7 clever places to hide your cash

For some, withdrawing cash and using it as an allowance is a way to curb over-spending. You can feel your pockets getting lighter each time you hand over a $5 bill for your specialty coffee. Research also shows that when we pay with cash rather than with plastic, we tend to better enjoy our purchases. But there are risks associated with carrying cash: mistakenly dropping a bill, misplacing your money or—gulp—having it stolen.

However, there are some creative ways to stash your cash at home and in the car. And we don’t mean hiding your cash underneath your mattress, in the freezer or in cereal boxes. Burglars know to search those spots.

Here are seven better options for Benjamin Franklin and his pals, whether you’re out running errands or away for a week on vacation:

1. An Empty Medicine Bottle

Once your pain reliever bottle is empty, stuff it with cash, twist the top back on and and place it back in the medicine cabinet, suggests Crafty Tube.

2. A Phone Book Or Any Other Book

Hat tip to Crafty Tube for this idea as well. Cut out a space in the middle of a phone book and store some cash in it. Of course, make sure someone in your household doesn’t toss the phone book because, let’s be honest, when’s the last time you actually used one? Of course, if you’ve got a big home library, taping an envelope of cash inside a book cover could also be effective.

3. A Tea Can

Let’s say you’re running into the gym for a quick sweat sesh or just need to run a quick errand. You don’t want to give thieves any incentive to break into your car. Instead of tucking your cash in your dashboard or center console, tuck it into this diversionary Arizona Tea can ($7.48 on Amazon) that was made to hide cash.

4. A Diversion Outlet

Most burglars only spend 8 to 12 minutes searching through a house looking for valuables. Since they’re likely to look for your expensive jewelry and pricey electronics first, throw them off the trail by hiding cash and jewelry in a diversionary wall outlet ($5.99 on Amazon)

5. Taped To A Ceiling Tile

Basically, you want to stash your cash as high as possible, according to security experts. That’s because burglars aren’t likely showing up with ladders. Following this logic, though, you’ll probably want to make sure you don’t have any easily accessible ladders in your own house.

6. In Your Garden

Thieves likely won’t have time to take a shovel and look for a hidden treasure in your garden. Stash your cash in waterproof bags and then inside a box, and be sure to remember where you buried your money.

7. Inside A DVD

This works especially well if you’ve got a large DVD collection, as it would be super time-consuming for a burglar to open up the DVDs.

The next step? Be sure to remember where you kept your cash!