I’m currently halfway through watching series two of the excellent and award-winning The Walking Dead.
If you’ve not had the pleasure of this American TV series, it tells the story of zombie apocalypse survivor Rick as he struggles to keep his family and friends safe from hordes of the undead (or ‘walkers’ as they are called in the show).
It’s pretty scary stuff with enough gruesome action to make it wholly unsuitable for those with a weak constitution.
The show does however raise some interesting thoughts about preparedness for a future event; perhaps something as significant as a global zombie apocalypse, but more probably something relatively minor and short-term, which still has the potential to cause real disruption to our lives.
At the weekend we saw former Chancellor Alistair Darling claim that Britain was only two hours from total social collapse during the global financial crisis which started five years ago.
Darling explained,
“The risk I have always seen is that people forget just how close we came to a complete collapse and the thing about a collapse of the banks is that it wouldn’t just have been the banks in ruins, it would have been complete economic and therefore social collapse.
“People without money can do nothing – you can’t buy your petrol, you can’t buy your food, anything.
“It was rather like a nuclear war, you know you think it will never happen. And then someone tells you that a missile’s been launched. It was very scary. That moment will stick with me for the rest of my days.”
The silver-haired Scot (as he was described in the Daily Mail interview) paints a terrifying picture.
During the past few years we have experienced a couple of events where bank computer systems have failed, leaving customers stranded without access to cash or credit. No working credit or debit card can mean no access to public transport and no way to buy food.
Thankfully we avoided total social collapse back in 2008 and the bank system failures were rectified in a matter of hours. But I can’t help but think, what if?
What if a major bank had collapsed and prompted widespread social collapse? What if cyberterrorists were intent on shutting down the entire global banking system (and somehow succeeded)?
This leaves aside the possibility of widespread illness, natural disasters or conventional terrorism; basically all the bad stuff we don’t like to dwell on but probably should out of responsibility for ourselves and others.
Preparing for these eventualities doesn’t have to see you becoming a US-style survivalist nut, holed up in your cabin with a ten-year supply of tinned food and several thousand rounds of ammunition.
Here are a few basic steps you might follow to stand the best chance in a zombie apocalypse (or loss of access to your bank account for a couple of days):
1 – Have credit and debit cards from more than one banking provider. If one banking system fails, you can fall back on another.
2 – Carry enough cash to access public transport, buy food and fill your car with petrol. We often talk about a cash savings emergency fund; you should also have a personal cash emergency fund.
3 – Keep enough supplies at home, in your car and at your office to see you through the first three days of any disaster. Survivalists talk about their ’72 hour kits’ which are designed to get them through the early stages of a disaster.
4 – Talk to your family and make a plan. If disaster does strike, communication could be difficult, so agreeing on meeting locations (assuming they are safe and reachable) in advance is a good idea.
As outlandish as some of this might seem, it should be part of a sensible Financial Planning strategy.
We often think very long-term when it comes to Financial Planning. Sometimes it is equally as important to think very short-term.
Good luck out there.
