National Preparedness Month

It’s important to be prepared. As we saw with the COVID crisis, the 2008 financial downturn, and 9/11 – o name a few – the world as we know it can change overnight. These disasters often come without warning, so the time to prepare is now. For full training on how to prepare for an emergency – click here.

While FEMA suggests having a three-day supply for evacuation, two-week supply for home, we suggest being more prepared and work toward having at least a one-year supply. Here’s how our financial coaches and financial educators assess a person’s emergency preparedness:

• A household with less than a month’s supply of the items listed in the checklist is critically underprepared for disaster. Such households should make it a high priority to allocate money to stock up on items in the checklist immediately for their own safety and security.
• Households with reserves that would last 1-2 months should also consider building a larger stock of essential items while also formulating emergency plans.
• Households with 2-4 months of supplies may have a further need to stockpile additional supplies and coordinate emergency and communication plans.
• Households with 4-12 month of supplies are protected, but still require planning and organization. They might build up cash reserves and invest in technology to reduce disaster impact.
• Households with over a year’s worth of supplies simply need to maintain this safety net and check it annually to replace any perishable items.