You pull into the gas station on empty. You tap your card. The screen says: system down, cash only.

Same story at the grocery store. The ATM next door has gone dark.

Could be a storm that took out the power. Could be a computer glitch. Could be a cyberattack. In the summer of 2024, one faulty software update knocked out computers at airlines, banks and hospitals all over the world in a single morning.

Why it happened doesn't matter much when you're standing at the counter. What matters is whether you can pay.

Card machines and ATMs need power and a working network. Cash doesn't.

Keep enough at home to cover a few days of gas, groceries and medicine. Keep it in small bills, because a store running on cash may not be able to make change for a fifty.

Write down the phone numbers you'd need if your phone died or the apps stopped working. Your bank, your pharmacy, your doctor, your family.

Keep a list of everyone's prescriptions, and copies of your IDs and insurance cards, in a zip-top bag.

When systems go down, scammers come out. They'll text or call pretending to be your bank, saying your account has a problem.

Your bank won't ask for your PIN or password. Hang up and call the number on the back of your card.

They figure it'll be fixed in an hour.

Most of the time, it is. But the time it isn't, you'll wish you'd filled the tank yesterday and picked up the prescription last week.

Fill up when you hit half a tank. Refill medicines a few days early, whenever your pharmacy and insurance allow it.

Two things. Ten minutes.

First, put some cash in an envelope at home. Small bills. Put it somewhere safe, and don't spend it on pizza.

Second, write down ten phone numbers. The ten you'd need if your phone died tonight. Put the list in your wallet.

Got a question, or a lesson from your own life? Hit reply. I read every one.

See you next time.

— Cole