It CAN Happen Here. Dont Trust Your Bank

Angry Cypriots queued to withdraw money on Thursday as banks reopened for the first time in nearly two weeks under a regime of strict capital controls and with officials bracing for a huge outflow of deposits. In other words they are not allowed to take much money out of the bank.

The Cyprus banking situation is unique and lots of people say it could never happen in a large country like the United States. But it could and we all need to be ready. I am not saying don't use banks and keep all your money under your bed. In this modern world its just not possible for most of us to go without banking. But you can do a few things to protect your self from ending up with no access to your money.

First thing is to keep some cash at home. How much you keep at home is up to you but I keep a months worth of cash.

Use different banks if you can. Don't do all your banking at one bank. One bank could fail and another could not. If you can get yourself an account in a foreign bank its a good idea to spread a little money around. Just make sure its in a big country with good banking regulations. Canada is a good example.

Watch the news. Cyprus has been having problems for a while now. This did not happen over night. People had lots of warning signs that perhaps they might want to get their money out.

Always Carry Some Cash for Emergency Power Outages

I was reminded again today of the importance of having some cash on hand at all times. I was in the grocery store getting a few things when all of a sudden the lights went out.

Now the lights being out was not really a big deal but the problem was no one could pay for anything.

We have all fallen into the no cash trap. We have wallets full of plastic that has no value as soon as the electricity stops flowing.

So always carry some cash. You may need it.

Be Ready To Cross The Border as Your Bug-Out Plan

If you live within a few hundred miles of another country you may want to consider the idea of crossing the border.

Now crossing a border in a disaster is generally not a good idea as it involves all kinds of potential problems but one must consider the possibility that a situation could arise that would necessitate such a move.

So with that in mind it's always a good idea to keep your travel documents in good order and keep some foreign cash on hand.
If you live in Canada you will want some US dollars. Living in USA you'll want Mexican and Canadian money. I'm sure you get what I'm talking about

Another good idea if you live close to the border is to investigate locations for crossing without documents. I am not suggesting you break the law but if your life depends on it you would be wise to have a plan.