I figured listing what was in my kit would help others prepare better for any kind of emergency. I have a backpack that I can grab and go in case of an emergency regarding my home or neighborhood. Here is what I have in my backpack:

Cash – $200 in small bills if not more. If tragedy strikes, banks and other electronic payment systems may be down and if that happens, cash is king whether for food, water or gasoline.
Food - MRE’s (Meals Ready to Eat) that could last 2 weeks if I ate them sparingly. These are loaded with carbs and calories to keep you going, and they last on average of 5 years.
Water - Besides a bunch of small water pouches (think Capri Sun or the like), I also have a bottle for water and water purification tablets if I run out of my own water and need to sterilize water from another source.
Clothing - A complete change of clothes consisting of socks, underwear, sweatshirt and hat. I also have gardening gloves in case I need to deal with something rusty or sharp. A rain poncho was thrown in for good measure as well.
First Aid Supplies – Band-Aids, Neosporin, gauze pads, wrapping tape, razor blades, small sewing needles, a compass, ace bandage, etc. I also have candles, lighters and matches, glow sticks, etc.
Medicine – If I have a prescription medicine, I make sure I have a bottle of it in my kit. According to my doctor, pills that are solid (not the gel liquid kind) last WAY longer than the expiration date on the bottle. So I make sure I have backup pills in the bags that will last until I can get my hands on more.
Personal Documents – This is where the personal finance aspect of this post comes in. In my bag, I have a small ziploc baggie filled with photocopies of my driver’s license, birth certificate, social security card, a few of my credit cards and a contact list. I also put a USB thumb drive in this bag that has the same info on it as above but also has all of our financial account numbers, phone numbers, insurance cards, first aid info and local emergency information. This usb key is the key to your recovery after an incident, as it allows you to have one place where all your information is stored.
Communication - I carry a windup emergency radio that has weather and other bands, and also has a flashlight attached. I also have a solar battery charger to charge my cellphone in case the juice runs out before I can find power.
Protection – I have mace and a rather large knife that can cut food, wires, etc etc in case I need it. You never know what may happen once the SHTF!

In my closet, stored in a big old WWII trunk my grandfather gave me, is all the stuff I would need if I had to stay in my house with no food, water or electricity for a while. I have a duplicate set as above, but with way more water, food, blankets, candles, an old telephone that doesn’t need electricity to work and assorted other things. Oh, and I have a giant axe, too…just in case.

Some of my friends think I am a little over the top, but I would much rather be over the top and ready than not have anything and depend on the kindness of strangers in an emergency. You do not know how people will react if something really bad happened, and I do not want to find out. I want to be completely self-sufficient and ready for anything. Living through 2 pretty big earthquakes back in CA has taught me that stuff can happen at any time and you are never ready for it. But having the backup materials just in case is definitely a start. The way I am set up, if I lost everything, I still have everything I need to re-start my lives… I can get on the phone right away with my financial/insurance companies and get the ball rolling on any help I might need. I cannot stress enough for people to be ready….and if you still do not do anything, be sure to have backup copies of your important documents in several places. If a fire struck your residence, you might lose everything. So be sure you have a backup you can turn to to start getting your life back in order. Buy yourself a USB drive, put your docs on it, encrypt it, and throw one in your desk at work or your daily bag you carry. But that is the bare minimum; think of the people that went through Katrina and then imagine something like that happening to yourself. Would you be ready?

Photo from Shutterstock

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As of right now, the following major cities are supported by PadMapper (smaller towns are supported as well):

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For a free app, it sure does a lot to help out. If you are looking for a new apartment and are an iPhone owner, you may want to check it out. It definitely streamlined my search experience!

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Now, I could work more and thus make more money. But I haven’t ever been interested in amassing a fortune or even living high on the hog. I am comfortable, my debts are paid, I eat every day, I have transportation, and I have some money for a rainy day. To the people outside of most industrialized nations, I am rich beyond their wildest dreams – and I know this. I am very lucky to have everything I do have and to be born in a place that gave me the chances to have it. But as I get older, I refuse to let a desire for money and “stuff” to make me work more and more hours, trading time in my life just for a few more dollar bills in the bank. Some people feel the opposite way – that by working more now they can have a more leisurely life later on. One of my friends works his a** off as a lawyer, putting in 100+ hours per week. It works for him, as he has plans for what to do after 10 years of doing this. It wouldn’t work for me, however, as I don’t want to have to wait to live the life I want to!

So my question to you guys is – how many hours do you work per week? A lot? A little? Just enough? Do you like what you are trading your time for? Or do you hate your job and need something different? What’s your plan for living the life you want to live?

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I absolutely love hearing stories of people doing something different with their life than they were “used” to doing…and succeeding. So this was a great reminder that no matter what happens in life, you DO have other choices. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. And even if you like the lemons you have, what else could you be doing that may be even better? Watch Lemonade the Movie over at Hulu.com and be inspired by these stories.

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And then I took a big pay cut to strike out on my own…and nothing bad happened.

See, I had already started to adjust for making less money and had changed how I spent the money I did have. It wasn’t how much I was making, but rather how I was spending it that was dictating how much money I had to bring home on a monthly basis. As soon as I got rid of that mindset, the picture became much clearer – I should be doing what I want to do for a living. Something I enjoy. Something that benefits others in some way, shape or form. And something that still pays the bills. I mean, just how important is stockpiling cash? Is it worth trading my soul or being miserable for 40+ hours a week? No way.

You can be comfortable and “successful” on almost any salary. You may have to move to a cheaper town, buy an older car, cut off the cable TV, or get a Pay As You Go cell phone to do so, but for most people it can be done if the desire is strong enough. Those on welfare with 5 kids are a different story and not really who I am talking about in this post. (Will save that for another post in the future) I am speaking about the average Joe, The Joneses, the normal American Family or Individual. It’s not about making a ton of money – it’s about using what you do earn, wisely.

I think that if most people took the time to really reflect on how their life is going, most would prefer to be at a job they enjoy rather than one they hate, right? However, a lot of them cannot leave said job because they are unwilling to adjust their lifestyle to enable them to do so.

Are you one of them?

It took me until my 30th birthday to start understanding that what was truly important to me was way more valuable than how anyone else perceived me and my lifestyle. If I only get about 75 years on this floating blue globe, I want to enjoy it rather than toil away doing things I have no interest in doing. Don’t you?

Photo from Shutterstock

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1. Consolidate your credit cards.
Rather than having a bunch of different credit cards, consolidate all of your expenses on one single credit card, preferably one that has a low finance rate, and perhaps one that offers cash back or airline mileage on every dollar you spend. This can result in less confusion over which card to use, it can give you a better idea of how much debt you’re accumulating, it may give you more back for your dollar, and you’ll only have to write out one payment check per month.

This is DEFINITELY the way to go. I only use 1 card for everything… my Amtrak rewards card from Chase. I was using my American Express Gold Rewards card as well, but decided the annual fee wasn’t worth it for what I charge to it. This makes record keeping much easier, transactions easier to find, and as an added bonus, I get Amtrak miles.

2. Use a bill paying system.
As soon as you get bills in the mail, they should immediately be placed into a bill paying system. All of your ending bills are then ready to be paid once a week, or once every 2 weeks, etc. Use that same bill paying system to store paid bill summaries, being sure that each category is in its own folder or envelope. Doing this makes it very simple to look something up when necessary.

Even better than this, use online bill paying. All of my bills that cannot be charged to my Chase card, except rent, are sent directly to Bank of America (for now, as am in the middle of switching to Schwab) and they tell me when they get the bill. I hop online, schedule the payment, and I am done. No more stamps, envelopes, going to the post office, nothing. It is a quick process now to pay the bills, and after years (knock on wood) of using this system, I have yet to have even one payment not get to the destination on time.

3. Organize your expenses, as you spend.
Want to know how much you spend each month, so you can determine your monthly spending budget? As you spend, just record that expense. This can be called your Expense Summary. A computer program like Quicken or a simple spreadsheet is great for this purpose, or you can certainly do this with paper and pen.

I say go for the paper and pen. If you must keep track of every penny you spend, physically writing it down as you spend it might make you think twice next time.

4. Balance your checkbook monthly.
In order for you to have a good idea of how much money is sitting in your checking account, which checks have cleared, and any errors that you or your bank may have made, you must balance your checking account. It really doesn’t take that long if you balance your checkbook the same day your statement and canceled checks arrive back from the bank each month. In fact, if you use a computer program like Quicken, you can do this task more quick.

As much as I would like to tell you to do this…I have a confession. I don’t balance my checkbook anymore. I know, I know…but I went a few (read: months not doing it and now I would never catch up even if I wanted to. So yes, please do it. Even though I don’t. I look at my statements, check for weird charges and stuff, but I don’t balance it. Thank you, BofA, for not stealing money from me yet.

5. Keep your tax-related stuff together.
Before tax season, you’ll start to receive tax related information from your job, your bank, etc. Keep all of these tax-related papers in a labeled file folder. This way, when you’re ready to do your taxes, you won’t have to search for the papers you need.

As I referenced at the beginning, it is best to have a place to store any and all documents you might think you will need come tax season next year. It makes life a LOT easier when its time to file.

If you have more ideas on how to better organize your financial files, I would love to hear them. And if you want to read more from Life Organizers, just head on over to the site!

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1) All you have to carry is a single card – Unlike cash where you have to go to ATM’s or banks every once in a while to refill on cash, and unlike credit cards where you have to be approved for a specific limit and then repay the money at a later date anyways, debit cards allow you to pay right then and there and only carry one card to and from places.

2) Online banking has made money management simple – With easy access to the internet available for a large percentage of the population, and debit transactions being processed nearly everyday by each business, people can check how much money they have available easily. Unless you’re a person who carries only cash, chances are you have a savings or checking account in addition to the cash, and thus, you have to keep track of multiple sources of finances to determine how much money you have.

3) Most places accept debit cards – Although some places do not accept specific types of credit cards or checks from out of state, nearly every place nowadays will accept debit cards. If you reach your limit with a credit card, you get an error and have to pay in a different way. With a debit card instead, if you overdraw, the penalty comes to you from your bank after-the-fact, creating even more simplicity. Monthly bills often offer a payment plan that withdraws automatically from your checking account, taking away the need for checks. Even most bars nowadays accept debit cards, meaning you can create a tab and not have to worry about carrying enough cash on a specific night.

4) Theft is less of a concern – If you are robbed (which hopefully will never happen), and you’re carrying cash, it’s typically gone for good. However, if you are robbed and carrying debit/credit cards, all you have to do is call your bank/credit card and cancel those cards, telling the authorities that it was stolen. Although identity theft is more prevalent when you’re carrying things other than cash, if you act quickly after realizing your cards are gone, this too can be limited or avoided.

These are just a few of the positives to carrying debit cards over cash, which helps to explain why so many people in today’s society, especially younger generations, are tending to carry an ID and a debit card in their wallet rather than checks or cash.

Post by Tom L Michaels, who is the owner and creator of HeardAtTheOffice.com. Have you ever heard something out of context in the office that made you burst out in laughter? Made you want to tell someone what was said, even though it may be inappropriate for you to do so at work? If so, go to www.heardattheoffice.com and post those memorable quotes for others just like you to read and laugh about. Or follow on Twitter – @heardatoffice.

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You Cannot Buy Your Way To Happiness, No Matter What You Think.

Finding Contentment While Others Around You Want More.

Is Your Life Fiction Or Non-Fiction?

Living Below Your Means Does Not Mean Living Poorly.

If someone came along and emptied your bank account, would you still be happy? That’s the key.

Have a good Thanksgiving, and remember to be thankful for all that you do have.

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