The pictures of the devastation left behind by Hurricane Ike are a reminder that mother nature has the upper hand when it comes to keeping us humble.  As families look through what remains of their personal photos and belongings it is a reminder that if we live in an area where a natural disaster can strike we need to secure our important family photos and papers. Moving them to the second floor might work in some cases but as we've seen with the recent huricanes it doesn't always work and certainly isn't a long term solution.

Now that technology has made the purchase of scanners affordable for everyone you should consider making copies of your personal documents such as social security cards, credit card numbers, bank accounts, investment accounts, wills, power of attorney and any other documents that you might need and save them to a computer disc. Make two copies of the disc and give one to a family member who lives in a different area and save the other one in a small fireproof box that you can grab in the case of an emergency or carry with you when you move.

The same goes for photos. If you have old non-digital photos scan them and save as well. If you have a computer full of digital photos you can upload them to one of the numerous online photo albums as a backup for you to be able to retrieve anytime you need them.

 Another option to consider is to have your documents and information professional stored by an online service such as VitaleSafe or a similiar service. Securing your documents through an online service means a second level of backup giving you even more security if you should lose documents or precious family photos.

As you take a look at your families emergency plan or plan for a move consider online options and backup discs of your data. Give yourself a little piece of mind. Remember your memories are priceless don't let them get away!