Why You Need a Fireproof Safe (And What to Keep In It!)

I’m embarassed to say that – until recently – we didn’t own a home safe.  Embarassed because, as someone who posts about saving money and being safe online, I had failed at keeping my own money and valuables safe at home.  Thankfully, we have never been the victims of a home break-in, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be prudent about our home safety just because we’ve been lucky.

We recently received a SentrySafe Fire-Safe and Waterproof Security Chest thanks to Staples Canada, and I honestly can’t fathom going without it now in our household.  So, take this as your nudge to go out and buy one today.  Our safe is only $59.99 at Staples right now, though you can find varying prices depending on the size of the safe and your needs.  I needed a safe for the basics, and this one holds a lot more than I originally needed.  However, now that I have it I’m finding new items that I think are better kept in the safe than out.

While many people may use a bank safe deposit box, that’s not ideal for most families.  I like having my “stuff” at hand, and find that having my safe at home enables me to store more in it because I don’t have to divide what I really need close at hand against what could be packed away for awhile.

What should you keep in your home safe?  These are 10 items that you really shouldn’t keep in drawers or laying about and will appreciate having all in one place should anything happen within your household (fire, flood, etc.):

1. Passports and birth certificates.
2. A copy of your will.
3. Life insurance documents.
4. Property insurance documents.
5. All relevant health information including doctor’s name/contact info and medications.
6. Social Insurance Cards (no, these are never ever to be kept in your wallet, take them out right now!)
7. External Hard Drive loaded up with photos because you’re organized to pull them off your laptop 2x per year (yeah me neither!)
8. Valuable jewelry and keepsakes.
9. Cash on hand and gift cards.
10. Spare keys to vehicles, bank safety deposit boxes and more.

I’m sure you can think of many other items to keep in a safe, and I’ve certainly come up with many more as well. When we were moving 400km this summer, I kept our safe with us and packed additional items like iPods, digital cameras and more in our safe.

While back to school shopping for the kids at Staples this month, take a moment and check out all the safes and security chests they have in store (and online!) and consider one for your household too.  It’s always better to get it before, rather than with regret “after”.