Every September is National Preparedness Month. This is a time to think about being ready in the event of an unexpected emergency or natural disaster.
For 2022, the theme for National Preparedness Month is “A Lasting Legacy.’ The focus is on protecting you and your family along with the life you’ve built.
The essential resource for preparedness is Ready.gov. Here you can find info on preparedness month activities and education, along with information specific to all kinds of specific disasters and emergencies.
An important step in being prepared is having an emergency kit ready. We talked about this in our article Dealing With Debt After a Natural Disaster. Ready.gov also has some good information on emergency kits and what to have on hand in the event of an emergency.
An important topic that is missing from the preparedness landscape is being financially ready for whatever comes next. We’d like to see everyone take a little time in September to think about how their finances would withstand an emergency situation. Here are some points to get you started:
Start with the handy checklist from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This will guide you to gather copies of personal identification, insurance policies, tax returns, pay stubs, wills, healthcare records, etc.
On the checklist, you’ll document the account numbers for your mortgage, auto loan, credit cards and more. Along with these, you’ll gather the account numbers for all of the utility services you use, insurance policy numbers, and bank accounts. List along with each of these the phone number you’ll need to contact customer service for each provider. Don’t assume you’ll have internet access after a natural disaster, and you’ll want to know how to reach your utility companies and service providers in an emergency.
You will want to have copies of Important documents as well. We have created a checklist below of documents you may consider gathering.
It is important to secure all documents safely. If a malicious actor or identity thief got their hands on any of this documentation, you would be extremely vulnerable. A secure, fireproof safe or bank safe deposit box are good ideas—if you do use a bank safe deposit box, make sure you have the key and associated paperwork somewhere secure.
You will want to establish a plan for you and your family for where you will gather in an emergency. For example, you might plan to meet at your place of worship if you lose contact with each other. Decide on a safe location and be sure to have the address handy.
This is probably the most important part of preparing financially for emergencies—establishing a savings fund. We encourage everyone to make emergency savings their first financial goal when saving money. That means there is a bank or credit union account where you are accumulating 3 to 9 months’ income in case of an emergency. Even if you can only stash $5 or $10 per week in your emergency savings, start somewhere and make sure you have access to the funds if you need them.
If you need help with budgeting to establish emergency savings, we have free courses and materials available from our FIT Academy. Also, we’ve written often about creating an emergency fund.
In the event of a natural disaster, you might not be able to withdraw money from your bank, and stores might not have power to run credit card transactions. You will need some amount of cash on hand in case of an emergency. Remember to store cash on hand securely.
There is a lot to think about when it comes to preparing for disasters and emergencies; that is why we think it’s a good idea to let National Preparedness Month inspire you to focus on preparing for an unexpected emergency or crisis.
Remember, this year’s Preparedness Month theme is “A Lasting Legacy”. Keep in mind that you are working to protect everything you’ve built, including your household and family.