Safe and Secure

So I was at Home Depot yesterday and made a purchase that I have been putting off for some time now. I broke down and bought a home fire safe. I hated to cut loose the $100, but knowing that I had important personal documents sitting in a safe deposit box at the bank was too much for me to stomach. You might ask why a fire safe is better than a safe deposit box. Well, here’s my thinking. What happens if the bank has to close down in a natural disaster situation and you need whatever is in that safe deposit box? What happens if the government were to nationalize the banks and there were valuables in that safe deposit box that you didn’t want the government to seize? What if the dollar crashes and there is a run on the banks forcing them to close their doors to the public? If any of these scenarios were to happen and your valuables and documents are in that bank safe deposit then you just became an inclined plane attached to a center axis, or in other words SCREWED!  Now, the chances of the US nationalizing banks is on the slim end of the spectrum, but natural disasters and bank runs have happened before so that means they will happen again. In the 1920’s and 1930’s banks were forced to close as the public fought to get all of their money out of banking accounts as the stock market crashed and the Great Depression began. Imagine how helpless you’d feel if a natural disaster struck your area and you needed essential documentation from that safe deposit box but the bank is closed indefinitely.

Keeping valuables and documentation safe at home is the way to go. Here are some items that I plan to keep in my nice new safe: passports, birth certificates, vehicle titles, insurance policies, state licenses (I have a wastewater operator license, a water operator license, and my wife is a licensed physical therapist), emergency cash, precious metals, and a back up firearm. Also, if you decide to purchase a safe and put these various items in it make sure it is anchored to a concrete slab. A safe doesn’t do a bit of good if a robber can pick it up and carry is to another location where he can crack it at his leisure. Bolting the safe to the slab will also help keep the safe in place in the event that a tornado hits your home. While the structure may be destroyed a well made safe will still be where you left it. I hope that this post gets you thinking about new ways to prepare yourself so when the time comes you can stand up and survive.