In recent weeks, I’ve noticed a recurring theme in the questions people have been asking me: If someone doesn’t use a bank, where do they keep their money? Is there a casino loophole? Is there some hidden vault system most people don’t know about? Instead of answering those questions one by one, I decided to break it all down in one place. From cash and gold to prepaid cards and cryptocurrency, here’s what’s real, what’s myth, and how money actually moves outside the traditional banking system in the United States.