We all have some valuable belongings that we want to preserve and hold onto over the years to come. However, it often leads to an endless amount of worry to know where to store your precious and valuable belongings. The decision on where and how to store your valuables will lie solely on a multitude of different variables that ultimately you decide. In this article we can help point out the benefits of both a safe at home and a safety deposit box in your local bank or other financial institutions. .

The main key difference in both options are either having your documents, jewelry, and other possessions stored and locked away at home for you to access at any time, or having these items remote at your local bank which you can only access at the banks open hours and with an appointment.

If you do decide to protect your belongings at home, there are safe options to storing those belongings. A wall safe that is embedded in the walls of your house, a floor safe which is hidden underneath one of your floor planks in the floor, or simply bolting down your safe in your closet. Within these different safes styles, you can then further protect your jewelry, money, or documents with more advanced safes, such as, biometric safes that can be accessed only by your fingerprints and eye or facial scans.

Now that we understand the options, let’s find out if  keeping your valuables at home or at your local bank is the better option.

What is a Safety Deposit Box and what are their benefits? 

A safety deposit box is a small security container used by financial institutions to hold and secure your personal belongings in their vaults. These personal safety deposit boxes are made of steel, and are protected with a key that only you and or a bank manager have access to. The walls of the inner vault are stacked side by side and top to bottom with a multitude of different individual safety deposit boxes. Customers can get access to their belonging by visiting the banks during open bank hours, and depending on your bank, usually appointments are needed to gain access to the vault which contains your box and your valuables and sacred possessions. Every bank offers a different kind of security box service and different box sizes. While most banks might give you a key to access your security locker, more advanced and expensive financial institutions use modern technology such as the biometric door lock or a keypad. 

Although a great option, safety box space is limited in each bank, and you may wait weeks, months, or years to be next on the list to having one. Having your valuables stored in your local bank does add an extra layer of security, but you are slave to their times and availability.   

If you are able to obtain a safety deposit box, you then pay monthly fees depending on the size and security of your bank. Monthly fees can be anywhere from $100-$1,000 per month, which over time can add up to a hefty amount, so we recommend only storing valuables that are not replaceable in a safety deposit box.  

One of the worst things about a safety deposit box is if you stop paying your monthly fee and don’t claim your box within a certain amount of time, the bank ends up taking possession of your items. This could be a big issue if you have a will inside your safety box and no one knows about your safety deposit box.

Benefits of a home safe

Having access to your safe at all times is really beneficial. Whether you want to keep your passports there for a last minute trip, or keep your expensive watches that you alternate daily, having a home safe is a great option.

Having a monthly fee associated with a bank safety deposit box could add up to thousands of dollars a year, whereas a great safe would be much more affordable. Our recommendation would be to get a great safe like The Space Safe, and storing most of your valuables there. For the valuables that are irreplaceable or have some personal connection with, get a small safety deposit box to store those. This will maximize your security, peace of mind, and lower your spending budget significantly.

The best part about home or office safes are that you have the ability to give access to multiple users, whereas safety deposit boxes generally have access to only one other person.

When buying a home safe, depending on what kind of safe you buy should depend on how much value plan on protecting. Safe’s can vary in size, price, thickness of safe, type of locking mechanism, and more recent, the type of technology you want associated with your safe. Generally speaking, the more you spend the better the quality of the safe is, and the more bells and whistles you have the better you off you are. That is why we love The Space Safe – it uses the latest cutting edge technology that keeps you always aware of what is happening with your safe, and it is priced at such a great value, making it the best and perfect option in its class.  

Regardless, if you have a home safe or a safety deposit box or both, we recommend that you add your valuable items to your homeowners insurance policy for a small fee for ultimate peace of mind and protection to your safe space.

What we recommend to store and where.

As mentioned earlier, safe deposit boxes are much more expensive and you can rack up a rather high monthly spend, so we recommend a home safe foremost, and for the items you are scared of some kind of disaster, you should get a safe deposit box.

Home Safe:

• Anything you plan to look at or use at least once every 30 days

• Personal documents like; birth certificates, marriage certificates, adoption papers, etc.

• Contracts, Business papers, bonds, etc. – depending on its importance should be placed in your home safe, if they’re super important, put it in your safety deposit box.
• Everyday jewelry
• Weapons
• Passports
• Electronics
• Your will
• Cash
• Medical papers

Safety Deposit Box:

• Property papers, titles, etc.
• Your will
• Bonds
• Personal belongings with sentimental value
• Extremely expensive jewelry you rarely use

How has COVID-19 effected the banks

Unfortunately, COVID-19 has had a large effect on people’s lives for the worst in every situation, even in safety and security. When the pandemic started, banks were closed and you were not able to access your safety deposit boxes. When banks finally opened, their limited hours made it nearly impossible to access your personal safety deposit box. Not much later looting and rioting lead to people who didn’t have a box finally obtaining a box in a bank, leaving banks overflowing with safety deposit box requests and due to the limited amount of boxes available, most people were not able to get a box. One of the most important things you should keep in mind is if you can or can’t gain access to your items. For many, it took weeks or months to finally get access to their boxes. This is why it’s important to store items you don’t use every day or are ok parting with for long periods of time. During holidays, afterhours, or during unknown circumstances, you will not have access to your safety deposit box in the bank. Therefore, it is important to separate your valuables accordingly if you do decide to have a safety deposit box.

Final Thoughts 

While bank safe deposit boxes are a secure option to store your valuable belongings, most people find renting safety deposit banks expensive and inconvenient. That is why we recommend purchasing an advanced safe to protect your everyday possessions, jewelry, money, etc. The Space Safe is our top pick with features such as modern advanced security features like biometric sensors, tamperproof sensors for intruders, interior and exterior cameras, enormous LCD touchscreen display, remote notifications via App, USB charging, temperature and humidity sensor, and many more features to keep your valuable belongings safe and secured. For $599, you get an amazing value at www.TheSpaceSafe.com.

Get it now at www.TheSpaceSafe.com  

Images used are not the property of space and are used for inspiration to discuss products.  
— Emma Carnet