Do you have a Home Safe - for papers, docs, etc.

[Fedup]

But what if you have your home insurance photos in the safe? OK, it's easy enough to save the photos in the cloud. One person I talked to did not and saved printed out photos in the safe.

My insurance company did take some pictures of my house outside. I didn’t know you need the inside too. I never save anything for my house. I didn’t know you need to.

 

[Lsbcal]

My insurance company did take some pictures of my house outside. I didn’t know you need the inside too. I never save anything for my house. I didn’t know you need to.

That is what you find out after you loose everything. Many Californians learned this the hard way. Insurance companies do not seem to see it in their charter to educate us on how to recover from disasters.

 

[MBAustin]

We have a bank safe deposit box for computer backups and important papers, but I've also been considering a small fireproof safe to keep at home. Here's a review of some:
https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-fireproof-document-safe/

 

[FIREd]

There was no master key in case key code stopped working?

No master key. IIRC, it was the safe manufacturer who told me to hire someone and have it cracked open.

 

[savory]

We bought a fire proof safe a few days after my cousin's house burn down.

 

[easysurfer]

No master key. IIRC, it was the safe manufacturer who told me to hire someone and have it cracked open.

Ouch that you had to hire a safe cracker. So much for over dependence on technology with no manual override .

 

[gauss]

No safe.

Not sure what papers I would need to store in it. I think everything that I would possibly need is available somewhere else (ie County , IRS, University, cell phone, email, counter-parties etc.). Maybe the career performance reviews would be the exception. Bearer bonds or stock certificates too if there is no registration, but how many have those?

What paperwork do people typically store in their safes?

And all this is being said from a guy who loves paper copies of stuff. Might not be a bad thing if I were to loose all the paper to some type of event.

Note I do typically scan documents a dozen or so times a year at the library and email copies to my self for safekeeping, so I guess I have a bit of a hedge.

Note also that I do not live in a hurricane zone so my risk profile may be very different than others.

-gauss

 

[RobbieB]

I have 5 safes. One for guns, one for ammo, one for documents, and 2 that I inherited from Pops filled with his coin collection.

 

[Mdlerth]

My name is Galore...

We also have a gun safe that doubles as the primary secure storage, fire rated and waterproofed. It's the size of a refrigerator. The first time we moved it one of the four guys helping broke 3 ribs during the move, last time I blew a hernia moving it with three other guys. JUST to be sure it's not moved I've bolted it to the floor. Still, a determined crook, with the right tools and enough time will succeed in getting in.

All such "secure methods" just make the time and effort needed to steal something not worth it for your typical smash and grab home burglary.

+1

There's no such thing as absolute security. Auric Goldfinger* managed to penetrate Fort Knox. But if you take reasonable steps to avoid being an easy target, you've done about all you can do.

*Maybe not the best 007 film, but certainly the most classic. Greatest henchman ever, most humorous Bond girl, the Aston Martin with ejector seat, plus it was a huge inspiration to both Jethro Bodine and Austin Powers.

 

[dvalley]

No. I scan the important docs, encrypt them and then upload to my Dropbox account. I've lost my passport before, it was a little of money and 2 weeks wait time to get a new one. So not a huge deal.

Cash, I only keep about $1k for emergencies.

I do have a small gun/pistol safe next to my bed.

 

[MichaelB]

The best safe is a good insurance policy.

We have a 1.2 cubic meter digital floor safe, about 18 inches per side. It stores documents and a few valuables we want kept at home. All other valuables (the few we have) are kept in a bank safe deposit box.

My understanding is the safe, which is “fire / water resistant” , protects against a minor home fire, but if the house burns down, the contents would probably not survive.

Long ago we lost all our belongings during a move, except a few documents in my briefcase. Things that are precious but not valuable or insurable, such as family photographs and memorabilia, I am now giving to our grown children and some nieces and nephews.

 

[Bamaman]

I have a huge gun safe in a downstairs closet. It weighs maybe 500 lbs. and was very difficult to get in the house. If someone wanted it, they'd have to dolly it 200' to the front of the house--up a steep hill in the back yard.

 

[gayl]

Mine's bolted to the floor so even though it's just 2'×1.5'×2' it's not going anywhere (unless house burns down)

I only really need it for passport / jewelry. Jewelry is insured & I know my passport # + am on mobile passport.

 

[COZICAN]

I have 3 fire boxes in my gun safe. Everything in one gallon zip-lock baggies. It's pretty organised to where I can access anything quickly.

 

[donheff]

I don't have room for a big one and I was concerned that a small one would be carried off in a burglary. So I got a small, fireproof safe and don't keep it locked. I use it to store the originals of important documents that I used to keep in a safe deposit box. The few times I needed access to some of those documents (like a title when selling a car) it was a PITA to get it from the safe deposit box. Now they are in easy reach and, at least purportedly, protected from a house fire.

 

[mountainsoft]

We have a small Sentry 1170 "fireproof" file box safe. It's small enough we could take it with us if a wildfire was approaching, but may offer some protection if we aren't able to retrieve it before a fire. I doubt it's very secure, the lock could probably be forced with a screwdriver, and I'm not real confident about it's fire protection. But, it's gotta be better than a cheap metal or plastic file box.

We don't really keep anything valuable in it. It's mostly documents like our wedding, birth, and death certificates. Just about everything in it could be replaced if we really needed to.

We have a small safe deposit box at the bank. Most documents won't fit unless we folded them which I prefer not to do. I really only keep our passports, some old photo negatives, and a backup hard drive for my computer there. I'd like to scan all the negatives some day, but that's a big project.

These days almost all documents are electronic, and I scan those that aren't. I save all of our important financial records in encrypted folders so even if a thief stole my computer or backup drive they couldn't access our records.

I keep multiple backups, at least one at home and another in our safe deposit box. So I'm fairly well protected against fire, theft, flood, etc.

We don't own any expensive jewelry, guns, or other collectables. Our home is probably our most prized possession, as we built it ourselves with our own hands. The other things like cars, woodworking tools, computers, etc. could all be replaced.

 

[Beldar]

I have a large safe to store firearms, jewelry, and important papers. It weights hundreds of pounds so no one is going to walk off with it and it's in a place that isn't obvious. Someone would have to look really hard to find it.

I would advise getting a larger safe than what you think you need. It's amazing how fast they fill up

If I just had a few things, I would probably have a deposit box at the bank and call it good.

Our situation too, and I second the recommendations.

_B

 

[6miths]

No don't have anything that I can think of that requires a safe.

 

[calico1597]

We have a safe in our bedroom closet, about 2 foot square, combo, very heavy. When we leave for the winter, I have a cardboard box that fits around it good on three sides. I've written Goodwill Donations on the top flap and make sure to pile clothes on it with the Goodwill writing in plain sight. I figure that is better than having it just sitting there. I wouldn't think a thief would want to take the time to look thru a box marked for Goodwill.

 

[marko]

Our house used to belong to my grandfather. We sort of inherited the safe. My guess is that it weighs several tons. It's the size of a good sized closet down in the basement; the type of thing you'd see in an old fashioned bank; like 6 by 4 feet or so.

As it's close to 100 years old, my big fear is that someday the mechanisms will get jammed and we'll never get back inside, but we use it for papers, passports etc.

DW's SIL is one of those people who is 1000 times richer than she thinks she is. They bought a house that used to belong to a Mafioso (had 9 phone lines running into the house when they moved in). It had a huge safe but she gave it away. "What do I need a safe for? Only rich people need a safe". Lovely but quite clueless.

 

[Oz investor]

yes , for stuff like collectibles, family keepsakes , like the family bible , etc.

mainly to deter ( 4 legged ) rodents and unskilled people ( nothing a decent amount of effort and thought couldn't circumvent )

 

[brewer12345]

We keep important documents in the freezer. Between the insulation and the starting temp I think we will be OK except in case of a really bad fire.


As for valuables, I have 3 dogs, a spouse who works from home, and I and both kids know how to shoot in a "make my day" state. I am sure there are easier, lower risk targets. Aside from DW's jewelry, there isn't much worth stealing anyway.

 

[athena53]

I have a lot of good jewelry. I have a safe that's not secured to anything- could be easily carried off if someone found it- but it's in a VERY inconspicuous place in the house. It also contains passports (I have mine going back to the first one I obtained in 1977) and other important papers. Every few weeks I "rotate" my jewelry- put in the pieces I've been wearing and take out 2 or 3 rings, bracelets, pairs of earrings, etc. That way if someone breaks into the house they'll get SOME of my jewelry but not all of it. I shudder when I see those lovely jewelry boxes, meant to be displayed in the bedroom. Perfect way to keep all your treasures in one place and SHOUT to burglars where they are.

 

[db79]

Large fire proof safe in basement for important items. Small safe in bedroom closet for non essential items.

 

[Beldar]

As it's close to 100 years old, my big fear is that someday the mechanisms will get jammed and we'll never get back inside, but we use it for papers, passports etc.

It might be worthwhile to have a locksmith take a good look at the mechanicals; perhaps between lubrication and/or replacement of any worn bearings, gears, etc, it could be good to go.

_B