Financial News You can Use
In our relentless quest to make the Fredericksburg Woman the savviest being
on the planet, we bring you financial news you can use . . .
The devastation of Hurricane Ike was quickly overshadowed by more national
issues such as the economy and the presidential election, but our fellow Texans
were dealt a severe blow and recovery is an arduous process. Taking a cue
from their misfortune, we should all make some time to review our own
financial disaster planning. While the Hill Country is relatively protected from
some of the disasters which can befall the coastal regions, we certainly could
be devastated by fire, flood, tornado, or any of the newer worries which go
along with the age of terrorism.
The first and most important step is to create a Financial Emergency Kit.
This equivalent of a time capsule will preferably be stored in a safe deposit
box. Other options would be a safe, or other locked fireproof container kept in
a secure storage facility or with a trusted family member or friend in another
community or at least a reasonable distance from your own home. Good
things to include are photos of your home and its contents, credit card
numbers and phone numbers of the issuers (consider just laying them on a
copy machine and making front and back copies), insurance policies and
insurance cards, deeds, car titles, wills and trusts, Social Security cards,
prescriptions and medical records, passports, emergency contact lists, spare
keys, and an emergency packet with a debit card, credit card, a few checks and
a few hundred dollars in cash, preferably small bills. Assume that it will be
difficult to make change in the aftermath of a disaster. You don’t want to have
to leave a $100 bill with an out-of-change clerk in exchange for a few gallons
of water or a case of baby formula.
Consider this lesson learned from our neighbors on the Gulf Coast: when there
is no power, ATM machines don’t work, and you can’t walk into a business
and bu