Home safes are a popular way for people to store documents and personal items that have great value. Before purchasing a home safe you should make a list of what you plan to store inside it. This will help you to determine how large of a safe you will need to purchase. To help you start your list here are some suggestions of items that are typically stored in a home safe.
Non-paper document items:
- Cash. Some people like to keep a safe certain amount of reserved cash available and a home safe is a great place to keep it.
- Back up CD’s, DVD’s flash drives and portable hard drives. If you own a computer, backing up important files is a necessity. Keeping the backups in your home safe gives them extra protection.
- Jewelry. If you have expensive jewelry it is wise to keep it locked inside a home safe and not just laying around.
- Video or pictures of your home possessions. A video or still pictures of your home possessions will be valuable if your house was to ever be burglarized or if your home was to experience a fire.
- Expensive collections like a coin collection. Keep in mind that some collections may be to large to fit into a safe, but if they fit it is a great place to keep them.
Documents:
- Copy of marriage license, divorce papers and child custody papers
- Copy of your will
- Birth and Death Certificates
- Passports
- Social Security cards
- Military Records
- Insurance policies including life, home, automobile and any other item specific policies
- Copy of Mortgage
- Property titles and deeds
- Automobile titles
- Stocks and Bonds
- Appraisals of valuable property including jewelry, collectables, artwork, etc.
- Copies of Education Degrees
- Copies of Professional Licenses
- Copies of any pertinent health information
- Copies of Living wills and power of attorney papers
- Tax returns
- Any other pertinent papers
Once you have purchased a home safe and have all of your pertinent possessions stored inside, be sure to tell someone you know and trust completely the safe’s combination or where you store the key. Be selective and don’t go around telling others about your safe.