Money Ideas for Hurricane Preparation - Some Things You May Never Have Thought On... Like Having Cash On You...... Ps Buy Peanut Butter & Jelly ;)

 

Toilet paper is important for a Hurricane.

Having some extra cash is good too... 

link below...

I talk on pets that need a lot of water and extra food as well as buying old fashioned crayons for kids and coloring books that don't need electricity that will keep a small child somewhat happy when the power is out and they can't go on their iPad (good luck with that) but we don't talk much on financial issues.

When I say "issues" I mean problems. Just being clear as you need to be aware of how the rules work.

For instance when a hurricane watch or warning is issued there are holds put onto buying Insurance. You can't just wait til it's too late to buy coverage and I'm talking those of you who debate buying renters insurance. So check with your local insurance companies and find out what their rules are and if you are debating changing policies do so in a timely way and know if you wait too long you will be frozen out of the process. Again, always check with local insurance providers as some companies may have rules other companies do not and again all insurance sales are frozen when a hurricane gets into the legal window.

Link is below to an article with much info.

Do I really need to explain that at some point ATMs run out of cash and or once the power goes out you cannot get cash out of the ATM. Nuff said. You don't want to be on the road Northbound on the Interstate and realize you have no cash. I'll add here though once power is out and will be out for some time after the hurricane has passed....having cash is useful. Many businesses will try to set up on a Cash Only basis if they can operate at all. But having cash is always good if you cannot use electric to make a purchase. If that sounds scary good as the "after the storm" can be way worse than during the storm. In Miami when we were impacted by the fringe of Wilma after being hit by Katrina and feeling Rita we had no power for a long time. What stores could open often opened on a Cash basis. And, while many can use their phone these days many people are old school and will assume they can just use their credit card.  That's if your phone works, if the cell phone towers are okay and if you can charge your phone; not everyone has generators set up to keep the daily flow of life going and obviously this post is for those people.

For those who hate Apps now is a good time to get your banking app and learn how to use it. I have a friend who does everything online, she has every store APP imagineable and yet refuses to use her banking app. And, again APPS only work when your phone has power and phone service is working. After Helene in Western NC the cell phone towers were out and there was no internet. Flooding causes widespread damages you can't imagine.  

Documents for Insurance purposes are important to have in place BEFORE the storm and now is the time to put them into place in a secure location; a waterproof secure location as well as sharing that info with someone outside your area. After Katrina..... most people didn't have access to anything and not everyone backs up their info online in an organized clear cut way that's easy to access when your world falls apart and nothing is normal. Take photographs of your valuables. 

Take photos of your home before the hurricane for insurance purposes. 

Know also that if you have a house that's about to close and are in the process of selling or buying, the closing will be put off. Also, it's very likely even if you are not at landfall but in an area that was impacted that you may have to have another Real Estate Appraisal and as nothing will be normal it won't be done right away. There are delays...........lots of delays.

Make yourself a Hurricane Season Account. I know it isn't always possible, but it's good to have if you can afford to do so. For example having to evacuate and being on the road during a large scale evacuation is costly and there are many expenses that are unexpected. I've known people that after evacuating for one hurricane, refused to ever evacuate again even if it means staying by their crazy Aunt Martha with her 4 dogs and 3 cats and a parrot with an obscene vocabulary that lives further inland not in an evacuation zone. Not everyone needs to evacuate. Know you evacuation zones. I know many who still put money aside for Christmas expenses or that expensive product on sale at Sephora during THE SALE and yet wait and see what will be before shopping at Publix for a Category 3 Hurricane.  Note during the 2005 Hurricane Season I was a young divorved mother with a lot of kids and very limited funds and I often shopped at the Dollar Store which was cheap and amazingly had brooms, batteries and mops after Publix sold out of them once the hurricane warnings went up. Where there's a will there's a way and having a little extra cash put aside helps always.

Lastly...........I know shopping for Hurricane Supplies is expensive and many prefer to hold onto that money for other things such as the electric bill, the water bill and maybe a summer trip they had planned to take with the family. I know many are on limited budgets. I had a conversation the other day with an old timer in Florida who is retired, on a limited budget and doesn't have many family members around to rely on and she said she's almost set for hurricane season. Knowing she's an old timer in Florida going back several generations whose grandparents told stories of the 1926 Hurricane and had a great grandmother who spoke on a hurricane in 1909 that impacted the Florida Keys and parts of South Florida she doesn't take hurricanes lightly. People pass away, buildings are demolished and new buildings are built but family hurricane memories go on forever. Any old timer that has gone through a serious hurricane, can tell you the importance of being prepared. She said....."well I just buy an extra can of vegetables every time I go to Publix" so I guess your hurricane supplies can be put together one can at a time. 

Check your first aid supplies.

Make sure you have an extra bottle of medication or inhaler if you have asthma... as everything is moldy and disgusting after a hurricane and if you have asthma or allergies to mold it'll be off the charts after the storm.   This is why many stay for a hurricane, yet evacuate during the aftermath.

Hydrogen Peroxide is one of the cheapest things you can buy, available at the Dollar Store so grab an extra bottle.  Not everything cost as much money as a flight out town or a generator. Basic First Aid items are cheap and available from Walmart to Target to the Dollar Store.

Are you ready?

Be ready.

Better to be ready that to wait until everyone is in panic mode and there's no money left in the ATM.

That's it for now...  late night thoughts on things people never think on... 

https://www.kin.com/blog/insurance-moratorium/  <-- check this out for more information.

https://www.ready.gov/kit

Nothing on the horizone today in the Tropics but hurricane season is 14 days away. 2 weeks.

Sweet Tropical Dreams

Bobbistorm

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