How much cash should you keep at home? The Polish government responds

Therefore, the Telepolis.pl editorial team sent an appropriate inquiry to the Ministry of Interior and Administration regarding the amount of money we should have secured for a crisis situation. The answer turned out to be… not very specific, but at the same time very well thought out.

Giving a specific amount is very simple for both the recommender and the person listening to the recommendations. Just: put a given amount in a drawer and take it out in case of a crisis. The problem is that in the event of a crisis, this may not work. This is because different people have different spending and shopping habits. And changing them in the event of a crisis is another element of stress and disorder that we prefer to avoid. The Ministry of Interior and Administration is aware of this and does not follow this path. As we can read in the answer provided to Telepolis.pl:

The amount should be adjusted to the needs of a given family, which knows best how much money will allow it to survive difficult times.

You know how much money you spend and you should know how much cash you need to secure. How long will a possible crisis last? Well, this is not known either. A crisis is not something you plan for. The minimum in such cases is to provide protection for 72 hours, i.e. three days. However, it will be wiser to have at least a week’s worth of cash.

The form of money you have is also an equally important element. A stack of PLN 200 banknotes is a bad idea in such a situation. As we can read later in the answer:

It is a good habit to have a stock of cash in various denominations at home.