How to Build a Financial First-Aid Kit for Disasters
*By Carlo Versano*
The wildfires in California have demonstrated, among other things, just how quickly a natural disaster can upend your life. Unlike most hurricanes, which are relatively predictable and slow-moving enough for days of preparation, wildfires can ignite out of nowhere ー and they're no longer confined to "fire season" in the parched west. Residents of Paradise, Calif., a town destroyed by the Camp Fire last week, did not even receive evacuation orders until they smelled the smoke. For dozens of them, it was too late.
But the tragedy can serve as a reminder of the importance of financial readiness, said Tony Steuer, author of the financial preparedness guidebook "Get Ready." In that book, he argues that everyone should have a "get ready kit" that they can take with them if they're forced to evacuate ーa resource that can also help the friends and family left behind in the event of a worst case scenario.
Here are his tips to Cheddar for starting a financial first-aid kit:
1. Buy a binder. It's old school, but it still works. Put all your relevant financial documents in it.
2. List your assets, home, and real estate holdings.
3. Organize your retirement plans, debts, personal loans, living expenses, and taxes.
4. Document important information for your heirs. Don't assume they already know it.
5. Assemble an insurance portfolio that includes mandatory plans, like car insurance, and any other coverage you have. If you rent, don't sleep on getting renters insurance. It's cheap and will cover you when your landlord's coverage won't (and it won't).
6. Evaluate your financial readiness. Make regular check ups, and do an overhaul after any major life event ー like marriage or the birth of any children.
"The best first-aid kit is the one that you have with you," Steuer said.
That goes for financial first aid, too.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/how-to-prepare-your-financial-first-aid-kit-before-disaster-strikes).
"Sing 2" has overthrown "Spider-Man: No Way Home" as the number one film at the UK box office. The animated sequel brought in $8.1 million, in just its two first weekends. However, "No Way Home" is still on track to beat "Avatar" as the number one grossing movie of all time.
Pinterest recently added augmented reality to its portfolio. The image sharing and social media platform's new e-commerce tech will allow consumers to interact with retailers and visualize online products inside their homes.
On this episode of Cheddar Reveals, Jim Riordan, Director of the MBA Sport Management program at Florida Atlantic University, breaks down the successes, failures, and chaos of the first seven months of the Name, Image, Likeness policy in college athletics; Adi Kunalic, President of Opendorse, discusses the first-ever association-wide deal in college athletics between Opendorse and the NAIA, and how Opendorse is marketing and educating student-athletes to make the most of their NIL deal potential; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Predicting a Pro'.
Jim Riordan, Director of the MBA Sport Management program at Florida Atlantic University, joins Cheddar Reveals to break down the successes, failures, and chaos of the first seven months of the Name, Image, Likeness policy in college athletics.
Adi Kunalic, President of Opendorse, joins Cheddar Reveals to discuss the first-ever association-wide deal in college athletics between Opendorse and the NAIA, and how Opendorse is marketing and educating student-athletes to make the most of their NIL deal potential.
Jason Chinnock, CEO of Ducati North America, discusses ways demand has changed over the last year and what supplying race bikes for the MotoE World Cup series means for Ducati's future.
The value of most cryptocurrencies have plummeted in recent months since reaching all-time highs in November, wiping out more than $1 trillion in value globally. The steep crash has some talking about the possibility of a crypto winter, a term referring to a prolonged bearish period where asset prices persistently fall over many months. This all comes as the Fed is expected to raise interest rates, and the Biden administration is working on an executive order to regulate Bitcoin and other assets. Josh Goodbody, COO of Qredo, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the crypto crash, and how the industry might recover from it.
Logitech posted better-than-expected earnings in its third quarter, reporting sales of $1.63 billion dollars, down 2% from the year ago quarter, but well ahead of the Wall Street consensus of $1.48 billion dollars. The PC and gaming peripherals company also raised its annual guidance for both sales and profitability. Bracken Darrell, Logitech CEO, joined Cheddar to break down his reaction to the results, how the pandemic played a role in its growth, and where he wants to take the company next.
Starbucks is scheduled to report its fiscal first quarter 2022 earnings Tuesday, February 1 after the bell. The coffee giant is expected to report revenue of nearly $8 billion and earnings per share of 79 cents. Starbucks has seen a solid recovery in demand since the beginning of pandemic lockdowns, but is now facing a unionization push, labor shortage, and the Omicron variant. Thomas Hayes, chairman of Great Hill Capital, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to give a preview of Starbucks earnings.
GM is scheduled to report its Q4 earnings after the bell on Tuesday February 1. Wall Street expects a miss as the automaker navigates the global chip shortage, which has hit car sales hard. Investors are looking for an update on production, as well as outlook for the electric vehicles that GM is investing billions to bring to market. Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iseecars.com, joined Cheddar to give a preview of the automaker's report.
