Just came across this older survey from 2023 that's pretty interesting - turns out nearly 25% of Americans actually think keeping cash at home is the safest place for their money. But here's the wild part: most of them don't actually do it. Only about 10% say they keep more than $1,000 in physical cash at home.

The survey asked over 1,100 people where they thought the safest place to keep cash at home was, and the responses were kind of split. About 35% went with savings accounts, while almost a quarter thought home was the answer. But when you dig into what people actually do, most are only holding $1-$100 in cash at their place.

What's interesting is the disconnect between what people think is safe versus what actually is. From a security standpoint, keeping large amounts of cash at home is pretty risky - it can get stolen, damaged in a disaster, or just lost. Banks and investment accounts have FDIC insurance up to $250k, Treasury bills are backed by the government, and CDs typically offer better rates. The safest place to keep cash at home might feel secure psychologically, but financially it doesn't keep up with inflation.

That said, having some emergency cash on hand makes sense. After natural disasters when ATMs go down, physical money becomes pretty valuable. But for actually building wealth and protecting purchasing power, most people would be better off with savings accounts, CDs, or even Treasury bills paying 5%+ right now. The safest place to keep cash at home is probably just a small emergency fund - everything else should probably be working for you somewhere else.