I started writing this article sitting in the dark with no power after a storm. Fortunately my laptop was fully charged and I have a little USB powered light that illuminates my keyboard. The next morning the power was still out—for hundreds of thousands of people in my state. I needed to do my weekly shopping but the grocery stores were closed. I wanted some produce from the farmers market, but had no cash. The ATM machines did not work. Sometimes, there is just a good reason to have a bit of cash hidden in your home. I think this is one of them. But where would you keep it? Here are seven places to consider.
1. Taped to the inside of a dresser.
Thieves may look in your sock drawer, but will they dump it and look underneath? Or how about taped to the inside back of the dresser where you can’t see unless you pull the drawer all the way out? Put your cash in an envelope and tape it there.
2. A hollowed out book.
This classic hiding place is not such a bad idea for the book lover with lots of book shelves in his home. Simply choose a hardback book that you don’t care to keep and cut the center of the pages out with a razor blade. Put your envelope of cash in the hollowed-out section and place the book back on the shelf.
3. A fake electrical outlet box.
You can purchase fake electrical outlets that open to reveal a hidden box. It is just the right size to hide some cash and a few pieces of jewelry. This item normally comes with a template for you to use to cut a fresh hole in your drywall, or you could replace an outlet that you do not ever use. If it doesn’t match your other outlets, you can switch out the front plate. If you like this idea, Brick House Security offers a wide range of diversion safes that resemble everyday objects like hairbrushes, shaving cream cans, or dog food containers.
4. A package in the freezer.
Save a frozen vegetable bag. Fill it with a few packing peanuts and your cash in a zip shut bag. Twist tie it shut as you would any other half-used bag. Hide it in the back of the freezer—as though it was forgotten. No thief is going to want your half-bag of old broccoli cuts.
5. The bottom of your flour canister.
Place your cash in a zip shut bag and put it in the bottom of a canister. Then put your sugar, flour, or cornmeal on top. The only downside is that you have to dump your flour into a bowl to retrieve your money.
6. Inside your plumbing access door.
Most bathrooms have a little door that is screwed on the wall at the drain end of the tub. Sometimes this is hidden inside a linen closet. This opens to a shaft that will run the height of your house (attic to basement) to house the piping. You can install a little shelf inside and above the opening so that it is not visible unless someone sticks their head inside. This is an ideal place to hide a little fireproof cash box. If there is not enough room to install the shelf, simply tape an envelope of cash to the inside wall.
7. In the toilet.
Seriously, put your money in a mason jar and submerse it inside the water tank of your toilet. I like this idea because you can always access your cash without everyone in the house watching. Simply excuse yourself to the powder room and slip it into your pocket.
I should mention a couple words of caution to anyone contemplating hiding money in their home. First of all, tell your spouse or someone you trust where it is. If something happened to you, they may need that money. Secondly, do not hide cash in something a thief would steal anyway—like inside of electronics or in your car. Also, don’t hide it in something you might get rid of without thinking—like a suit coat pocket or the inside of a shoe. Lastly, except for the freezer, none of these ideas will protect your valuables in case of a fire or natural disaster. If that is important to you, use a fireproof safe that is professionally bolted down.
What about you? Have any other ideas for stashing your cash? We’d love to talk about it in the comments below!
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I’ve never really thought about having cash hidden somewhere in the house. I like some of the ideas and it has sparked a few of my own. One is behind inside a picture frame, in between the picture and the easily removable back.
I thought of that, too, Brent. Another is inside the top of the piano. Thanks for sharing.
How about a small safe as a option? They are not that expensive and you can also keep other valuables in the safe and save the cost of bank safety deposit box.
Great idea on the freezer! My parents used to store their cash in an envelope in the freezer for years. This is truly “cold hard cash!”
So awesome to hear about these principles being used Jeff! I love the “cold hard cash” part! 😀
As long as your safe cannot be stolen, Jeff, you are good. But a thief can just take the safe and get it open at his leisure once he’s off your property. Professionals recommend that they be bolted to your floor somehow.
The toilet idea is interesting. The only downside is that your money would be wet since you would have to have the mason jar full of water so that it does not float.
If you have a drop ceiling, another great place to hide cash would be above one of the drop ceiling tiles. Simply remove a tile and tape your cash up in there. Just make sure to remember which tile you removed so that you can access your cash if you need to.
Love the ceiling idea, Tim. You could make some kind of map, disguised as modern art and frame it for the wall. No one would ever know.
My thoughts on the toilet is that your money would be in a zip shut bag inside of a jar of water. That would keep it dry.
Great ideas. I saw my sister used one floor tile underneath her bed as hiding place no one can think such a place.
Under a loose floor board or under the carpet where you pulled up a corner would work, too.
I think we have a great hiding place for cash & physical silver in our house, but umm…I don’t want to share it on the web. 🙂
Love the ideas, though, and my own hiding place is right in line with these.
Don’t think I shared our place, either KimC. Creative minds can come up with a lot more than what’s listed.
I was robbed recently. They opened and tossed everything in my bedroom dresser drawers. It didn’t look like they went in the kitchen. The Sheriff suggested the bottom on the hamper.
Sheriff might have something there. I thought of the underside of the diaper pail…if you have babies, that is.
I read an article recently that was written by a former thief, and he explained that your garden-variety burglar is likely also a substance abuser, and that they know where to look for money because it’s the same place they hide drugs. The thief specifically mentioned the toilet as a place he looked in homes, because he regularly hid drugs in his own toilet at home.
I would also caution people to not hide money somewhere where it might get thrown out by another household member. An open bag of frozen veggies would get inadvertently tossed by someone in my household.
I would like to add 2 more places that have worked for my family for generations.
1) We have always sewn our own draperies, and placing money in the bottom hem just before closing the side has always been a safe place. You can do the same with store-bought curtains by opening the side of the bottom hem and sliding the money in. Add drapery weights (or a roll of quarters) to both panels, so the curtains continue to hang the same way.
2) An empty food can in the middle of the shelf. Thieves might check the front or back, but no one is going to pick up every can in the pantry.
Thieves want to be out of the house within a few minutes, and will not waste time with these places.
I love these ideas for hiding cash. For me though, putting it in a veggie bag in the freezer might not be such a great idea. I can just see myself going on a tear cleaning out the freezer of the old stuff and totally forget that it is there. We once had our home broken into and robbed while we were on a skiing trip early in our marriage. They got into our coat closet and stole leather coats and London Fog trench coats (yes, I am dating myself….mid 80’s). If we had hidden stuff in the coat pockets, they would have gotten a tip.
I’m a thief and I am writing all these ideas down for my next burglary. Just kidding.
I don’t keep cash around. I don’t even have a jar for change. I have 3 credit cards and hide the two I don’t use. The reason is that my Discover AND CITI bank cards were hacked the same year from the company. So, I have a back up and another back up card. CITI card sent me a new one in LESS than 24 hours by over night mail. Discover card took a week.
I also have a few credit cards that had special promotions. After I got my cash rewards, I cancelled the cards. I leave these cards by my kitchen sink for 2 reasons. First, they are great for scraping the bottom of Teflon pans and getting candle wax off the table. Next, if a thief wants a credit card, he/she may just grab those worthless cards by the sink and leave.
This I found interesting. My CITI Bank card is paid automatically by my checking account. I went with my new card number to the bank. The bank said no change was necessary.
Thieves are selective. If you spend cash, they might follow you home and return later to search your house for cash. The cash they get will be small compared to the damage they will cause tearing up your place looking for cash. If you buy with a credit or debit card, you will draw less attention from thieves.
Robbing cab drivers used to be a real problem. But that problem has mostly disappeared because cab drivers now take credit cards.
If you are burglarized, the chances are good that it is a young person you already know. First, by being at your house they know the lay out. Next, they have a good idea of when you are not home. Finally, if he gets caught, people are reluctant to press charges against the child of someone they know.
Any professional thief knows the chances of getting cash from a stranger’s house are slim. Next, a stranger will likely press charges. So the gain is small and the penalties could be huge.
Do you have a key pad entrance? Wipe off the keys once in a while. If you keep hitting the same 3 numbers, those keys will be clean. Also be suspicious of oil on the keys, as from someone’s nose. You will leave finger prints on the keys you use. Then it is just 6 possible combinations on a 3 number key pad to get in the house or garage.
I taught school and talked to a lot of petty thieves that were enrolled. They can learn, but they learn the wrong stuff.