What I learned about disaster planning and response during the Colorado floods
A flash flood warning compelled me to abandon my Boulder home late in the evening. I returned home four days later to find that the Colorado floodwaters had missed my home by a matter of fourteen inches. In the in-between time, I was grateful for my disaster planning and also learned how to be more prepared in the future.
OMG, Life Insurance WTF?
In my work as an attorney, I find that more than 80% of my clients have life insurance but few understand how it actually works. So here are the Life Insurance basics…
Make an emergency candle out of toilet paper and butter
Thanks to Neatorama for featuring this fascinating-yet-super-helpful video on how to use butter and toilet paper to make a candle. Perfect for emergencies like power outages or unexpected romantic interludes.
Wills and Trusts: What are your plans?
Call me morbid, but since age six, I’ve had a living will or last will and testament of sorts. I’ve changed it over the years (pretty sure Husband wouldn’t want my Moondancer My Little Pony and would instead want to know what to do with my 401k), and now know to make it a legally binding document. I am by no means a legal expert, but here are points I’ve deemed as important to include in my will…
Do I need this solar power generator?
I live in California, so I’m basically just waiting for the next large earthquake that’s going to really fuck shit up. Ever since Hurricane Sandy, I’ve been worrying about losing power for long periods of time. That’s why I’ve been lusting after this solar power generator from the Hammacher Schlemmer catalog. But I have questions…
How to prepare for a pet emergency you hope never happens
Two weeks ago, we had a healthy, happy cat. And then, she abruptly died. Little Cat walked over, sat in front of us, and started a rasping heave. Something seemed weird; we knew it wasn’t a normal cat barf; we knew we needed to get to a vet, or do CPR or something. We were panicking, and we didn’t know what to do. the fact is, emergencies happen and it sucks no matter what, but being a little more prepared would have helped us feel slightly less out-of-control. So, go pet your furry buddy, hold her close, and then read the six things I wish we had done.
Emergency funds and YOU!
If you lost your job today, where would that leave you? Could you pay for six months of health insurance? Groceries? RENT?! Or are you running out of money in a couple weeks? Sounds like you need an emergency fund.
Guard against lockouts: stick a lockpicker’s card in your wallet
Stash one of these babies in your wallet, and never get locked out again.
I mean, provided you have any idea how to use lockpicking tools. No? Me neither. Luckily Adafruit has our back with a video on getting started with the lockpick card.