UH-OH! PT 1-INTERNET

You turn on your computer and there is no internet. Hm. Okay, reset your modem and/or router. Still no internet. You check your phone, and nope...no internet for your phone, either. Even using Data and not WiFi.

You turn on your TV, and all of the stations you're seeing have a banner at the bottom saying that the Internet has been shut off and there's no time frame as to when it'll be turned back on. Days? Weeks? Months?

Well, crap! Today was the day you were going to fire up your browser and pay some bills! Uh-oh! Now what are you going to do?

This video is going to give you some ideas just in case something like the above scenario happens. And, before you think it can never happen where you are, think again! Precedents have been made, and procedures have been put in place. Don't be left in Cyberspace Darkness!

1. Begin now by getting your statements on paper through the mail.
A. Banking/Credit Cards
B. Utilities (Electric, Gas, Water, Cable)
C. Insurance (Car, Health, ???)
2. Go online NOW and start getting the addresses for all of the entities you make payments for online.
3. Make sure you have your banks routing numbers and your account numbers.
4. Record your account numbers for the entities you pay.
5. Find out your statement cycles, and when payments are normally due.
6. Buy Envelopes & Stamps
7. Make sure you have pens.
8. Get a notepad or ledger to keep track of who you owe, what you owe, when you owe, and when you pay and/or paid them
9. Have a mortgage? Make sure you get payment coupons. At the very least, make sure you have your account numbers on your checks!
10. Do you have automatic payments set up? You might want to reconsider. If the internet is down, then the entities you've made arrangements might not be able to pull from your bank. You still owe them money, even if your arranged payments are interrupted.
11. Keep some cash on-hand. You might not be able to get food or gas if your cards aren't working.
12. Make a habit of looking at your ledger every day! Don't rely on your memory, and remember...you're not going to get any email reminders if the internet is down.
13. It might not be a bad idea to try to pay down or off your credit cards anyway. It not only keeps you from having too much to worry about, but it'll help your credit score. That might be more important in the future than most people know right now.
14. Do you have all of your pictures and documents on the cloud? Now's a good time to make sure you have them downloaded to your device. Get a backup USB SSD drive while they're reasonably cheap to keep your documents.
15. Print out your most important documents and put them in a real file folder! You never know if/when you'll need them, and I'll explain more in "UH-OH! PT-2".
16. Be smart and most importantly, be responsible! Encourage others to do the same thing. A lot of people want to be green and save the planet by using all of our great tech, but trees are renewable, they help remove carbons from the air while giving us oxygen, and that industry will keep people working.
17. By thinking different, you won't get caught with your internet down.

On that note; Remember our Words of Wisdom:

Don't drive drunk!
Don't drink and drive"
Don't got to eBay, Amazon, or use MS Edge Shopping all buzzed up because you think you're going to get the latest and coolest stuff...You're probably not.

In the meantime, Bottoms Up & Later Dudes!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_kill_switch

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/8336/all-info

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/116/s4646

https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/credit-cards/read-credit-card-statement

https://www.depositaccounts.com/blog/bank-statement.html
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