Safe deposit box

[SumDay]

Must be an epidemic of bank branches closing (http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...ved-64930.html)

We just got notice that our local branch (where I've been banking since I was 15) is closing and our safe deposit box will be moved. When I got my renewal bill in January, I thought "do I really need to spend this $50?" and then paid it and promptly forgot about it. This move gives me motivation.

Do you have a safe deposit box? We have a big honkin' gun safe, and I'm wondering if we really need it. I found a ER board discussion about this back in 2005, but just wondered if anyone has anything new to add to the discussion.

I'm on hold with our Credit Union to see if they offer boxes - I've never seen an area for that in the relatively few times I actually go there.

[Packman]

We have a small box that costs $25/year. Contents include, copies of wills, household inventories (pictures on CD), birth certificates, original SS cards, titles/deeds, copies of credit cards, along with a few other documents. I did some extensive estate planning last year and got the box then. Never had one before.

[REattempt]

My mother taught me to keep the important stuff in the bank box. I think in her day and age, possession of a deed/stock certificates was important and replacing a birth certificate was difficult.

Have since determined that virtually everything in there could be replaced quite quickly today (deeds are recorded and birth certificates can be replaced readily), particularly with scans/email/backups.

I now keep that stuff in a firebox at home.

[NotMyFault]

I use my big honkin' gun safe.

[calmloki]

We have two banks that offer free small safe deposit boxes with our accounts. haven't used one of them, the other has deeds and gold coins.

Since we knew the location in the house, when my Mom's house burned down we set up a screen and were able to recover her diamond engagement ring and about 3/4 of a gallon of US coins. The ring was pretty ugly and the coins had to go to some government branch facility for counting and determination of value. Much easier to keep such stuff in an off-site secure location that is presumably less prone to fire. After the fire we realized that most of the photos were gone forever, taking with them clues to our history and that it would be really smarter to store pictures off site - maybe on a flash drive? Are we doing so? no. dumb? yes.