Re: [Philmont]: Philmont/ Holding Money.

Questions like this always need to be caveated with what kind of
pre-activity plans you have before Philmont, and where you're coming
from, and how. Those facts impact greatly on cash needs. The following
comments are made for full sized Crews from Arlington, VA, and we do 3 -
4 days of rather expensive pre-activities in CO before heading to the
Ranch, and usually are driving rental vans.

Personally I do everything I can with a credit card. Note that I warn
my CC company that some large charges from CO and NM will start
appearing from Date1 to Date2, which prevents rejection issues (very
important if a wife or other family member is simultaneously making
charges on the same card on the home front). CC companies - or rather,
their computers - don't like to see big charges being made
simultaneously thousands of miles apart.

On cash, I generally carry between $800 and $1200 per Crew, depending on
how many food stops and other non-CC friendly stops we are planning on
making. You can bring Travellers Checks and/or an ATM card if you
prefer, but cash is just a little easier before, during, and after. I
also bring a few personal checks, but that's pretty much as a safety net
- except for my rock climbing gig, I rarely use them (and I have a 10
year history with the guide, so he'll accept my personal check).

On Scouts, we make a recommendation on how much money to bring ($25-$30
per CO day, unless they intend to buy something expensive like a Cowboy
Hat or a silver belt buckle). Where the money stays is up to them - we
will hold it in an adult "bank" if they like (checkout ledger, etc.), or
they can hold it themselves. Note that we make it clear that it we hold
it, we are responsible for its security and will make it good if it's
lost, but if they hold it, they are responsible for its security, and
they're S.O.L. if it's lost or stolen (we will make loans if needed).
Usually the younger Scouts (or rather, their parents) take advantage of
the adult bank, while the older Scouts keep their cash. In 10 trips
(about 20 Crews), to my knowledge, no Scout has ever lost any money. Or
if he did, he was too embarrassed to admit it.

- Dr. Bob

Taovagus@aol.com wrote:
> Anybody have great ideas on the care of money for the crew? Debit cards,
> Traveler checks, cash??
> Brad , Wellington FL

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Received on Wed Feb 25 05:55:07 2004