What to Keep in Your Financial Survival Kit

Lots of people keep a survival kit at home in case of a natural disaster. Not many keep a financial survival kit, which is just as important.

The trick is to keep it somewhere that would survive a disaster, like a fire-proof safe. Like if you somehow lost original copies of everything, you might find yourself with enough money to get through it, but no way to get at it.

Start with these:

1. Paper copies of all your credit and debit cards. Make color copies of the front and back of every card you carry. That gives you all the information you need to get cards replaced, withdraw cash at the bank, and make purchases over the phone or online.
2. Copies of insurance cards. Keep proof of all your insurance policies, medical, dental, auto, property, and life insurance. Include the policy numbers and 24-hour contact numbers for all the providers.
   If you have cell numbers for your agents, keep those too. If a natural disaster strikes, it may shut down their local offices.
3. Contact information for medical providers. If you're hurt, someone else can use it to get you to the right doctor and protect you against big bills that your insurance might refuse to pay because you went to someone out of network.