So how much do you keep on hand? Only you can answer that question but you definitely don’t want to have too little. Figure out how much money your family uses in a normal week and then double or triple that amount. You can figure that you will need to make some unforeseen purchases, and you may also face price gouging. Just remember when you are going through this exercise that you are "planning" for a disaster.

The benefit of this is that you don’t have to put all of your money aside all at once. Furthermore, you don’t need to buy all of your supplies all at once. But you do need to start doing both, and give yourself a timeframe to complete the entire process. Then stick to your timeframe. After you have your money on hand, don’t use it for any purpose other than a disaster. And make sure that you put it in a place that will survive even if your house doesn’t.

In order for you to survive economically over the long term, you also need to be prepared.

There are a few things that are extremely important. Your insurance policies are at the top of this list. You should keep copies of all of your insurance policies in a safe place that you can easily grab if you have to leave your home. You may also want to make copies of the policies and send them to a relative or friend that lives in another area of the country.

You should take pictures of the things that you own, and keep them with your insurance policies. Pictures are one thing that insurance companies have trouble arguing with. If you have a digital camera, there area number of free websites that will allow you to upload your pictures and store them for free. The more pictures you have, the better.

When you are putting all of this together, make sure that you have enough insurance, as well as the right kind of insurance.

Right now, it costs about $200 per square foot to rebuild a home in a major metropolitan area. That doesn’t include the furnishings.

And a standard homeowner’s policy will not cover every disaster. For instance, earthquakes require an earthquake policy rider. Likewise for hurricanes. Flood insurance is a completely separate policy and is only available from the federal government. If you don’t have the right insurance, you’re in trouble.

One thing that you should look to see is if your policy has an Additional Living Expense (ALE) rider. If you can get this, then you should consider it. ALE can pay for the rent of a comparable home while you go through the rebuilding process. It can also pay for the rental of furniture.

Another thing to look at is a Code Upgrades Rider. A regular insurance policy will only pay to rebuild your house on an "as is" basis. If your home was constructed in 1950, it’s a safe bet that the building codes in your area have changed. These changes normally increase the cost of rebuilding. If you want your insurance to cover these upgrades then you need this rider.