Recovery After Disaster: The Family Financial Toolkit

Transcription

1 Recovery After Disaster: The Family Financial Toolkit Where am I financially? Consumer Presentation Unit 5

2 Sorting the pieces of financial recovery

3 Toolkit Story Research project with survivors 2 years after flood Review of existing financial recovery guides Focus group with disaster recovery professionals Special Needs grant from Nat l Institute for Food & Ag Reality check by LSS of MN Disaster Case Managers Piloted with survivors of a flood event Reviewed nationally

4 Toolkit Design Useable download whole kit or just units needed Consumable helpful tools designed to be used Customizeable Adapt resource list for specific location/state Accessible available online 24/7/365

5 Toolkit Units Unit 1: How do I use this toolkit? Unit 2: What are key strategies for financial recovery? Unit 3: What tools do I need to implement key strategies? Unit 4: Where do I start? Unit 5: Where am I financially? Unit 6: Where will I live if I m a homeowner? Unit 7: Where will I live if I m a renter? Unit 8: The New Normal Unit 9: Disaster Recovery Resources for Families

6 Five Presentations Unit 2: What are key strategies for financial recovery? Unit 3: What tools do I need to implement key strategies? Unit 4: Where do I start? Unit 5: Where am I financially? Unit 6: Where will I live if I m a homeowner? Unit 7: Where will I live if I m a renter? Unit 8: The New Normal Unit 9: Disaster Recovery Resources for Families

7 Where am I financially?

8 Financial Recovery All of our savings is gone and our spirits are very low. We only had four years left to pay on our house and now we will have to work till we're a hundred plus. This has been one of the most stressful situations I have ever been in. We have had good days and extremely bad days... Financially it is very depressing...it seems like no one cares... and we have lost at least 2 years of our lives. We're doing ok. We are now laden with debt. Our neighbors have fared much worse then us. Before the flood we had a savings account and our home was paid for. We have struggled to rebuild our home and have used all of our savings to pay for our home again.

9 Where am I financially? 1. Assess monthly income & expenses 2. Determine net worth 3. Determine if you can afford another payment? 4. Review credit report 5. Summarize current financial situation

10 1. Assess monthly income & expenses

11 1. Assess monthly income & expenses

12 1. Assess monthly income & expenses

13 1. Assess monthly income & expenses

14 2. Determine net worth Total Assets Net Worth Total Liabilities

15 3. Determine if you can afford another payment Monthly debt payments Monthly gross income Debt to gross monthly income ratio

16 4. Review credit report Provides snaphot of financial information Helpful: to collect information if documents destroyed when making future financial decisions Request report at: Annual Credit Report Request Service, PO Box , Atlanta, GA

17 5. Summarize Financial Situation Identify feelings related to finances Determine if adequate resources are available Knowing reality = preparedness to explore & assess Be creative

18 5. Summarize current financial situation

19 Make Financial Decisions And then they wanted us to take this money, pay off our mortgage, existing mortgage and then reborrow and I just refused. I mean. That s the time to get it through their heads, and that didn t make sense. I mean our credit took a hit from the flood for obvious reasons It was like how are we going to get a loan with bad credit and the banks are broke? Why am I going to pay off my mortgage and then reborrow all that money and the chances are they might not. We ended talking them out of it. Lack of a better term, we got our way. Cause at the time they looked at our debt to income ratio, which wasn t very good at that point. And they re like oh, never mind.

20 Make Informed Decisions Remain under control. Don t go through that panic mode because there s so many people that panic -- and they have every right to do so -- but take a deep breath and do the best that your heart is telling you to do. Make your own decisions and don t let anyone tell you what you have to do. And go from there. We were trying to make the right decisions knowing that they would affect the rest of our lives. And so that would have been nice for someone to say, slow down, take it easy, you might have to be living with friends, with family, somewhere temporary for a month here, a month there.

21 Recovery After Disaster: The Family Financial Toolkit

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