Community · 30 minutes · Basic
Cash and Small Change When Cards Stop Working
Ready.gov says keep a small cash reserve and small bills because ATMs and cards may fail — and gives no dollar target. Here is the honest version.
This is for educational purposes only. Not professional medical, electrical, or safety advice.
Warning
Cash on hand is not a promise that transactions will continue. Ready.gov's advice is explicitly a small amount and small bills — not a specified reserve, and not a guarantee.
- 01
Keep a small reserve at home
Ready.gov recommends keeping a small amount of emergency cash in a safe place at home. It does not publish a dollar figure — so anyone quoting 'FEMA says keep $500' is inventing that number. Size yours to your household's ordinary expenses for the days you expect to be cut off.
- 02
Break it into small bills and coins
Ready.gov says small bills matter because ATMs and credit cards may not work during a disaster, when people need supplies, fuel or food. A seller who cannot make change will not accept a large note for a small purchase.
- 03
Pick denominations you can actually spend
Coins and single dollars buy a loaf of bread; a hundred-dollar note buys nothing if the seller has no change. This is practical judgment about making exact change, not an official denomination list from any agency.
- 04
Understand why payments fail
Official guidance confirms card and ATM access may fail during disasters but does not name a single cause. Power and communications interruptions are plausible operational constraints — the cited page does not enumerate them, so don't promise yourself a specific recovery timeline.
- 05
Do not treat cash as a guarantee
Cash only helps if a seller is open, has goods, accepts cash and can make change. Money does not create supply.
- 06
Plan for banks and ATMs being closed
Cash is a bridge for local transactions, not a substitute for accessible banking, credit or a functioning supply chain. No official source reviewed gives a cash reserve amount that guarantees continuity.
- 07
Keep the reserve discreet
Do not publicize how much cash or how many valuables you hold, and keep the reserve somewhere you can grab fast but a visitor cannot find.