Tracy Byrnes
TheStreet.com

As the mother of three kids under five, I have no choice but to be prepared at all times. That means drinks, snacks, a change of clothes, diapers, First-Aid Kit and doctors’ phone numbers travel with us always.

But while I’m completely prepared for whatever happens on the playground, if a natural disaster were to sweep my house away, I’d be toast.

Clearly, I need to prepare. But how? I recently heard a pundit suggest that we all buy second homes so we have a place to go if our main homes are destroyed. Hmmm. While I do dream of that condo on the beach, the reality is, between my kids and my mortgage, I’m lucky to afford one house.

Thankfully, there are more realistic strategies that can help us all financially prepare for the worst. And with Hurricane Rita bearing down on a Gulf Coast still reeling from Katrina, this, unfortunately, is not a theoretical issue for many Americans.

Scan Your Documents

First and foremost, make sure you have the proper insurance. If you’re in a flood zone, you better have flood insurance. If you own a condo or a townhouse, get condo insurance so that the interior and your belongings are insured. (I just did that this week.) Renters should do the same. Just because you don’t own your apartment doesn’t mean your stuff isn’t valuable.

The American Red Cross then suggests you take inventory of all your household possessions. So make a list. Or stand in the middle of the room and take a picture of yourself and your stuff, says Harold Evensky, a CFP and chairman of Evensky & Katz, in Coral Gables, Fla. That will act as proof for the insurance companies if you ever need to submit a claim.

Then, take advantage of technology and consider scanning all your important documents onto a secure Web site, suggests Herb Daroff, a C.F.P. and J.D. at Baystate Financial Services in Boston.

Let’s face it, if you were ever forced to evacuate your home, the last thing you’d want to grab on your way out is your file of important papers. But if all your important documents were already scanned onto a secured Web site, you wouldn’t have to worry about them, says Daroff, who scans his clients’ documents using eMoney.com, a financial planning Web site.

As long as that information is backed up at a different location －－ not the computer in the next room －－ you will eventually have access to all of it.

Scan everything －－ not just your homeowner’s insurance policy. Include your life insurance, disability and car insurance policies. Scan legal documents for wills and trusts and your brokerage statements. Be sure to add a copy of your license, medical cards and a list of your credit card numbers. And scan the photos of you and your worldly possessions as well. Then, if any of those documents are destroyed, there will be a record of it in cyberspace.

Companies like Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft offer back-up products for individuals, so be sure to check them out.

If it sounds like too much of an effort, just think about all those people in New Orleans trying to make insurance claims without proof that they ever had insurance to begin with. That should be motivation enough to do it.

Of course, you could also make copies of everything and send it to a trustworthy relative or friend who lives out of your area. But whether you scan your documents or mail them cross-country, be sure to update them each time a policy, credit card or the living room furniture is changed.

“We’re Here!”

Even if you can’t afford a second home, you still need an evacuation plan. And it’s not just for folks who live in an area that’s been threatened with natural disasters, like California or Florida. If you live near a nuclear power plant, important building or any other monument that may be a target for destruction, you need a place to go outside of your area.

So get in touch with friends or relatives who live on the other side of the country and discuss this with them. You want them to know that you might be coming in case of a disaster, says Daroff. The last thing you want to do is show up unannounced with your whole family.

Where’s the Money?

And finally, think about your accessibility to cash in an emergency situation.

To start, consider keeping a few hundred dollars in cash on hand, just in case you can’t get to an ATM, or worse, they don’t work, says Evensky.

But what if you need money to live for a while? Many of us －－ including yours truly －－ have opened home equity lines for just those situations. But if your home is destroyed, your line is cut off.

Now what?

You could always borrow against your retirement plan. Know that you’ll most likely have to pay back the money within five years or you’ll be hit with a 10% early withdrawal penalty. Depending on the plan, there may be limits on how much you can withdraw. So be sure to research all that so you know what you’re getting into.

In addition, it wouldn’t hurt to consider a life insurance policy with a cash value, suggests Daroff. These policies allow you to withdraw any accumulated money without any payback requirements or limits on the amount of the withdrawal. You would owe an interest charge each year because technically it’s a loan from the policy and you theoretically should pay it back, even though you’re not required to do so.

Tapping your brokerage accounts may also be an option, although not many of us have our account numbers memorized. The good news is that if your money is with a big firm, it will most likely have security procedures set up in case of an emergency. For instance, Fidelity, Vanguard and Schwab to name a few, currently have systems in place for Katrina victims. An account holder can call the company and will then be asked a series of specific questions to help confirm that the caller is the actual account holder.

Are Your Advisors Prepared?

Finally, make sure your advisors have a back-up plan as well. So check with your broker, financial planner, accountant and attorney. Something as simple as a fire can wipe out years of document accumulation.

As an example, Vanguard backs up all data in highly secure locations, says John Demming, spokesman for the company. In addition, it has three offices scattered across the country so in the event that one office is damaged, the others can provide service on their behalf.

We’re all guilty of getting caught up in our day-to-day routines, and sometimes it takes a disaster like Hurricane Katrina to help us refocus. While it’s important to be prepared for life’s daily disturbances, it’s imperative that we think about how we would handle a catastrophe that could change our lives forever.