"Dear Eddie at Be Ready" is a new column we offer in our monthly newsletter. Email your disaster preparedness questions to: deareddie@bereadyinc.com. For any question (and its answer) that we feature in any month of our newsletter we will give that person a $50 coupon good towards the purchase of any disaster preparedness product that we have in the store or online. We will also be posting questions and answers on our website. Eddie looks forward to hearing from you!

January's Question is asked by Eric Miller:

Eric’s Question: “How much cash should you have at home in case of an emergency? I realize that a couple would be less than a family of 4, but is there any guideline that we can follow?”

Dear Eric:

How much money to have on hand depends on your level of preparedness. If you only need a few extras, you’ll need less cash than others will. With a power outage credit cards, banks and ATMs will not be functioning, so cash will be essential.

     Even with preparation, you will eventually have to make purchases, so store plenty of small bills (ones, fives) and quarters--the more the better! Vendors with any inventory left may not be able to--or willing to-- give change, so you don’t want to only have $20’s or $50’s to pay for one gallon of water. Quarters work in pay phones which may be still functioning when other phones are not.

     The best guage to determine what amount you should store comes from those that have been in similar emergency situations. Single people or couples will tell you that $100 is definitely not enough. Most recommend at least $300-500. For a family of 4 or more there are those that recommend $1,000-1,500. Some will store it in their home safe, others in their 72-hour kits. The best recommendation is to keep your cash in a fireproof box, along with your other important documents.

Thank you for visiting our online emergency preparedness store!

To learn how you can establish your emergency plan go to our training website: www.learntobeready.com. In addition to the educational material, you can also register for local workshops, sign up for webinars, and download important PDF booklets that will help your family be prepared for future disasters.

How to navigate through this site:

Trying to prepare for a disaster can seem like a daunting task. However, with our simple planning chart below, you can walk through the steps to determine what your family's needs are and what you will need to buy first. Develop a plan that is easy on your budget and build your plan over time. (For more information click on the 5 Step chart below).

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