Emergency Cash: How Much and Where to Keep It
How much emergency cash to keep for an outage, why small bills matter, where to store it at home, and what FDIC insurance does and doesn't cover.
Communication & Documents
6 articles
Bookmark Your Utility's Outage Map Before the Storm
When the lights go out, the first question is how long. Your electric company's outage map is the best answer you'll get. How to find it, sign up for alerts, and report…
Film Your House Now: The Insurance Inventory
After a fire or storm, you'll be asked to list everything you lost. A 20-minute walk-through video now makes the claim faster and the payout fairer. How to do it right, and…
The Grab-and-Go Document Binder
After a fire, flood or evacuation, the hardest part is often proving who you are and what you own. What to put in a grab-and-go binder, where to keep the originals, and…
A Family Communication Plan That Works Without Cell Service
In a disaster, cell networks jam or go down. How to set up an out-of-area contact, meeting places, a paper contact list, and the texting trick that gets through when calls don't.
NOAA Weather Radios Explained
A weather radio wakes you up at 3 a.m. when a tornado warning is issued, even if your phone is dead or the cell network is down. How they work, how to…