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The Daily Horizon

What is the cost of holding cash?

Author

Christopher Martinez

Published Jan 20, 2026

“The cost of holding cash is an insurance charge that you only realize if other asset classes gain on cash. That is a volatility cost because it puts a price on doing nothing with your cash.

How do you calculate the cost of holding cash?

To calculate the opportunity cost of holding money, you simply subtract 100 (your initial money) from the amount you could have earned by saving it. For example, if you decided to carry money instead of investing it for two years at 5% interest, then it in effect cost you $10.25 to carry that money.

When should you hold cash?

You’d already have it available. As a general rule of thumb, you’d want to keep around three to six months of your expenses in an emergency fund. If you’re not at that level yet, then the market being near an all-time high is as good a reason as any to raise some cash to get there.

Why is holding cash expensive?

Sitting on cash can be an expensive luxury because it has an opportunity cost, which amounts to the difference between the interest earned on holding cash and the price paid for having the cash as measured by the company’s cost of capital. Large cash holdings also remove some of the pressure on management to perform.

What is the formula for holding cost of inventory?

Using this information, you can calculate your holding costs as follows: Inventory holding sum = inventory service cost + capital cost + storage space cost + inventory risk. Inventory holding sum = $20,000. (Inventory holding sum / total value of inventory) x 100 = holding costs (%)

Why do we hold a certain amount of money?

The most obvious answer is that we hold some money because it’s convenient to buy stuff with. We’ll call this first reason the transactions motive. Essentially, it’s convenient to hold a certain average amount of money at any given time, depending on the kind of purchases you make and the size of your income.

Why does the interest rate describe the cost of holding money?

Another way to look at it is that the interest rate describes the cost of holding money balances. This is because the interest rate tells you the amount of interest income you have to forego by holding money balances instead of lending out that money and holding an asset like a bond.

Do you have to pay a fee to cash a money order?

Fees for Cashing Money Orders Expect to pay a fee when you cash a money order anywhere except your bank. You’ll typically have to pay several dollars in transaction fees or a percentage of the total proceeds.

How much does it cost to cash a money order at Walmart?

For example, at most Walmart stores, you can cash a money order issued by MoneyGram for a maximum fee of $4 if the value is $1,000 or less or a maximum fee of $8 if the value is $1,001 to $5,000. 5