3 Actions to Take in an Hour to Prepare for Emergencies

In my last blog,  3 Actions to Take in an Hour to Build Wealth, I pointed out that many of us waste at least an hour a week.  I came up with three very important actions that take an hour or less to do but can significantly improve your finances.  I am writing this blog immediately after the last one and will predict right here that I will lose the playoffs in my fantasy football league.  First of all because my team isn’t that good and secondly because I am not a good manager.  I will admit that I have only gone this far by luck.  So in other words, I have free time.  What will I do with the extra hour?

Considering there are so many urgent priorities in our lives, many people never get to the important but not urgent things.  This week’s hour long challenge is to simply take care of them and get your paperwork prepared for an emergency.

Here are three most important actions to take in an hour to prepare for an emergency:

1.    Back up your financial data on your computer. Copy any important personal files on to a disk or data storage device to put in your safe or safe deposit box.

2.    Locate your will, trust or any other estate planning documents. Make a copy of everything to put in your safe or safe deposit box.

3.    Make a “grab in case of an emergency” folder. Put copies of anything you would need in case of a fire, flood or need to run out the door.  Write down copies of your insurance agents phone numbers and any account numbers you may need.  Think about what you would need if you couldn’t get in your house and put it in that folder.  Make a copy of it for the safe deposit box.

Gather all that information and the next time you go to the bank, put everything in your safe deposit box.  Note: while you are there, have a loved one as your representative on the safe deposit box.  If you don’t have a safe deposit box, take another hour to get one and put the right people on it.

Imagine the hours you’ll save by having your documents backed up, copied and all in order – if there is an emergency.  If there is never an emergency and you never need them, think of the hours of peaceful sleep you had knowing that you are organized and ready to go – just in case.

This is one of those things most people think about but never do so I challenge you do to it and complete it in less than an hour.  For those extremely disorganized folks who would laugh hysterically at the thought of locating their will in less than an hour – you may take extra time.

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