When you prepare for a hurricane, you secure your home, gather supplies, review your evacuation plan, prepare an emergency kit, and alert your friends and family. However, one thing that’s often overlooked is preparing for the financial impact of a hurricane. Making financial preparations now will allow you to focus more on your family’s safety when a storm hits.
Obtain physical copies of your financial, legal, and insurance documents and save PDF versions to an accessible digital cloud of the following items:
Keep physical forms of these documents in an easily accessible packet that also contains your checkbook and emergency credit cards. This is also a good place to keep your safety deposit box key if it's not able to stay in a more secure location, like a weather resistant safe.
Keep in mind, when disasters strike, you may not be able to get to an ATM machine or your bank may be closed. In case of widespread power outages, ATM machines and banks might not have power to be operational. Prepare ahead of a storm to ensure you have access to your funds and cash should you need it. Don't forget to:
By preparing for your financial needs before the storm arrives, you’ll be in a much better position to weather the challenges after it hits.
Topics: Protect Your Finances