National Preparedness Month is observed every September to encourage Americans to prepare for potential disasters. For Floridians, this is a time of year when disasters are already on our minds – hurricane season. Your disaster kit may be packed, but are your finances prepared to weather the storm? Follow these tips to get financially ready.

Start with Savings

Emergency savings are helpful for many unexpected expenses, but they may become especially necessary in disasters. During and after a disaster, you may need extra funds for out-of-pocket expenses such as food, gas, and lodging. With hurricanes, we often have advance notice to prepare, so consider taking some extra cash out of your emergency account to have on hand.

A good rule of thumb is to save enough in your emergency savings account to cover 3-6 months of essential living expenses, but it’s OK to start small. Having these extra funds in place will ensure you are prepared in case of any unexpected financial events and can help prevent you from using unsecured debt to pay for emergency expenses!

Take Inventory

Before disaster strikes, gather important documents (financial, personal, household, and medical) for you and all others in your household. See the EDIS Publication, Keeping a Household Inventory and Protecting Valuable Records, for a list of important documents to keep in your possession.

Review your homeowners, health, and life insurance policies to ensure they contain accurate information and include the coverage you need. Also, consider including a video and/or photo inventory of your home for insurance purposes. This will help you to document losses with your insurance company.

Keep Documents Safe

Once you have made sure you have all of the crucial documents for your household, it is important to keep them safe. Storing hard-to-replace documents in a safe deposit box or with a trusted family member or friend outside of your immediate area can be a great way to ensure your documents are kept safe. However, keep in mind that these locations may be difficult or impossible to access during or immediately after a storm. Keep items you will need to access quickly and/or frequently (e.g., photo IDs, cash, copies of social security cards) with you at all times.

It is strongly recommended to keep digital copies of all important documents in addition to paper copies. You may want to consider using both a physical hard drive and a digital cloud storage service. If using a physical external hard drive or USB drive, store it in a safe location, such as with a trusted family member or in a safe deposit box. If using an online cloud storage service, select one that offers strong encryption and requires a password to log in (but don’t forget your password!)

Having these important documents stored safely will not only give you peace of mind but will also ensure that you can continue to access and manage your finances during and after an emergency.

Recover

After the storm passes and you are safe, contact your insurance companies to report any damage and begin the claim process. Document damage to your home. This is where a photo or video inventory from before the disaster will become helpful.

Finally, beware of scams. Unfortunately, scammers may take advantage of times of disaster by attempting to steal your information. Safeguard your personal information and be cautious about clicking on any links from unknown sources via text, email, or social media. Remember, the government will not reach out to you using these methods to try to collect or receive payments.

The Bottom Line: Your emergency plan isn’t finished until your finances are prepared, too. Don’t wait until disaster strikes to get ready!

Contact your local County Extension office today for more financial and disaster preparedness resources.

Sources:

ready.gov/financial-preparedness

https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/DH138

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