Before I get to the main point of this article, let me start by saying it is not about having an emergency fund. While that's very important, and I encourage anyone who doesn't have at least six months' worth of expenses to start saving up for that, this post is more about having a plan that will allow you to access your funds in the face of an emergency.
To illustrate my point, let me tell you something that happened recently that inspired me to write this article.
The other day, I was lying on my couch watching TV like I often do when suddenly, I started hearing this deafening and persistent high-pitched sound. It was the first time I heard that since I moved into this building, but it only took me a few seconds to realize it was the fire alarm.
I immediately rushed out of my apartment and down the stairs towards the lobby. It was only five flights of stairs and I made it in good time, safe and sound.
When I got to the lobby, before I could rush out of the building itself, I heard the janitor saying it was a false alarm and there was no fire, so we could all return to our homes.
We were all very relieved but as I was climbing the stairs back to my place (I avoid using elevators if I can), I started to think what could have happened if this was a real emergency.
To be fair, I think my priorities were in the right place because I live by myself, and I didn't think of anything else but my own integrity and rushed out of what could have been a burning building immediately.
However, I also realized I had nothing on me.
Had it been a real fire, who knows how long it would be before I could return to my home and in what state things in there would be? That's particularly problematic for someone like me who has a good percentage of their net worth in crypto.
I mean, I could probably go to my bank and, after some excruciating bureaucracy, get access to my account, but the same can't be said about my crypto assets.
Even though I took many measures to protect my crypto in the digital realm (like using cold wallets, keeping my keys offline and safely stored and all that), I never did anything to make sure it was readily available to me in the physical world in the case of an emergency so I started thinking about some simple things that I could change.
One of the first things I decided to do may sound simple to most, but to me, it was quite a change: having my phone at reach at all times.
That's probably the standard for a lot of people, but not me. I try to keep my mobile as far from me as possible during my downtime because it's the only way I can really disconnect from work and focus on anything else, but I decided I will have to learn to live with that.
My mobile won't give me full access to all my assets but it's probably enough to get me by while I figure things out in case of an emergency.
Another thing I did was make a go-bag and leave it somewhere easy to reach in case I needed to run for my life for whatever reason.
And finally, another thing I did was create a new set of wallets to which I transferred part of my assets. It's not a sizable amount, but it's enough to get me by in case of an emergency.
These wallets are in the possession of someone I trust, so if I temporarily lose access to my keys for some reason, I can still rely on those separate wallets while I recover my main ones.
I don't mean to sound paranoid, but after my almost-emergency, I realized that, even though I acted quickly to protect my life, I was very unprepared for the aftermath of a real emergency.
Of course, depending on the severity of things, it won't matter anyway, but I'd rather have some level of preparation than none.
This is only the first iteration of my "emergency plan," and I will probably change it the more I think about it, but I had to start somewhere, and I feel better prepared now than I was before, which is good enough for the moment.
And, finally, being able to access your resources after an emergency can make things easier for you, but keep in mind that in such situations, the health and safety of yourself and your loved ones will always be the number one priority, so make sure everyone is safe before you think of anything else.
