Chapter 2 Hiding Money and Assets in Your Home. Chapter 3 Invisible Money When You Travel

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1 Chapter 2 Hiding Money and Assets in Your Home The best way of keeping a secret is to pretend there isn't one. Margaret Atwood, The Blind Assassin THERE IS NO SUCH THING as a burglar-proof home, nor is there a security system that cannot be bypassed. However, the average burglar remains inside a house for less than ten minutes. Your goal will be to prevent your cash from being found during that period of time. Burglars will almost invariably head straight for the master bedroom, so I suggest you keep a small amount of cash there, perhaps hidden beneath some underclothes in the bottom of a chest of drawers. Leave enough to make the intruder think that he s already found whatever cash you keep in the house. Burglars aside, your goal should be to hide money from anyone who might be after it whether these be relatives, guests, repairmen, babysitters, a kleptomaniac parent, a teen son or daughter addicted to drugs, or a spouse who likes to exercise iron control over every dollar you spend. Chapter 3 Invisible Money When You Travel One who lives well, lives unnoticed. Ovid Pay cash whenever possible. (You ll need to keep a credit card in reserve, of course, for car rentals, hotels stays, and Internet purchases.). You ll be far safer from identity theft when you pay cash in restaurants, when you shop, and when you fill up the gas tank. As long as you never advertise the fact you are carrying some serious money, you ll be in no greater danger than if you were carrying just a couple of dollars and change. Invisible Pockets on Your Person As a youth, when I hitchhiked home from college, I carried a few one-dollar bills in my pocket and a $20 bill in my shoe. Later, however, I began to carry larger bills in a money belt. For men, any normal money belt the kind with a zipper on the inside will do. If you are good with a needle and thread, stitch some pockets about midway up the inside of pants or jeans legs.

2 Pockets can also be sewn into the armpit area of a shirt or jacket, or the inside back of a coat. Women might sew money-hiding pockets inside their bras, or they can order one of those special panties shown here. Chapter 4 Open a Secret U.S. Bank Account A simple fact that is hard to learn is that the time to save money is when you have some. - Joe Moore If you are fleeing a stalker, or if you fear a three-letter government agency may be after you, close all your U.S. accounts immediately. Do not open any more in your own name. (If a bank account is for some reason desperately needed, try to find a friend who will open an account for you in his or her own name, and let you control it.) The information that follows assumes you merely wish to avoid having some law firm that may hire a PI to see if you have deep pockets and are therefore worth suing. Which if any Account(s) Should You Keep? If you currently have an account with one of the big boys such as Wells Fargo or Bank of America, and/or a money market account or an account with a credit union, keep it for these reasons: 1. You may have opened the account long ago, when requirements were not as strict. For example, some of the older accounts are in merely a first and last name. This is in contrast to current regulations which require every signer s complete name as shown on their passport and driver s license. 2. This may be the brokerage or bank that originally issued you your credit card, and you will need the credit card when you travel. What you do not need, however, is a large balance in that account. Keep it low enough so as not to attract attention. Chapter 5 Open an Invisible Bank Account in Canada A bank book makes good reading better than some novels. Harry Lauder For both Americans and Europeans, no country is easier to access than our northern neighbor. An advantage for Americans is that they can enter the country

3 on foot as well as by car, boat, train or plane. The language is English and the natives are friendly. Further, Canada does not have a "tax haven" reputation. Tens, if not hundreds of thousands, of Americans and Europeans have Canadian bank accounts. Why not Open an Account in Switzerland, Singapore, or Liechtenstein? Since the 2010 passage of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which seeks to prevent tax evasion by Americans with offshore accounts, opening a foreign bank account has become mission impossible. On May 24, 2012, The Christian Science Monitor ran an article Offshore Bank Accounts: No Americans Allowed. Here are just two paragraphs; they suffice to answer this question. The 2010 law, to be phased in starting Jan. 1, 2013, requires financial institutions based outside the U.S. to obtain and report information about income and interest payments accrued to the accounts of American clients. It means additional compliance costs for banks and fewer investment options and advisers for all U.S. citizens living abroad, which could affect their ability to generate returns. Chapter 6 A Time to Keep Quiet I had the right to remain silent... but I didn't have the ability. Ron White The War Advertising Council's "Loose Lips Sink Ships" posters, produced during World War II, reminded Americans of the dangers of revealing too much information to the enemy. Those of you who lived through those times may remember some of them: Button Your Lip Closed for the Duration Keep It Under Your Hat! Loose Talk Can Cost Lives Careless Talk Got There First Sh-h-h, Silence Means Security Don't Kill Her Daddy with Careless Talk Don't Be a Sucker! Keep your Mouth Shut Watch Yourself Pal! Be Careful What You Say or Write Don't Let the Little Birds Snap Up Your Confidential Words

4 At that time, of course, the enemy consisted of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. When it comes to keeping your private information private today, however, a comic strip character said it best: Yep, son, said Pogo to his friend Porkypine back in 1971, we have met the enemy and he is us. And the enemy is indeed us if we talk to others about our invisible money or our faraway bank accounts. Do not tell anyone your secrets unless they have a need to know such as the executor of your trust. Even then, you may decide to leave him only sealed instructions, to be opened only after you die. Chapter 7 Choose Your Level and Set a Date Promises are like the full moon, if they are not kept at once they diminish day by day. German Proverb Unless you at least do something to hide your cash or other assets, you ll have read this ebook in vain. For that reason, I urge you to promise yourself that you will set a specific date to start on Level One. Order some can safes so you ll have them on hand for the Level One Day. Draw a big red circle around the LOD. Now back up three days from that date. Write 3 days till action! Write something similar for the next two days. And when the Level One Day arrives, start hiding things come heaven, hell, or high water. Level One 1. Hide some cash in your home small bills as well as large. 2. Use a can safe to hide cash in your car, pickup, or SUV. That wasn t too hard, was it? When it come to an emergency required cash, you are already ahead of 99 percent of your neighbors, right? Set a date for the next step up. Level Two

5 1. Obtain a ghost address far from where you live. 2. Travel to a faraway state and open an account with your ghost address. That took more time and a bit of money, but it was worth it, was it not? If you re ever hit with a frivolous lawsuit, your hidden bank account will be harder to find than the accounts of 99.9 percent of your neighbors! Level Three 1. Open an account in Canada with Canadian dollars. Get an ATM card. 2. Purchase gold and silver. Hide it well. Now you re ahead of percent of your neighbors. Sleep well! Level Four. ================================