Fearless Money

I was already planning to make a video log of my possessions this month. It would help prove ownership and spark my memory if I had to make a disaster claim to my insurance. The temptation with this sort of thing (for me) is to make it too complex. I want to lay out everything and link it to records of each item’s worth. Problem is, I know that isn’t going to happen, it is just too big a nut to crack.

An article on PF Advice has gotten me thinking in a bigger picture.

While most financial experts give good advice on how to prepare a basic emergency finance kit, it’s obvious that they have never lived through a major disaster themselves. Their steps make sense for preparing for a fire such as making an extra copy of all important documents and placing them in a bank safety deposit box. While this will suffice in many cases, it’s not helpful for something like a hurricane or earthquake where you will need that documentation in a timely manner and may not be able to reach it.

His advice in a nutshell

1) Put your emergency kit in a bag you can grab at a moment’s notice
2) Do not lock up that bag.

My additions

1) Put primary documents in the bag, as suggested in the post.
2) Scan and encrypt backup versions of key documents, put them on an out-of-the-area webhost.
3) Include my wife’s iBook in the bag, storing it there at night, to help get access to the extended records online in case of a disaster.
4) Include the backup hard-disk from my G5, as a business-continuation tactic.

Link: Financial Emergency Kit

Technorati Tags: Disaster, Disaster recovery, business continuation, emergency, emergency planning, advice