Where Do You Keep Your Valuables?

Kidaway on 17/12/2023 - 00:44
Last edited 17/12/2023 - 00:47

Hi guys,

With the holiday period coming, an increase in crime rate is inevitable (due to people being on vacation etc).

On a serious note, do you guys reckon it’s worthwhile to invest in a safe to be placed at home or subscribe to a safety vault service to store your valuables?

I was just reviewing my content insurance and see that it has gone up over the number of years. Thought it would be cost effective to remove a few items from my insurance and potentially place them in a safe (but less convenient tho)? Any suggestions please?

Poll Options

  • 13
    Buy a safe
  • 6
    Subscribe to a vault service
  • 21
    Do nothing and take a gamble
Home & Garden

Comments

  • mskeggs on 17/12/2023 - 00:53
    +6

    What are your valuables that need protecting in this way? I can’t think of a single thing I own I would class as so precious it needed to be kept in a safe - and if I had a $50k watch or something, why own it if it sits locked away all the time?

  • Kidaway on 17/12/2023 - 01:01

    Wife’s handbags and yes several watches and some jewelleries

    • mskeggs on 17/12/2023 - 01:05
      +8

      If you don’t use or wear them, maybe sell them? I can’t imagine the nuisance of constantly opening and closing a safe for a hand bag.

      • Jimothy Wongingtons on 17/12/2023 - 01:32
        +11

        How would us poors know that op is rich though?

      • cookie2 on 17/12/2023 - 07:57
        +2

        That's ridiculous. By your logic if you have a few pieces of jewelry that you wear occasionally, sell them?

        • mskeggs on 17/12/2023 - 09:36
          +4

          Do you store your handbag in a safe? They are a pain to access, and not suitable for storing things you use.
          If I had expensive items I never used I would consider selling them.
          And I wouldn’t drop them from the insurance in the hope a safe would do the job. A safe tells a burglar where to target their time and effort.

          • AustriaBargain on 17/12/2023 - 11:47
            +3

            @mskeggs: So you're saying it's best to buy a safe to distract burglars and fill it with cat poop?

            • Benoffie on 17/12/2023 - 13:52
              +1

              @AustriaBargain: Precisely. After my previous experiences with being burglarised, a safe says the following:

              'Can you break into me before the owner/alarm company/police arrive? And by the way, that timer started 30 seconds ago…'

              A small safe with concrete interior cannot be drilled or broken in hours. A large safe, well, good luck to them.

              A safe says - this aint worth it. Move on.

              • AustriaBargain on 17/12/2023 - 14:27

                @Benoffie: Or get a large safe and put a smaller safe inside it, with the back of the smaller safe welded to the larger safe.

              • mskeggs on 17/12/2023 - 19:04

                @Benoffie: Precisely, somebody spent $10k to protect something, i guess I’ll just forget all about it, probably nothing in there worth taking.
                I’ll go next door and take the $399 bauhn TV.

          • cookie2 on 17/12/2023 - 19:33

            @mskeggs: I might if i was going on holiday and they were valuable. As i would with jewelry etc. if i had a safe to store them in and that was my best option to keep them safe.

      • 7ekn00 on 17/12/2023 - 18:32

        I can’t imagine the nuisance of constantly opening and closing a safe for a hand bag.

        No different to constantly opening and closing a closet / draw / cupboard for a hand bag …

        OP, get a bio-scan type - finger prints / retina are scanned as you open the door ;)

    • Pelicannn on 17/12/2023 - 17:53

      Sell all watches, buy a single grail watch, wear watch 24/7. No need to store :)

    • 2esc on 22/12/2023 - 12:52

      My wifes handbag i think cost her $10 at the opportunity shop, no jewellery apart from some cheap earrings so im happy i dont have to worry about that.

      Most valuable thing i have are photos on some hard drives kept in a safe with important paperwork.

  • franco cozzo on 17/12/2023 - 06:58
    +5

    milo tin & shovel

    • Nugs on 17/12/2023 - 08:09

      paint tins have a handle though
      .

  • EightImmortals on 17/12/2023 - 07:22
    +2

    Under the squeaky floorboard, behind the kitchen dresser.

  • Nugs on 17/12/2023 - 08:10
    +3

    don't go on 'vacation', holidays are safer
    .

  • TooSerious2 on 17/12/2023 - 08:20
    +5

    Prison purse?

  • cashless on 17/12/2023 - 08:22
    +5

    I keep my eneloops hidden from sight

    • GoldenDragon888 on 17/12/2023 - 08:58

      I keep mine on display (just above the charging station) in a dispenser to allow the whelps easy access.

  • FoxJump on 17/12/2023 - 08:28
    +1

    buy a safe
    keep it empty

  • holdenmg on 17/12/2023 - 08:35
    +4

    If the thieves are on vacation shouldn't the crime rate drop?

  • payless69 on 17/12/2023 - 08:44

    Give us your address so Ozslave can have a Merry Xmas…

  • John Kimble on 17/12/2023 - 09:08
    +7

    Nice try burglar man/woman/they/it

  • AustriaBargain on 17/12/2023 - 10:39
    +3

    Burglar would have to clean my house first to find any valuables.

  • holdenmg on 17/12/2023 - 10:47
    +1

    I'm locking my Chimney this year.

  • simplystu on 17/12/2023 - 11:04
    +1

    since OP is considering keeping MULTIPLE handbags (+ other items) == not your usual run of mill cheap bunnings safe.
    reckon cost of safe that size - probably run into the $1000's of $$$ range.

    think OP is best investing in CCTV +++ a big scary dog.
    just saying.

  • El cheepo on 17/12/2023 - 11:13

    Why would your odds of being burglarised increase if your still home and not on holiday?

    Most run of the mill burglars would target houses where people aren’t home. (Thus why the holiday season sees an increase in burglaries.)
    Generally they just want a quick smash and grab- take what ever is obvious and bail out.

    So if your home, theres no need to go above and beyond what ever your usual habits for keeping that stuff safe are.

  • JIMB0 on 17/12/2023 - 11:23
    +1

    In a cave surrounded by a moat of lava and protected by rotating fire bars.

  • Mechz on 17/12/2023 - 11:36

    A fool and his money are easily parted.

  • GordonD on 17/12/2023 - 12:03

    Go onto an internet forum that asks, and tell everyone where you keep them.

    Then you won't have to worry about (having) them any longer.

  • Benoffie on 17/12/2023 - 13:36
    +2

    Safety deposit boxes are relatively expensive for what they are and are designed for paperwork and small items. If you're lucky to get one, you're looking at $4-500 a year for a small box.

    Access is a pain. These are best for things that you cannot afford to lose but need to access rarely. For us, it's family papers and photographs, heirlooms that are irreplaceable etc such as grandmother's wedding band.

    A safe at home is about access. But unless it's vault size (and a cost of $7-10k+) itll never be big enough to store handbags.

    A reasonable size safe, under 1t and secondhand should be under $4k including delivery and depending on condition and age.
    It should have an interior set up large enough to hold -

    • a range of document folders
    • several large HDD
    • all your jewellery
    • firearms (handguns not longarms)

    I have found that, since gaining a safe or two and maintaining alarms etc, our insurance is quite stable. However, our insurer also tends not to be so wild in their pricing

  • Trying2SaveABuck on 17/12/2023 - 14:09
    +2

    you guys have valuables….?

    • mskeggs on 17/12/2023 - 19:11

      Bauhn TV, Kogan smartwatch and $60 in cash. I’ll be getting the CMI Commander series TDR for $10k to protect them, but I need to cut the TV in half to fit it in. Worth it because I sleep so much more soundly.

      Every business owner I have ever met who has any amount of cash takings is incredibly allergic to holding the cash at home - get it banked ASAP so your home and family aren’t a burglary/robbery target.

      That said I did hear of a guy in Winmalee who had $50k of ashes in his safe after the bushfires came through that on reflection would have been better taxed and in the bank.

      • Trying2SaveABuck on 17/12/2023 - 19:40

        That's the risk you take when you hold cash I guess

        Honestly speaking I have nothing I'd consider valuable worth stealing that needs to be locked in a safe

        I dont carry cash

        I dont have any expensive jewellery

        I dont have gold bars etc

        Keep you money in your offset if you dont have an offset keep it invested in the market

  • CrispyChrispy on 17/12/2023 - 14:20
    +3

    Do you also want to know where we live?

    • try2bhelpful on 17/12/2023 - 16:08
      +1

      That was my thinking as well.

  • Nillionaire on 17/12/2023 - 16:11
    +1

    instead of a vault or safe, couldn't you just do a normal locked drawer for the watches and jewelry? for the handbags, practice saying "oh well that sucks". also I'd spend on security cameras and censors before a vault

  • tomleonhart on 17/12/2023 - 16:14
    +2

    Nice try thief !

  • Ghost47 on 17/12/2023 - 17:14
    +2

    Bar your windows instead of buying a safe. Maybe consider getting a guard dog too. There's no point in allowing burglars to ransack and trash your house yet a small number of your belongings sit securely inside a locked safe, unless cleaning up a trashed house sounds enjoyable to you.

  • djones145 on 17/12/2023 - 17:49
    +2

    take it with u….
    my wife brings 20 handbags and 10 necklaces with her all the time on holidays

    i thought that was what people do…

  • JimmyF on 17/12/2023 - 18:16
    +1

    Where Do You Keep Your Valuables?

    Nice try!

  • loropy9 on 17/12/2023 - 18:43

    I keep my valuables where they belong. In my underwear.

  • meowsers on 17/12/2023 - 19:27
    +1

    I keep ours in a Chubb Class A security container with a Kaba X10 lock. Purchased second hand. I figure if it's good enough for secrets - good enough for me.

    Inside that is a fireproof container for our records etc. Nothing too valuable it's just tax records, and family photos etc that you can't replace. Not sure who is keeping stacks of cash or diamonds at home, but it sure isn't us.

  • brad1-8tsi on 18/12/2023 - 01:00

    If you buy a safe, get a good one.

    My MIL lost the key to her safe. With the help of YT I had it open in a minute.

  • ForkSnorter on 18/12/2023 - 08:14

    Don't keep anything valuable in your garage. Thieves love breaking into garages.
    Another solution, which I currently practice, is don't buy anything valuable. If enough people practiced this, burglary would become a pointless endeavour and disappear from society. Although, I guess the economy would crash too.

  • runamuck on 20/12/2023 - 23:37

    Unless they are Hermes handbags, I wouldn't bother.

  • bargain huntress on 27/12/2023 - 00:02
    -1

    Everyone should have a safe!
    For
    important documents
    family heirlooms
    sentimental keepsakes
    Essential photos
    Cash
    Crypto hard wallet
    actual valuables

    Burglars usually dont know your costume jewelery from your grandma isnt worth much money.
    And fire doesnt care.

    2 affordable options:

    Fire and Theft Briefcase style with handle (handle is very important), plus chain, plus padlock plus optional eyebolt - put chain through handle and around the pipe under a sink or something sturdy, or sink the eyebolt into a concrete slab and put it through there

    Fire and Theft regular style - will come with a bolt - use it!!! Bolt it to a cement slab. Some people put epoxy into the hole they drill before inserting the bolt.

    Affordable options for both at bunnings and officeworks

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