For those who enjoy watching spy and adventure movies you probably know what a Go Bag is, it’s a bag filled with items that are already packed and ready to go on a moments notice.
In the movies that might be a bag filled with cash from different countries, different passports, maybe even weapons, those things needed to carry on in a new location.
But that’s not what we’re talking about here since I’m assuming not many spies are receiving my newsletters. What I am talking about is what if you had to move quickly, you had to go somewhere on a very short notice what would you take with you already packed?
Maybe there's a natural disaster such as a hurricane or tornado approaching. Your house is on fire, or some other disastrous event and you had to grab something of importance in a very short period of time and get on the road to go somewhere safe.
What do you have? Do you have that pack ready to go with food, water, supplies, cash, maybe some basic tools, medical and first aid supplies? These are physical items you can carry with you.
But what about in your financial life? Do you have a Virtual Go Bag? Many people still continue to store important documents on hard copy at home somewhere. But what happens if your home burns down, or gets hit by flooding or other natural disaster? Where would your documents be at then?
This article will not be talking about online security and that is certainly something you should consider as it is a very real risk to research. But if you could no longer access your physical documents how could you ever get them at a future time when they are needed but no longer available?
What about your passwords? Are you the person who saves them on a note under your keyboard or on a sticky note attached to your monitor? Not a good idea but we’ll leave that one there for now. How would you get access to your passwords if those notes were no longer available?
What if there is no disaster but you simply are not available to access the information you need quickly? I have not yet had to experience this but have heard of others who have been traveling and someone ended up in a hospital in a different city or state.
The issue was severe enough that the family needed access to the Trust documents and the Advanced Healthcare Directives. However, those were securely locked up in a safe back home where no one could get to them, not even the family who needed it most because they were traveling.
So, that might be your Financial Go Bag. A way to access information remotely when you are traveling. There are lots of tools out there. Some folks use Dropbox, some use Box, some use ShareFile. Others have access to secure online vaults. There are online password managers, some I hear are very secure, some not so much. As with any option make sure to do some due diligence.
If you are a client of mine let’s talk and I can give you some options. If you are not yet a client let’s talk about getting you onboard.