SAN ANTONIO – Financial readiness is critical before any potential natural disaster to ensure your hard-earned money, important documents and possessions are protected.
The Federal Trade Commission offers the following tips to help you prepare.
First, make a list of your possessions and documents by taking pictures or videos of them. Your household inventory could help you with insurance claims later.
You’ll also want to take advantage of the technology tools at your disposal. You can use online bill pay, virtual safe deposit boxes and cloud storage options. This could make it easier to recover your records and update them.
If you have some documents that can’t be stored virtually, consider purchasing a lockable, fireproof file box to keep them secure.
You can also rent a safe deposit box at your local bank. Some banks may offer virtual safe deposit boxes to store your photos, videos and documents, including your household inventory.
Finally, remember to update the list of your possessions and personal information at least once a year.