Safeguarding Your Finances from Mother Nature

Even if you don't happen to call a hurricanehot spot or tornado alley home,there's still a chance that your family couldface a natural disaster someday. Sure it'sno fun to think about, but being preparedfor such an event could mean the differencebetween chaos and calm in a time ofdevasation. So whether it's an earthquake,house fire, flood, hurricane, or tornado, youwant to be prepared. In 2005, that meansmore than just planning an escape routeand stocking up on canned goods. Planningahead financially is key and can includesetting aside emergency cash in house,preferably in small bills; purchasing appropriateinsurance; documenting the value ofyour property; and securing importantfinancial documents in a safe deposit box.If you're not sure what to include in yoursafe deposit box, visit www.redcross.org/financialplanning for help. The Web siteprovides a list of important documents tostore and lets you know what items tohave on hand in case of a disaster.