go a bit strange with money, it is one of, or even the only thing, they have an iota of influence over, it's close at hand, it is 'their money' and also.. with great relish I'm sure.. carrot dangling influence over relatives.

battle_hardend

i thought old people have no money ? , does this mean age ireland and friends of the elderly lied to me

battle_hardend

ICANN wrote: »

Another question is why old people have so much money in savings.

thier only real expense is food and they recieve high entitlements

battle_hardend

Hulk Hands wrote: »

No they don't pay zero percent, many pay 4% plus. Your basically throwing away 600 quid a year by not having it in a savings account.

This is what the media does to people. " there is zero incentive to keep your money in banks these days". In fact, with the banks needing money so they can lend, and interest rates so high, there has never been a better time to keep your money in a bank

savings rates in ireland are way above european and global averages at the moment , irish banks have gotten such a negative reputation that they hasd to raise savings rates as a way of enticing deposit holders

if i had a sizeable amount of money i could put away for some time , id be rushing while rates remain high , interest rates are likely to go lower in the short term

LilyCricket

kowloon wrote: »

My Grandparents hid money all over the house, tens of thousands.
I'd say quite a lot of it has gone missing for good, thrown out with old furniture and the likes.
I'd also say any old person doing the same is likely to have the money stolen by relatives or anyone else with access to the house.

A friends Grandmother got ripped off by a carer who used to skim cash out of her purse every visit. Everyone assumed she was just being a paranoid old lady until the carer started taking other valuables out of the house.

Scumbag