When to Dial 911 and Never Carry $1100 in Your Wallet
After reading the following experience, you would know when to Call 911 and don’t carry lot of money in your wallet. (Shared in comment section by a reader)
Never carry money in wallet. I lost 1100$ when I came to US on a Business tour.
You can actually survive with $30 for 4 days or 20$ for lunch as well.
Your expenditure depends on the way you prioritize.
Make sure you get a TA or RA .
If you are living with 4-5 mates, you can buy furniture from IKEA and there are malls for buying home stuff in bulk.
It is always advisable to have 1000-1500$ in reserve.
Be careful before calling 911.
My friend suffered from stomach ache in the middle of night and they called 911 and called doctor and ended paying $500 for 911 and $150 for doctor.
He was alright by the time doctor came to visit. They came back to home paying $10$ to Taxi Cab.
Money in Wallet
I took $20 from Bank ATM yesterday evening. I have a total of $21 in my Wallet.
I will be using $20 bill today in DMV office. I wouldn’t have withdrawn $20 cash from ATM, if DMV would accept Debit Card atleast.
Folks in USA, typically don’t carry lot of money (cash) in hand. Even at home, I don’t have lot of cash. Probably, if I search few places and envelops, I will be able to find $30 max.
Credit Cards, Debit Cards are accepted everywhere, there is no need to carry cash with you.
New to USA?
Students coming to USA for the first time will have cash.
- College Fees – Check
- Living Expense – Another Check
- $400 to $1000 – in Cash
Get hold of someone to take you to a Bank within your college campus.
- Open a Bank Account
- Deposit the money, check ASAP.
You will get Debit card right away to use the money (cash). Check will take few days to be credited to the account.
Please Don’t Open 4 Bank Accounts.
When to call 911
Couple of folks have previously shared medical emergency experiences.
My take on the readers comment about calling 911.
Be careful before calling 911.
My friend suffered from stomach ache in the middle of night and they called 911 and called doctor and ended paying $500 for 911 and $150 for doctor.
He was alright by the time doctor came to visit. They came back to home paying $10$ to Taxi Cab.
I WILL NEVER think even a second before calling 911 just because it might cost me money for Ambulance.
Read my experience about calling 911 while driving in this post – My Daughter was Physically Abused in USA
If you need emergency help, then call 911. $500 + $150 bill is no big deal when it comes to suffering from pain and uncertainty that comes during emergency.
How About You?
Do you have any interesting, similar experience with 911?
During student days, I had like $1000 to $3000 in Cash. How much cash you have in your wallet right now? How much cash for emergency?
Hello,
Plz tell me how many cost required for masters in computer science in USA. For 2 years. Plz tell me full info and addmission fees plz tell me. Ok
Useless post
I carry around 10-15c in my wallet.
You shouldn’t take the risk of not calling 911 in an emergency. Your friend was lucky that his stomachache abated, but that might not have been the case. You can never know what’s going to happen, and if something does go wrong, you’re going to beat yourself up for not calling 911 just so you could save money. If you don’t use money for an emergency, then what’s the point of having it in the first place? Find some other way to save money. Health always comes first.
P.S. I didn’t know calling 911 costs, that too so much o_o
Calling 911 is FREE. Typically Health Insurance will cover the expenses (depending on coverage limits).
“My friend suffered from stomach ache in the middle of night and they called 911 and called doctor and ended paying $500 for 911 and $150 for doctor.” $500 for 911? I don’t understand.
I have to assume $500 for Ambulance that came to his place to take him to the hospital. Doctor Bill $150.
Calling 911 as soon as you start getting tummy ache is actually a very bad idea.
The best approach in the US is to have a health insurance and setup a primary doctor for yourself and visit the doctor’s office atleast once.
From this point, any time you feel unwell, you can call the doctor’s office (24×7) and leave a voicemail and someone will return your call promptly. In most cases they will just tell you some over the counter medication and you won’t have to go through 911/ER pain and cost.