Daily Preparedness

It addition to hosting Tax Day, April is National Financial Literacy Month. In honor of Financial Literacy Month, FEMA and Operation Hope have teamed up to host a  ‘webinar’ specifically concerned with Financial Literacy and Emergency Preparedness. The webinar was broadcast earlier in the month, but is available online at:

http://www.citizencorps.gov/news/webcasts.shtm.

The webinar is a good 30-minute over view of the types of materials and insurance you need to have and organize. Additionally, Operation Hope has several free pdf’s available that will help you organize information that all of us need access to. Similar to the ‘What If?’ notebook found at;

http://www.dailypreparedness.com/2008/10/the-what-if-notebook/

the Operation Hope materials will help you organize contact, legal, financial and medical information that you may need to grab in an emergency. It would be advisable to download the free pdfs and modify them to your needs.

This type of organizational process is critical to a successful life. Though most of us will never face a large-scale natural disaster, we will all face personal crisis, disaster or disruption that will require us to quickly locate vital information. Additionally, everyday life is made easier when we can efficiently locate information that we need to manage the ‘practical’ aspects of life.

When your notebook is complete, be certain that you protect as you would any other sensitive personal information. Store it in an inconspicuous place (such as with photo albums or other notebooks) and restrict access to family members. You might want to consider keeping a copy in your safe deposit box, with a trusted relative and digitally.

Take 30 minutes to listen to the webinar and then involve your entire family in preparing your own ‘What If?’ notebook that you can grab ‘n go or refer to in a moment’s notice!