After reading a few of the posts here, I wondered: If I decide to keep my cash in a bank's safe deposit box and they close the banks, would my cash be safe? Could the government or bank possibly get into my box and confiscate my money or any other items in the box? Are there any circumstances or laws that would allow them to do that? Any banking industry experts out there who can answer this questions or point me in to where I can find the answers? (I just wouldn't feel comfortable keeping all my money at home. I'd just keep enough to see me through until the chaos passes.)

-- Sandy (prep4y2k@aol.com), July 15, 1998

Answers

If the vault is on a timer and the timer doesn't recognize 2000, the vault won't open (maybe). I would hide it in a safe place in your home somehwere. There's all kinds of things you can do to rig up hiding places. Be creative! And don't hide it in the freezer, everyone looks there! If you need the cash fast, and the banks are closed, you play the waiting game of getting your money.

-- Barb-Douglas (bardou@yahoo.com), July 15, 1998.

Hi Sandy:

Myth: 'your' money is in the Bank. Fact: there is no 'real' money in the Bank. There is a record of your claim on the medium of exchange. Under normal circumstances this causes no problem. Your claim is converted into green crinkly stuff and the money myth is preserved.

And under other circumstances?

Your claim and the green crinkly stuff may be worth diddly-squat. The money may have lost value as a medium of exchange. It is the uncertainty about just whether Y2K is one of the other circumstances that is causing many of us our current stress.

This is why some folks are into other forms of exchange. And,why still other folks are moving out of town.

You can put your crinkly stuff in a tin box or a home safe and the physical stuff will still be there post Y2K. The really important question is what it will buy, that is whether it is still the medium of exchange. Some smart folks are saying no, money values will change and something else will become the medium of exchange. Other folks are saying just about anything else imaginable.

The smart money is saying some in food, some in property some in selected shares, rest in metal coins.

You take your best guess based on the best information you can get and having made your choice you get on with living as best you can. Oh, and look after your family, they count more than money...

Good Luck.

-- Bob Barbour (r.barbour@waikato.ac.nz), July 15, 1998.

In a normal bank closing situation, you wouldn't have a problem getting items out of your safe deposit box (although there might be some small delay in accessing the box). However, in the situation that will likely occur due to Y2K, I would be VERY reluctant to place my funds or other valuables in a bank's SDB. The risk isn't so much confiscation as it is gaining access. Depending on the number of failures caused by Y2K (or prior bank runs), you could be denied access to your box for a substantial period of time.

-- Nabi Davidson (nabi7@yahoo.com), July 15, 1998.