Prepare Kansas

Tag: #FinPrep

Secure Vital Information for Disaster Recovery

Is your family’s essential household information stored in a safe place?

If a disaster happened today, could you easily find your crucial household, financial, and medical documents to recover quickly?

Raise your hand if you have all your household, financial, and medical documents in one place to recover quickly after a disaster?

Learn how you can get financially prepared ahead of disaster with this K-State Research and Extension publication. Then, use this publication to create a listing of valuable records.

#PrepareKansas – Week 3, Creating a Financial Grab-and-Go Kit

September is National Preparedness Month. It is also our annual Prepare Kansas online challenge. Prepare Kansas 2017 will provide tips on getting financially prepared ahead of disasters and emergencies. This year’s program will be conducted through the K-State Research and Extension Facebook page. No registration is required, so Kansans and anyone interested in planning ahead for emergencies can follow on Facebook and this blog at any time during September, pick up handy information and interact with K-State extension specialists and agents. Today’s post is written by Elizabeth Kiss, Family Resource Management Specialist.

If you had a few precious minutes to leave your home or office, what would you take? This week’s challenge is to create a financial grab-and-go kit.

Why is this important? If you have your most important documents and information at hand in a grab-and-go kit, it can help to get you back on firm financial footing more quickly.

Your kit should be a waterproof, fireproof container that can be taken with you at a moment’s notice. Be sure to keep it in a secure place in your home.

What should you include in your kit? At a minimum you’ll want to have some cash and the financial information and personal identification needed to conduct your day-to-day financial life.

Other information to include in your grab-and-go kit:

  • Personal information such as copies of driver’s licenses, passport, and social security cards and key documents that may be needed to restore your financial records
  • Account information such as financial account numbers; copies of ATM, debit, and credit cards; insurance cards, policies, or other proof of insurance coverage; and contact information for all financial service and insurance providers
  • Household inventory
  • Safe deposit key
  • Information about prescription medication
  • Contact information (phone, email, or web site) for family members, doctors, veterinarians
  • Pocket notebook and pen or pencil

Family records, such as birth, marriage, or death certificates may be kept in a safe deposit box. If they are, consider making copies for your grab-and-go box. Other items that may be in safe deposit box include wills, contracts, deeds, stocks, and bond as well as titles to vehicles. Again, if the original is in a safe deposit box, you still may want to make copies for your grab-and-go box.

Want to learn more? Download this fact sheet from the K-State Research and Extension bookstore https://www.bookstore.ksre.k-state.edu/pubs/MF3055.pdf

Today is National Preparedness Day!

Friday, September 15 is National Preparedness Day. Take part by continuing to work on the #PrepareKansas challenges!

  • Our challenge for Week 1 was to prepare, our update, your household inventory. Don’t forget to include the attic, basement, garage, and storage areas.
  • Our challenge for Week 2 is to review your homeowner’s/renter’s and auto insurance coverage. Things to review are what’s covered, your deductibles, and policy limits.

Not sure how to get started on these challenges? Jamie Rathbun, family and consumer sciences agent, K-State Research and Extension Midway District goes Live each Thursday in September to show you how.

Missed one of the Live events? Access the Week 1 recording at http://fb.me/41Y5Dvd8g  and the Week 2 recording at http://fb.me/1k1mj5v84 

Have a great weekend and check back on Monday for the Week 3 challenge!

What are your plans for this weekend, how about working on your household inventory?

September is National Preparedness Month. It is also our annual Prepare Kansas online challenge. Prepare Kansas 2017 will provide tips on getting financially prepared ahead of disasters and emergencies. This year’s program will be conducted through the K-State Research and Extension Facebook page. No registration is required, so Kansans and anyone interested in planning ahead for emergencies can follow on Facebook and this blog at any time during September, pick up handy information and interact with K-State extension specialists and agents. Today’s post includes a link to a video by Jamie Rathbun, Midway District Family and Consumer Sciences Agent.

TGIF and happy weekend! While it might not be the first item on your weekend to-do list, how about starting or updating a household inventory this weekend?

Not sure how to get started? This video from Jamie Rathbun, K-State Research and Extension Midway District family and consumers agent walks you through the process step-by-step with lots of helpful information.

Starting from scratch can be a big job. Start small and break it down room-by-room. Here is a link to the Kansas Insurance Commissioner’s Personal Home Inventory that Jamie talks about in the video http://www.ksinsurance.org/documents/department/publications/personal-home-inventory.pdf