There is no doubt that the recent Keystone Gulch fire got us all thinking about the “what ifs” of this upcoming fire season. Thanks to the bravery and hard work of our firefighters, we were all safe, but watching the fire from our home in Summit Cove certainly got my family thinking about our plan if the Big One ever hits! Only days earlier, I learned some great tips from the Red Cross, including selecting a contact from out of state to call in case the local phone lines go down. But, since my specialty is money, I wanted to share some tips for keeping your finances in order if a disaster hits.

One simple step is to photocopy the contents of your wallet, front and back, once a year. This works great whether you are in a natural disaster or traveling. I send the photocopy to an out-of-state relative, so that if I ever lose everything at once, I'd have all the customer service numbers and account numbers in one place. I also keep photocopies of our family's passports and birth certificates in the same packet so that we have a complete set of records.

Keeping my computer and its contents safe is another priority. I've tried burning backup DVDs and backing files up a hard drive in the past, but there is obviously a risk that if our house burns, those would burn too. This year I switched to an online backup service which backs everything up daily to an off-site location. There are a number of these available online, and once you upload your data, it's important that you try to retrieve it from another computer to be sure it's working. I like the feeling that if an evacuation is necessary, I can focus on our kids and pets, rather than our computers.

I am often asked which records are the most important to keep in an emergency. The list is fairly short: wills, birth certificates, Social Security cards, passports, original stock certificates, valuable coins and stamps, and the photocopy of your wallet contents mentioned above. I invested in a small fireproof safe to keep these items. I also keep a fabric tote bag in that safe. My thought is that if we have to evacuate, we could throw those documents into the bag and bring them along. If we are not home when a fire comes, then they would have a fighting chance in a fireproof safe that they wouldn't otherwise have in a filing cabinet or desk drawer.

While we all hope that we'll never lose our homes to a fire, the reality is that it is a more real possibility for our community than most. It never hurts to take a few hours to organize your financial life in such a manner than a natural disaster won't become a financial disaster as well. By organizing ahead of time, you'll be able to focus on your loved ones and your safety when it matters most.

Author's Note: You may have noticed that my heading has changed from “Your Taxes” to “Your Money,” and therefore you'll see a shift in my columns to some more general financial topics, in addition to what you need to know about your taxes. If you have any topics that you'd like to see covered, please get in touch!

Michele Knight, owner of Knight Accounting & Technology, is a CPA and QuickBooks ProAdvisor based in Dillon. For more info and to contact her, visit www.cpamichele.com.