Planning for Murphy’s Law – Take 2

After Florida was hit by 2 major hurricane’s within the time span of 2 weeks, I decided to polish this older post from my book review blog and post it here. Hopefully it will resonate with you as well.

Murphy’s Law

Murphy’s Law is all about “Life’s Many Disasters.” Some disasters can be handled by “throwing money at the problem.” Such things as unexpected car repairs fall under this category. Really, any problem where you are going to have to hire someone else to fix it falls in this category. This is why banks, advisors and so many others recommend that you keep a minimum of 3 months expenses in an emergency fund. 

Not every possible problem can be solved this way. If you’ve lost your job, you need to know that you can feed your family until you get a new job. There are other problems that are along the same lines. Preppers call this situation “WSHTF” (When S*** Hits The Fan).

It wasn’t until I joined the military that I heard of Murphy’s Law. Somehow, it just resonated with me. Think about it for a minute. No matter how much planning you do, there is always something that can go wrong at the last minute. So why not prepare for that?

How can I plan for a disaster?

1. Identify the possible disasters that can befall your family. Such as:
   • Household emergencies
   • Medical emergency
   • Transportation emergencies
   • Environmental emergency. 
2. List the most likely problems:
   • Household – Loss of Income, Major Appliance failures, Water Damage, etc.
   • Medical – Hospitalization, Long term Disability
   • Transportation – Car Repairs, Car Wrecks, etc.
   • Environmental – Weather related, Acts of God, etc.
3. Make a written plan for how you can handle these problems!

Why should I write it down?

Really? You need to ask that one? If you have suggestions for solutions written down, then this information is available to others in the house. Now to be honest, that list could easily be on your phone or computer.

This little quote is something I first noticed on the walls of one of my husband’s duty stations. And it is, to a certain extent, true. The people around you in a disaster situation already have their own problems. They may not have time to stop and help you. 

What do I need to write down?

Sigh. Where to find this information! Surely you have preferred repair people for your house or car. Include the contact information for these people on your list! List where to find your medical insurance or Living Will information! In the middle of an emergency your family could very easily be rattled. Knowing where exactly to find this information gives them one less thing to stress over.

Environmental Emergency

This deserves a section all its own. This is the one area where all you can do is to “roll with the punches.” Folks, I live in Florida. Down here it’s not a question of whether we’ll get hit with a hurricane or flood, it’s a question of “when we’ll get hit with either!” 

If you think about it, you most likely have similar situations occur where you live. People in the northern states know it’s going to snow; the only question is how much it will snow. People in the Midwest know that tornadoes are a real threat. I could go on if you need me too!

What can I do to prepare?

At this point, I’m going to use my situation as an example. Growing up in PA, the biggest threat I can remember was the possibility of getting snowed in. The power rarely went off (that I can remember) so a freezer full of food generally covered the problem.

It wasn’t until Hurricane Irma hit in 2017 that I realized that same solution wouldn’t work for every location. We lost power for 6 days. When the power was restored, I started checking the food in the freezer. I had to throw away 1/2 the contents of my freezer before I got to food that was still frozen. Moral of the story is if you don’t want to eat nothing but hot dogs and hamburgers, have some things that don’t need refrigeration available!

Before you start buying!

There is always the temptation to just buy those prepackaged Emergency Meal kits. But before you grab one of those, think about what your family likes to eat. If your family likes to eat what’s in those kits, you’re good to go. If not, then take a look at what they do like. What can, with a little bit of work, still work for you. Then take a look at your recipes. Are there some there that can be set up in advance? 

For example, my husband and I like mac and cheese. There are some powdered cheese blends on the market that can be used. I purchased a can to try now. He hasn’t noticed a difference so that is one thing I can use. Vegetable soup is another meal that can be set up. Grab as small a container of the freeze dried or dehydrated mixes as you can find. Make some and let your family taste it. If they still like it, put a larger can on the shelf.

Hurricane season doesn’t start until May so I have until then to decide on what meals I can make if power goes out. I do have a flat top grill that I can cook on so that opens up quite a few options. Believe or not, I can still sit a pot on that to heat something up.

In Conclusion

You have more options if you plan in advance. I don’t know what your situation is, but you do. Work with it! If you expect something to go wrong, you are prepared for when it does. Nothing good comes out of panicking because you forgot to prepare.