Recycling and Emergency Money

You know how we are advised to have emergency cash on hand?  We learned this the hard way when we were out of electricity for 11 days.  For a few days, not even ATM machines in our area were working.  Gasoline pumps weren't working either.  Out of power means out of power.

When we got back on our feet, we started addressing the different areas of our "emergency preparedness" lives that we needed to improve. 

Do you have a jar into which you throw loose change?  Have you taken it to your bank or credit union to have it converted to dollar bills?  That is where we got our first deposit into our emergency cash on hand fund:  loose change.  My husband took it to the credit union and exchanged the coins for $187. 

We live out in the country and often on our walks, we see soda and beer aluminum cans along the roadways.  We collect those.  In addition to these cans, we purchase Friskies wet cat food in cans.  We purchase Friskies because those cans are aluminum and can be recycled.  (9 Lives doesn't use aluminum cans.)

This morning we hauled four giant bags of cans we had picked up and also cat food cans to a recycling center in Lawton.  We took  in 53 pounds and were paid $32.  We added that $32 to our $187 in  our emergency cash on hand fund. 

Saving  loose change and picking up aluminum cans are two things we will continue to do.  Picking up cans is good exercise too.