CitiGroup Warns It May Not Allow Withdrawals -- Do You Need a Stash of Cash?

This is shocking -- Citigroup has formally issued a notice that it may use its contract right (part of your bank account agreement) and not honor any request for a withdrawal. 

• This only applies to checking accounts.
• This only applies to Texas.
• This only applies for 7 days -- they're warning that they might not let you take cash out of your Citi account on demand -- you might have to wait seven days.
• It's effective beginning April 1, 2010. 

I'd think this was some sort of April Fools joke -- gotcha! -- except it's coming in mid-February and it's appearing on Citi bank statements across the country.  The error?  That everyone in the country got it, but by law they can't do it anywhere but Texas.  (Lucky us.)

According to the Motley Fool, here's the language of the notice:

Effective April 1, 2010, we reserve the right to require (7) days advance notice before permitting a withdrawal from all checking accounts. While we do not currently exercise this right and have not exercised it in the past, we are required by law to notify you of this change.

According to Ira Stoll at the blog Future of Capitalism, Citi has now issued an explanation:

Yadda yadda yadda.  With warstories of the Great Depression still family lore to many of us, coupled with the possibility of crippling natural disasters (tornado, hurricane, earthquake), this little warning brings home the question: should you have a stash of cash in the event of an emergency? 

When Citibank moved to unlimited FDIC coverage in 2009, we had to reclassify many checking accounts to allow for immediate withdrawals in order to ensure all customers qualified for the additional coverage. When we moved back to standard FDIC coverage with most major banks in 2010, Citibank decided to reclassify those accounts back to make them eligible again for promotional incentives. To do so, Federal Reserve Reg D requires these accounts, called NOW accounts, to reserve the right to require a 7-day notice of withdrawal. We recently communicated this technical requirement to our customers. However, we have never exercised this right and have no plans to do so in the future."

The answer is YES.  The real issue is HOW MUCH and WHERE TO KEEP IT. 

1.  The National Endowment for Financial Education, writing for those hard hit in California by the sudden fires and mudslides, points out that ATMs and bank buildings may not be operational in a disaster.  They then give information on how you can get emergency cash from the Red Cross and FEMA. 

2.  Equipped to Survive is a great source for emergency preparation and while they don't say anything more than "$100, more is better" they do have a great suggestion -- have some of this cash as rolled quarters.

3. At EHow.Com, they suggest different ways to build up that emergency cash supply, and then estimate that in the event of a major disaster (Katrina was an example), you should have at the ready enough cash to cover 3-6 mths of monthly expenses. 

4.  HRCCNC suggests a 6 month expenses reserve.

And, then, for the big question -- since you put your cash in a bank to keep it safe from theft, fire, or other dangers -- what are you to do with the cash stash, if you're worried about being able to get the cash out of the bank (because the ATM is underwater or whatever, or the bank itself is telling you no for 7 days)? 

5.  PracticalHacks gives you tips on where to hide that emergency cash stash. 

Walking - It's More Than You Think: The Art of Walking

Living simply means discovering things you put aside in your consumer/materialism/rat-race life, and one of those great, great discoveries for me was walking. 

Not just walking down the street, though I live in a very pretty, tree-filled neighborhood.  Walking in nature, sometimes with friends and sometimes not, and always with dogs.  There's something wonderous and magical about it - the quiet, the beauty, the peacefulness.  It's medicinal, it's refreshing, it's wonderous.

Today is Sunday.  Maybe you have to drive to find Nature.  So do it.  Take some bottled water and some fruit, maybe a bag of nuts.  Your dogs, your kids, yourself.  Maybe your journal, maybe your camera.  Just GO. 

Learn what walking in Nature will give you.

I'm not the only one who's discovered this.  Henry David Thoreau used to go around giving lectures on the benefits of taking long walks, and after awhile, he took those lectures and published an essay entitled (simply) "Walking."  It's in the public domain now, and you can read it in its entirety online. 

(For more on walking, check out the American Volkssport Association as well as the Top Ten Walks (Walking Trails) in the USA for 2009.  )

Now, back to Walking.  Here's how Mr. Thoreau starts off:

I wish to speak a word for Nature, for absolute freedom and wildness, as contrasted with a freedom and culture merely civil--to regard man as an inhabitant, or a part and parcel of Nature, rather than a member of society. I wish to make an extreme statement, if so I may make an emphatic one, for there are enough champions of civilization: the minister and the school committee and every one of you will take care of that.

Buying Used Furniture - My Search for a Comfy Reading Chair

I've tweeted about my growing obsession with creating a little corner with the perfect reading light, the perfect side table, and the perfect reading chair ... something that is sorta like my favorite chair at Barnes & Noble. 

Now, I'm off to find the chair and I thought I'd share how this trek is working out.

I've already surfed the web quite a bit, and yepper -- there's lots and lots of chairs online.  I've checked new ones in clearance and old ones in vintage.  I've looked over EBay, too.  The problem is, I need to test out my chair.  It's got to be a cozy fit, and what with shipping charges there's no way that I'm going to test driving chair after chair from these online options.

So, I'm left to scour the city. 

I've begun my roaming thru my favorite furniture consignment shops.  So far, nothing's been just right (call me Goldilocks, I'm that picky here) but that's par for shopping consignment.  You learn to check their inventory every so often, because it's always changing and never the same.  I'm writing up a little description of My Perfect Reading Chair, and I'm going to leave it with these stores so hopefully, they'll call me when something hits their docks.  I keep my fingers crossed.

I've also started going by a couple of resale places that provide funds for charities.  Boysville has a local resale shop that can be great or horrid, depending on the day.  Salvation Army has a pretty reliable used ("reconditioned") furniture store, and I'm going to pop in there later today. 

Finally, there are the estate sales, garage sales, and the like.  I'm pondering these but I'll need my friend S and S's big humungo SUV for these treks.  You gotta tote away your finds here, and My Perfect Reading Chair won't fit in my car.  No way, no how.

I'll keep you posted.