What's a 'financial go bag?' Everything you need for your money when disaster strikes
The wildfires devastating parts of southern California are a grim reminder that you should have a “go bag” at the ready with everything you need to survive a few days outside your home.
But what about your finances? If you have to evacuate on short notice, you probably won’t have time to pull together all your account numbers, some cash and other essentials. That’s why many financial advisers recommend having a “financial go bag” alongside your batteries, first aid supplies and water bottles.
Paste BN spoke with advisers to find out what they counsel their clients. Here's what they told us.
Keep important documents in your 'financial go bag'
Your bag should include originals of Social Security cards, birth certificates and passports, said Vance Barse, founder of the national advisory company Your Dedicated Fiduciary − basically any identification documents you do not keep in your wallet.
For things you usually do keep in your wallet, like a driver's license, make a photocopy for your go bag.
Have a photocopy of a utility bill or something else that shows where you live in case your neighborhood is blocked off when you return and you have to prove you’re a resident, suggested David Alvarez, a San Antonio-based financial adviser with PAX Financial Group.
Have all your account numbers – for banks, insurance companies, brokerages, your mortgage company or landlord – on one list. Ideally, you should have a document you update frequently that includes those numbers, your online passwords and phone numbers for customer service for those accounts. Don’t assume you’ll have a working computer where your passwords are stored, advisers say, and don’t count on being able to access contacts in your mobile phone.
Also include copies of all your estate planning documents, like trusts and wills and medical directives.
Keep one document that lists all the important roles and responsibilities of people in your life: executor of your estate, a broker or banker if you have a relationship with one, and people named in your medical directives.
Make sure all your insurance policies, from health care to homeowners, are included on the one-pager mentioned above. Note your policy numbers, any agents or brokers you work with, and phone numbers for customer service. It's a good idea to document all the contents of your home and their value on a regular basis for insurance purposes. But if you're not on top of that, you can always snap photos, Alvarez says.
Should you have this information on paper or electronically? Financial advisers are divided. Barse and Alvarez both recommend paper copies. But Heather Liston, who owns Clarity Financial, said, “I hope I’d be able to grab my laptop in an emergency, or at least to pick up the small external hard drive where I keep a backup copy of all my computer files."
What else should you keep in your financial go bag?
Cash: several hundred dollars to as much as $1,000. Don’t forget that if electricity is out, you might not have access to an ATM for a while. Barse also suggests packing one checkbook.
Make sure you have extra keys to your vehicles, your home and any other properties you own (vacation houses and storage units, for example). You may want to pack a padlock in case you have to relocate temporary, like a tornado shelter, that comes with a storage space, Barse said.
Store everything in the bag in waterproof bags or pouches. Check those regularly to make sure they're still sealed.
Where should you keep your financial go bag?
Keep your bag somewhere that’s waterproof and fireproof: a safe in your home, for example. If you don’t have a safe, get a file cabinet that can withstand fire and water.
And make sure it's accessible, Alvarez said. You don't want to be fiddling with locks when you need to be getting to safety.
Don't forget that in an emergency, you probably won't be the only one needing help, Barse said. "It's just worth it to spend a little time on the front end to avoid a lot of time and hassle on the back end of a disaster."