A little planning now can help you handle a natural disaster or other emergency. With all the disaster that have hit over the last few years such as, hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes and other natural disaster many people have focused on their need to be prepared in case of an emergency.
It would appear that very few people ever consider preparing for financial emergencies. Or if they do consider it that is about as far as they get since they never put any action to their considering. Being financially prepared will help us through any type of disaster we might be forced to face.
Create a household inventory for items of significant value and locate originals of important financial and family documents. Store original documents in waterproof bags in a safe deposit box or durable “evacuation box” and photocopies in a safe place. Use a CD to back up key documents on your computer. If practical, store copies with friends or relatives who live outside the area.
Check with your insurance agent and check your policies to make sure you understand what your coverage is on such things as floods, fire, earthquakes etc. Make sure that you have your policies safely stored for future access.
Since we really never know what can hit us and how fast it can come upon us I like to keep a few hundred dollars in small bills hidden away for quick access. Let’s face it if the power is out the ATM’s won’t be working and we may actually need to buy something with cash.
Keep a list of important emergency contacts, including direct family members, doctors, medical facilities, numbers for your bank, insurance agent and company, lawyer and financial planner/advisor. Credit card 1-800 numbers can help you quickly retrieve account information.
Regardless of where you live and how many natural disasters hit your area, some places are much safer than others, you should have a funded financial emergency fund set up. We should all have at a minimum three months of living expenses set aside in case of emergencies that might occur. 6 to 8 months would be much better especially in the economic times we are currently living in.
Follow these guidelines to ensure you and your family are protected financially as well as physically. If you would like to learn more on how to gain control of your finances all the time then head on over to the report at Money Management Made Easy.
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