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.
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.