A couple of weeks ago I was at the office, late in the afternoon, when I got a call from Heather: “Where are you? The tornado sirens are going off. I need to go get Sydney!” By the time I got to the house, the weather had passed (no tornadoes) and the whole family was still hanging out in the basement. Fortunately, the whole family knows the routine, to include the dogs.
In our house, we keep a stocked supply of bottled water and various non-perishable food/snacks stored in the basement. Although I cannot remember the last tornado to actually hit our area, it is a possibility and, to follow a saying that I picked up: “It is better to prepare, than repair.” I noticed that our emergency stash of food also included dog biscuits: I guess everyone was being looked after.
Where I live in northern Ohio, I feel we are rather fortunate when it comes to natural disasters-- not many happen here. We are not overly concerned about flooding since we live a couple miles inland from the lake and hurricanes aren’t a thing here either. Unlike our family and friends out West, we also don’t worry about wildfires. The most we really need to worry about is the power going out from a bad snow storm or lightning show. For that, we have a portable generator to help us get by.
In short, even though a natural disaster hitting our house is rare, we are still prepared. Not just prepared with bottled water either. What if our house caught fire? Are our important documents secure and safe as well? Simple answer: yes.
I found this article I feel would be helpful for you. https://www.kiplinger.com/
If you haven’t put together a plan on how to save and retrieve important documents, it is something I highly encourage. If you already have taken these steps to protect yourself, make sure you update your plan and documents.
Make it a priority today to create a plan for you and our family. Because when the sirens go off: it may be too late!
Please remember that we are “here” and available for you as well. If you have any questions or concerns, financial or otherwise, please do not hesitate to call or email. If you have friends, family, or neighbors you feel would benefit from a conversation with me, I’m more than happy to have a call or jump on a Zoom meeting with them.
As always, I hope that you are doing well, and staying safe & healthy!