Just think how much people use their debit cards now days. I can’t even remember the last time I brought gasoline with cash or paid my utility bills with cash or a check. Now imagine your bank has shutdown like this one with no warning. How much cash do you have right now?
If credit and debit cards were suddenly cut off I would expect things would quickly go as described in this article:
An event at my grocery store [An ATS member’s experience].
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2314019/posts
Article is also in my Preparedness Manual which can be download for free at:
http://tomeaker.com/kart/Preparedness1j.pdf
The only “cash” I have on hand is a few boxes of junk silver.
I don’t use my debit card. I use credit cards and then pay them off online. I rarely need cash.
There was a glitch at a gas station near me, all cards rejected. A number of people were agitated but no one fighting yet. I held up a $20 to get the clerks attention. “Do the pumps still work?” I asked. He said yes and gave me $20 credit on the pump. I filled up, watched a guy get cigarettes and lotto tickets with cash. A line started at the ATM.
It might have been a mini-riot if the ATM hadn’t worked.
I keep several hundred bucks in a bug out kit.