• Home
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Policy
  • Guest Post
  • Archive

One Cent At A Time

A Personal finance blog to get rich

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Beautiful Life
  • Becoming Rich
  • Beginners Guide
  • Extra Income
  • Productivity
  • Saving Money

Save Wealth From Disaster, A How To Guide

March 27, 2011 1 Comment

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email

Almost every year, around the world, some natural disaster happens, you very well aware of what just happened in Japan, what happened to Haiti last year, Pakistan the year before.

May be your city is next, quiet a few fault lines run across continental USA. This article is to guide people on the course of action in case disaster strikes at you. When the first time it hit us, we were clue less.

That was a lesson learned and now we are prepared as we created an emergency bag  for carrying items that are essential and would be absolutely needed if we lose all our physical belongings.

We keep our valuables in bank locker. Read on:

1. We keep our jeweleries in bank locker, on occasions we go to bank, take out what we need for next few days, and when it’s over, we go back and put it back, thief proof. but I know if bank building goes down, there is very high chance that we won’t get our jewelry back. But, don’t the bank buildings are supposed to be ‘everything proof’?

2. Last 3 year’s tax returns, car title, marriage certificate we keep in the locker as well.

3. I have a paper with all online id and passwords I keep in the locker, a copy of it we keep in our ‘Crisis bag’ (will give details later). As I track my net worth in Yodlee, Yodlee is our financial savior as well, I just need to remember Yodlee password.

4. I do not need to keep by bills, credit card statements etc any where, as a software professional, I do have faith in online maintenance of these kinds of document. I do not keep any money where they do not offer online account management. In time of crisis, all you need to know is the user id and password, I have that in locker.

5. We have a carry on suitcase, exactly of the size they allow on air crafts. We keep our passports, since I am a visa worker, my I94 card,  external hard drive ( I do replicate data every week).$1000 cash, emergency kit (bought during hurricane season), first aid and the paper with user id and passwords and locker keys.

6. I keep $200 in my wallet always (oops), she keeps some unknown amount, which I am not supposed to know. We do not let our gas tank go down by more than half ever.

7. We both keep our driver’s license and all credit/debit cards in wallet and purse always, they never keep flying from bed to sofa to table etc. We maintain very healthy debit to credit ratio, and we pay off balance every month (interest save as well). So there is no way our cards will be blocked.

8. We upload all our photos in Picasa. and videos on YouTube, its a cumbersome process, but, ability to share moments with others is added bonus.

9. There is very small effort we need to put after disaster , I need to wear the pant, where I kept my wallet. we need to put both our laptops in crisis bag, I think only these two trivial steps would not be of much of a problem even when there is a complete madness.

We do not yet have any medical problem, and family practitioner has all the records of our visits. I do not need to worry about that now.

We created crisis bag, when there was a fire in neighborhood apartment, we were evacuated out of home, and couldn’t take any thing out with us, we both came out in our PJs in the night.

Thankfully firemen put up a brave effort and controlled it completely before reaching our home. Crisis bag was created very next day.

We have experienced another natural disaster, other than fire, hurricane Wilma (Katrina went over us as category 1, thank god). We had no power, no water and no cell phone signal for 3 days. We did BBQ day and night, and I still can;t thank my wife enough for her decision to fill up both bath tubs with water the night before hurricane Wilma made a landfall in south FL.

What we learned from that is, how to BBQ, and how not to wait for gas tank to go down to almost zero before filling it up. I queued up for 4 hours to have two gallons of rationed gas. We also learned that during hurricanes we shouldn’t park our car near buildings, our wind shield was smashed by roof top tiles.

There are few demerits in crisis bag approach,  If we are away from home, and something happens, crisis bag will be in crisis. We are prepared for even that. I have scanned copies of passport and few other documents in my office computer.  I will loose hard drive and $1000 cash, but what else can be done?

What tips you have for all of us?

LIKE THIS POST?
I agree to have my personal information transfered to MailChimp ( more information )
Join our community of 8000+ subscribers to increase your net worth and build wealth
We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email
The tool that changed the way I manage my personal finance - Personal Capital, The Best Free Personal Finance Tool

Want to start a WordPress blog now? The onecentatatime.com blog is hosted by Siteground Web Hosting. For only $3.95 a month, Siteground can help you set up and host your website/blog quickly and easily.

About the Blogger Hi I am SB, a personal finance enthusiast with a career in software development. I am an immigrant to the USA since 2005, after being born and brought up in India. This 40 something technocrat lives and breathes personal finance whenever he gets time from the day job, job as a husband and a dad

Some links on this page may be affiliate links, if you make a purchase following the links, I may earn a commission. Read affiliate disclosure here
« Keeping Track Of Net Worth
Have a Second Checking Account »

Comments

  1. Pia Korns says

    May 29, 2011 at 12:14 PM

    this post is very usefull thx!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.



Create your own blog in 20 minutes and $20

Personal Capital, a free tool to change your financial health today

I use and suggest Upstart, for your personal loan need

CreditKarma, a free tool to check your credit scorey

I use Coinbase, for my crypto investments

101 Cents at a Time

101 Ways to Earn Extra Money on the Side
201 Frugal and Perfect Birthday Gifts
101 Ways to Save Money Everyday
101 Ways to be Better and Successful at Work
101 Ways to Save Environment and Energy
101 Frugal and Romantic Anniversary Ideas
101 Low-Cost Men's Fashion Ideas
101 Personal Finance Tips
101 Ways to Reuse Household Stuff
101 Things to Do, When Nothing to Do
101 College Graduation Gift Ideas
100 Tips for Ecommerce Startup
101 Ways to Enjoy Indoor During Winter
101 Ways to Beat Procrastination

Popular Posts

Quick Cash - How to make $100 legally, in a day
Living well on less than $15,000 a Year
Top survey sites for side income
What to do when auto repair goes wrong
Where should I invest my money now?
20 Ways to be productive and happy at work
51 Ways to get out of debt
Be a better person in 15 days, 15 ways
Income ideas for retirees and senior citizens
51 side jobs for college students
Urgently need a large amount of money?
Should I buy or should I rent?
Best Personal loan providers
25 Ways to save environment
25 DIY car repairs to save money
How to decorate office cubicle
How to show your wife you care
50 Financial Rules for Success
51 Frugal weekend family activity ideas
Become Rich By Saving 1 Hour Of Daily Wage
How much do I need to save for retirement?
How to negotiate your salary

Follow us on FaceBook

About Author

SB

Blogger by choice and IT manager by profession. Finance is my passion and gardening is my greatest satisfaction. Born in India, settled in US, Husband and a father. I created this blog in 2011 with a vision to help others. Thanks for your patronage. More info on my "about" page.

View all posts


Subscribe

Join our community of 5000+ subscribers to increase net worth and build wealth

Advertisements

Personal Stories

How I got a new HP computer replaced
Was COVID circulating in USA in fall of 2019?
How my credit score went up 800+
Why I didn’t invest in Bitcoins
How I controlled impulses to buy things
Why this blog is named One Cent at a Time

Subscribe via Email

Site Disclaimer

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in this web site are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Read full Affiliate disclosure


One Cent at a Time is published by SB. The opinions expressed herein by him are his own and not those of his employer or anyone else. All content on One Cent at a Time is for entertainment purposes only. By reading this blog, you agree that SB and/or One Cent at a Time is not responsible for any actions taken after reading this blog. For the full disclaimer, click here .

Major Media Mention

One Cent at a Time Media Appearances

Copyright © 2023 One Cent At A Time · Designed by Nuts and Bolts Media