When paper copies of documents were necessary, the Safe Deposit Box was vital. These days with very few documents needing to be printed, the box is less important.
There are very few things in a bank I view as necessary, but one thing I regard as really important is my Safe Deposit Box.
I keep bonds, an old stock certificate, and my wills in my Safe Deposit box. Why couldn’t I keep those things at home? I don’t want to do that, thanks. The advantages of a Safety Deposit box are:
I can write off the cost of my box rental as a carrying charge (in Canada, you can do this). That’s good. I pay about $30 for the box before my tax kickback on the write-off.- The box is OFF-SITE storage from my house. I should put copies of my insurance policies in there as well. That way, if someone breaks into my house or my house burns down (God forbid), I have a copy SAFE somewhere else. It might be good to put a home inventory in there too.
- I love writing in this blog because a lot of time,s I think of things while writing I wouldn’t have!
- The bank is more secure than my house ever will be. The safety of this information is essential, and someone else worrying about it, is one less thing for me to worry about.
- Who is going to break into a bank, find my safe deposit box, and then steal what is in it? Maybe someone is reading my blog? I hope not :-).
These reasons are why I have a safe deposit box, and not a home strong box, or wall-safe to protect my important papers.
No matter HOW you decide to protect your important papers and information, DO IT! Use a Safety deposit box, a strong box, or a wall safe, but keep those papers safe! It’s important. It’s all part of the Financial Plan.
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Note that the federal budget intends to eliminate this deduction starting in 2014, so I would humbly suggest that you research this development and update your post to alert your readers.
Agreed, I shall, however this is a very old post (if you check the date), I keep this as a historical reference (I have updated the new post).
What’s the point of having a safety deposit box and putting nothing in it. We’ve had one since we moved to Ottawa in 83. We keep all our important papers and backup CD’s in it. Our bank throws it in free as part of our banking package…we even manage to negotiate up to the largest size for free.
When someone I know was cleaning out the office of a penny pinching and now, deceased co-worker this summer, he discovered that this person was using a desk drawer in their office as a safety deposit box. Everything important, including photo negatives was there. Not really a great idea.
People should not hesistate to spend the relatively small amount required to rent a box. It’s one of the best investments you’ll ever make.
thanks for the emphatic reminder! 🙂 You’ve just convinced me…
Hmmm. I got a safe deposit last spring (and wrote about it here) but am embarrassed to admit that I still haven’t put anything in it. I really need to take care of this.
Wow, spam attack! I agree with you. Although I don’t have one anymore, I did keep my Will and some stock certificates in it. I need to rethink it again and head on down to my branch to reopen one. I agree, they are very valuable.