{"id":65640,"date":"2025-02-03T07:05:48","date_gmt":"2025-02-03T07:05:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/business\/finance\/what-to-pack-in-a-financial-go-bag\/"},"modified":"2025-02-03T07:05:48","modified_gmt":"2025-02-03T07:05:48","slug":"what-to-pack-in-a-financial-go-bag","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=65640","title":{"rendered":"What to Pack in a Financial Go Bag"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The scenes of the wildfires in Los Angeles, California<\/a> are scary. I can\u2019t imagine experiencing them first hand.<\/p>\n

But this is a good reminder, for those of us not directly impacted, that sometimes you may need to evacuate your home in a moment\u2019s notice.<\/p>\n

In those times, it\u2019s important for you to have a Go Bag. A bag you can just grab out the door when it\u2019s time to GO.<\/p>\n

Right now, when you aren\u2019t facing that dilemma, now\u2019s the time to prepare the Go Bag (or Bug Out Bag).<\/p>\n

For your general Go Bag, Ready.gov has a useful list<\/a> for what to include. This list from 5.11 Tactical is comprehensive<\/a> too. <\/p>\n

But, what \u201cfinancial\u201d items should you take with you?<\/p>\n

\nTable of Contents<\/summary>\n
    \n
  1. 1. Cash<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. 2. Important Documents<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. 2a. Portable Hard Drive<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. 3. Emergency Contact Information<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. 4. Financial Emergency Plan<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/details>\n

    1. Cash<\/h2>\n

    Cash is king. <\/p>\n

    I assume you\u2019ll have your wallet or purse, which includes your identification, credit cards, and some spending money. But your Go Bag should have additional cash in it. There may be power outages and so credit cards may not be accepted. Cash is always useful.<\/p>\n

    How much? That depends on your finances. If you have an emergency fund, it\u2019s not unreasonable to keep some of it in cash in your Go Bag. I\u2019d have at least $250, preferably closer to $1,000. You want small bills too, it\u2019s fine if it\u2019s all $20s but you don\u2019t want $50s and $100s. Ideally a bunch of $10s, $5s, and $1s.<\/p>\n

    For extra<\/em> preparation, you could always add in some silver or gold. Ounce bars are fine, smaller coins are better. Again, you want it easy to spend and smaller is easier.<\/p>\n

    2. Important Documents<\/h2>\n

    All of our important documents are in a red accordion file folder that we can grab and take with us.<\/p>\n

    They fit into two main categories:<\/p>\n