Uncomfortable carrying large sums of money...please help

[chillrob]

And I don't want you to tell me to give it all to you!

This is actually a serious problem that I could use some serious advice with. I have moved up in stakes over the last 3 years from playing 1/2 limit to 10/20 limit, and I may move up again within the next year. I am not playing anywhere near professionally so this is not really a question related to bankroll requirements, though I do have a few thousand dollars of winnings I am keeping in cash for last minute trips to play. I have not had a problem staying comfortable with the amount of money I am risking as I move up in limits - I still just think of it as chips and just playing a game trying to get the most chips, no matter what the number on them reads.

However, I am not wealthy and honestly barely get by in regular income compared with my expenses, and the buyin for the games I am playing now is a large amount of money to me, and not one I would be comfortable losing if I just outright lost it (not playing poker) or it was stolen.

The last 2 days I took a two day trip to play poker $10/$20, and took about $2000 cash with me. This was the largest amount of cash I have ever had on me, and it made me very nervous. My whole life I have always had problems with misplacing things, and also been nervous about thinking I have lost things anytime they are not in my sight (a little OCD).

I am not that worried when I am actually in a casino or poker room, but anytime other than that, I am extremely uncomfortable carrying that much cash. I'm afraid I will lose my wallet or get robbed (even though I have never really been robbed before). I went for a walk for an hour yesterday morning before I went out to play, and I really wasn't comfortable walking along the road carrying that much so I left it in my room, but then I was very nervous about that as well, afraid that the hotel maid could take it or something.

I really have no idea what I will do if I want to move up again and need to start having $5000 or so for a poker weekend. In addition to being nervous, that many bills wouldn't even fit in my wallet, and if I just bundled it in my pocket I'm really afraid I would lose it.

Does anyone else have this problem? I know some people are used to carrying large amounts of cash, but I have charged almost everything I buy for the last 15 years, and I never carry more than $100 when I'm not on a poker trip, so I'm really not used to it. I would appreciate any solutions, either to avoid carrying so much cash, to make sure my cash is more secure, or to make myself more comfortable with it.