Disaster Preparedness with the Happy Hour Ladies
Today is the last Friday of the month and in case you are new to this blog or my podcast, on the last Friday of the month, I host a happy hour on my podcast where the happy hour ladies and I talk about various money topics while drinking cheap drinks! Today’s episode is unfortunately inspired by the recent weather events in Texas, Florida and the Caribbean. We are talking about disaster preparedness – how we prepare for it or don’t prepare for it, best practices and how you can be prepared for anything life or Mother Nature throws your way. Cheers!
What are we drinking?
Melanie from Dear Debt — Cabernet Sauvignon from Trader Joe’s
Tonya from Budget and the Beach — Meridian White Wine - Chardonnay
Mrs. Frugalwoods from Frugalwoods.com — Hot Chocolate because she’s pregnant!
Shannon — Deep Eddy’s Grapefruit Vodka with club soda
Podcast Notes
Shannon starts the episode by throwing Tonya under the bus and asks her if she thinks about earthquake preparedness.
Tonya has a Red Cross backpack which is a 3-day survival backpack pre-made by the Red Cross.
In February 2001, Tonya experienced the magnitude 6.8 Nisqually Earthquake in Seattle.
She was alone on the 4th floor of a 5-story building editing a video game trailer when the earthquake hit.
Two years later Tonya moved to Los Angeles and experienced another earthquake which caused her to purchase the Red Cross backpack.
Tonya advises keeping a small amount of cash in a hidden place and putting together a backpack with a change of clothes just incase you have to grab something quick.
Tonya and Melanie agree that they don’t normally worry about other natural disasters besides earthquakes.
Melanie has earthquake coverage as part of her renter’s insurance – which typically doesn’t cover natural disasters.
Melanie grew up in Los Angeles and remembers the 1994 Northridge Earthquake very clearly as well as other smaller ones.
Shannon lived in Florida for 5 years and says there were so many hurricanes and tropical storms during that time.
During that time Shannon says her disaster preparedness consisted of a lot of alcohol.
After moving to New York she experienced Hurricane Sandy.
Liz says she and Mr. Frugalwoods deal with natural disasters like hurricanes and blizzards in Vermont.
The Frugalwoods have snowshoes and a sled for their daughter(s) to help them when dealing with snow storms.
For the most part they are self-sufficient and are prepared if they aren’t able to leave the property for a few days.
They have 50 cans of food preserved in their basement at this time.
Shannon says the more self-sufficient you can be, the more prepared you already are for a natural disaster.
She added flood insurance for peace of mind after Hurricane Sandy happened.
Shannon says the best way to prepare for the unexpected is to prioritize saving into your emergency fund and making sure that money stays there.
It makes a stressful situation even more stressful if you don’t have the money to deal with it.
Shannon asks if any of the ladies have experience any other natural disasters.
Mrs. Frugalwoods lived in the Midwest when she was young where she experienced tornadoes.
She says the scariest thing about tornadoes is that they hop around and move quickly from one place to another.
The ladies debate if there are any parts of the U.S. that are natural disaster-free.
They all agree that Step #1 for disaster preparedness is to determine what your disaster is (natural or not) and start preparing for it by funding your emergency fund.
Tonya says there is a new fantastic documentary on Netflix called Fire Chasers that is about firefighters and others affected by wild fires.
If you or someone you know has been affected by the recent natural disasters – please let us know how we can help by posting in the Facebook group or by emailing Shannon@finblonde.com.
TAKEAWAY: Shit is likely to happen, and when shit hits the fan, cash helps you clean it up much faster and with a lot less stress!
Resources
Wise Food 5-Day Survival Backpack
I want to hear more from you and what you love about the show as well as how I can continue to make it awesome. I hope you’ll take a few minutes to fill out my survey at financialgym.com/martinis and let me know more!