Plan for emergency, live your life

Question: Hurricane Katrina missed our area, but I can only imagine how devastating it would be to lose everything! Is there any way to prepare financially for something like that?

Answer: Without a doubt our state has sustained a blow unlike any we've ever experienced in our lifetimes.

All of us have friends, relatives and loved ones who have sustained terrific losses. Those of us who were spared the fury of Katrina must respond to the call to help our fellow Louisianans.

Now is the time to help our neighbors. We will all have to come together if we are to rebuild lives, homes, workplaces and, yes, a major American city.

Disasters happen.

They come in many forms, but catastrophes are a fact of life. You may be struck by a natural disaster involving thousands of people (hurricane, tornado, flood) or experience a personal disaster touching only you (premature death, disability, serious illness, accident, property damage, job loss or lawsuit).

No matter what size or shape your catastrophe comes in, its damage will always be deeper and wider than you were expecting.

So what can we do to financially prepare for a disaster? Here are a few ideas to get you started on your own personal disaster survival plan:

Prepare in advance - disasters happen. They do not just happen to other people. You must take the attitude that one day it will be your turn. Otherwise you may not prepare properly.

Prepare for the worst. It only takes one Katrina for you to lose everything.

Take an inventory of the major areas in which you are financially vulnerable and prepare accordingly.

Financial protection against disaster usually involves insurance of one kind or another. Americans love to moan and groan about being "insurance poor," but no one from South Louisiana is worried about being over insured today.

Work with a trusted professional to make sure you have adequate amounts of life, disability and health insurance. Put in its most simple terms, these forms of insurance protect you and your family financially in case something goes wrong with your body.

Also, make sure you have high limits of personal liability coverage on your home and auto insurance policies.

Debt compounds the financial damage of a catastrophe, so get out and stay out of consumer debt. Work towards having at least three months of living expenses available to you in cash.

Make sure your lifestyle doesn't overrun your income - spend less than you make, so you can save 10% or more each month.

Prepare to live. A "personal disaster survival plan" such as this is not an invitation to paranoia and constant worry. In fact, it should have the opposite effect.

Do all you can to prepare, but by all means live your life! There is no such thing as a risk free life.

But there is such a thing as a joy-less life, and that usually comes from trying to avoid every risk your worrisome imagination can contrive. One benefit of a personal disaster survival plan is to be able to look at yourself in the mirror and say, "I've done all I can do. The rest is in God's hands, and I'm not going to spend one more precious minute of my God-given life worrying about it."

Life is way too short to spend one more second than necessary worrying about the next Katrina.

So, yes, make a plan. But then go live your life.