You can’t always avoid natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, or hurricanes, but you can minimize their impact on your finances. Do you have a plan for how you would cope if a hurricane like Katrina or Floyd or some other potentially devastating event even the loss of a job hit you?

Have a Plan

Think about. What are the disasters that could most likely affect you and your finances?  Now, imagine that a disaster did happen.  What would you want to have taken care of ahead of time? Begin to do those things. Take care of yourself, your loved ones, and your property first; prepare a survival plan; maybe stock up on clean water, flashlights, batteries, an emergency kit, and canned goods.  But beyond these steps, it also critically important to set up a good practical financial plan.

Keep Good Records
Keep thorough financial and personal records and regularly back them up, on paper and electronically.  Make sure they’re in a safe place or have a backup file in a safe place consider sending an electronic file to a close friend or relative in a different geographic area.  Key documents include birth certificates, marriage license, insurance policies, wills, and investment and bank account statements.

Buy Insurance
Be thorough in getting enough insurance for you, your family, and your belongings.  This includes home and car insurance, life insurance, health insurance, and disability insurance. It’s better to pay a premium for something you don’t use than to need coverage that you don’t have. Make sure your homeowner’s insurance provides coverage for specific, potentially costly events such as flooding.

Build a Cash Cushion
To deal with immediate needs, it’s important to always have enough cash on hand for a few days worth of essentials, just in case bank machines are not accessible. Beyond that, you can’t go wrong to have the often recommended cash reserve, sufficient to cover three to six months worth of expenses, easily accessible in a bank account or money market mutual fund. This could see you through a job loss or extended delays in receiving payment on a large insurance claim.  Another handy tool is a line of credit that can be there strictly on an emergency basis.  Call it your emergency line of credit. It’s easier to have it handy than to have to apply when you desperately need it. Try to avoid tapping into your retirement account.
You never know when disaster might strike, but you’ll breathe a huge sigh of relief if you take the time to get your financial house in order before it takes a hit.

If you need to get a financial analysis done or need help obtaining the proper insurance coverage or help to obtain a line of credit, please feel free to call me at 302-368-7132 Ext.12. I will sit down with you and give you a free 1-hour consultation.

If you would like to apply for a Mortgage Loan, you can APPLY ONLINE HERE, you can call John Thomas at 302-703-0727.

John R. Thomas – NMLS 38783

Certified Mortgage Planner – Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc.

302-703-0727 DE Office / 610-906-3109 PA Office / 410-412-3319 MD Office

248 E Chestnut Hill Rd, Newark, DE 19713