A weekly, themed batch of worthy readings or links relevant to your wallet…

The California wild fires have reminded us once again about the importance of being prepared for natural and man-made disasters. Hopefully you’ll never have to confront the loss of your home and possessions but as the cliche says, “failing to plan is planning to fail”.

 

DISASTER-PROOF YOUR IMPORTANT PAPERS
You’re a good record-keeper but are you a good safe-keeper of records? From Bankrate.

 

CAN YOU MAKE IT ON YOUR OWN FOR 72 HOURS?
Imagine that you have no electricity, no gas, no water and no telephone service. All kinds of tips for surviving for 72 hours after different types of disasters and outages of services.

 

WHAT’S YOUR STUFF WORTH?
Motley Fool explains how and why insurance claims adjusters assign value to your property plus what to look for in an appraiser. Just because you think something is very valuable does not mean the insurance company will agree. This piece was a real eye-opener for me.

 

FINANCIAL CHECKLIST FOR DISASTER PREPAREDNESS
Experiments In Finance examines what to do before and after a disaster to speed up your financial recovery.

 

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE?
Finance Is Personal talks about the documenting of your possessions for the insurance company in case of fire or other disaster.

 

BEWARE OF HOLES IN THE BANK-BOX SAFETY NET
You stashed your important papers and valuables in a bank safety deposit box. What happens when the bank burns down or gets flooded or gets robbed? What exactly is the bank liable for? Bet you hadn’t thought of that! Another good one from Bankrate.