The answer to all of the above questions is that it isn't very probable. These problems aren't likely to happen but you should protect yourself as much as possible. The best way to protect yourself is to start saving receipts and cancelled checks. Most people save these for tax or planning purposes anyway, but everyone should be doing it. It won't be much of a burden to slip your receipts into an envelope as you pay them. You'll probably never need them, but if you do it will save you a lot of trouble.

One last thought. If the worst Y2K predictions come true and the gas company does lose your records, you won't be the only one. If their computers say that thousands of customers are delinquent in paying their bills, it won't take long before someone recognizes the situation. The phones ringing off the hook in Customer Service will be hard to overlook. It isn't likely that a utility will start shutting off service if there is even a chance that it's a Y2K related problem.

Finances
There are more and more reports of people preparing for the Y2K problem by withdrawing all of their savings from banks and liquidating all of their other financial assets. They feel the government and/or the financial institutions won't be ready for the new millennium and won't risk entrusting their life savings with them. These assets are then usually converted to gold, silver, or held in cash.

Unfortunately if enough people react in this way it could be a classic example of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Banks hold only a fraction of their assets in the form of cash. If enough people withdraw money from their accounts, the banks will become strapped for cash. The Federal Reserve Bank has pledged that they will do whatever it takes to assist banks if the demand for cash exceeds the immediately available supply. An extra $50 billion in currency has been printed for just this situation.

Unfortunately, the stock market has no such protection mechanism. If enough stockholders want to sell their assets the balance between supply and demand will shift. This shift will inevitably result in lower stock values. This, in turn, can cause more people to take their assets out of the stock market.

A potential problem with liquidating one's assets is the question of what to do with that much cash. If you don't trust the banks you wouldn't likely keep it in a safety deposit box. That leaves hiding it somewhere in your house or apartment. I personally wouldn't want to have all of my worldly assets under my mattress. The invitation to burglars or armed robbers is too great for my comfort level. Keeping it in the banks seems to be much safer.

Travel
I have given a number of presentations on the Y2K situation. During the question and answer sessions I can count on fielding one specific question. Someone always asks if I plan to be traveling on January 1, 2000. I know that I'm going to gore someone's ox by saying this, but my answer is always "no." My plans are to be safe and sound at home when the next millennium is rung in.