Home > Fact of the Week > Emergency Cash When Traveling
 
12-14-2009
Preparedness Facts of the Week
by Elizabeth Hall, Emergency Response Assistant
Kings County Office of Emergency Management
 
  Giving the Gift of Prepardeness
Emergency Cash When Traveling
  
 
Every year I am reminded of the importance of keeping emergency cash on hand instead of relying so much on the old standby credit card. For the past three years, my husband travels out of state with a group of friends on a hunting trip. The group will wait until they reach their destination before they buy their groceries. At the checkout stand the clerk is ringing up the groceries and as they are being bagged, my husband takes out his credit card for payment and as the clerk runs his card through the machine it prompts her that it is not acceptable. 		 
     
 

Within minutes, I receive a call from the credit card company saying that someone has tried to use my card out of state. Apparently, if this isn't the normal activity on the card for the person using it, it sends a red flag and the card company makes the call. I explain to the credit company the situation and that it is ok to process the transaction. However, they cannot do it right away, and my husband has to borrow money for the time being.

Thinking all is clear, the next year the same thing happens yet again. Wow, what are the chances, right? And there it is……those odd circumstances that you never thought would have happened once let alone twice, but it did. So now I ask you, how many times have you left home without any cash in your pocket?

As I write this, my husband is on day five of the hunt and I haven't received a call from the credit card company. This year, he took cash.

  
 
 
Do your part for safety awareness by passing this information along to anyone you can think of who would benefit.

Have a great week, and remember…… Be Responsible - Be Ready - Be Prepared!
Your Emergency Preparedness Team Sabrina Bustamante & Elizabeth Hall
Office of Emergency Management
280 Campus Drive Hanford, CA 93230
(559) 582-3211, Ext. 2634
www.kingscountyoem.com
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