A popular movie and television show plot line is bank robbery. For many screenwriters, the mysteries that are hidden deep with the bank vaults especially in the safety deposit boxes keep fueling the variations of this high intensity thriller. For the average person, the protection that a safety deposit box offered was of high value. Marriage certificates, birth certificates, wills, deeds to property were kept hidden and supposedly safe in these boxes. Locked away in the vault, the bank promised for a small monthly fee your valuables would be protected from fire, water, wind, and theft. Today, we all have personal documents that need protecting, but is a safety deposit box the best idea? Many local retailers offer lock boxes that are fire, water, and hopefully theft proof for around $200, which is about the same amount as renting a box from the bank for a year. Why can’t we just buy one of those boxes? How do we know which safety method is best? Here are some of the pro’s and con’s of lock boxes and safety deposit boxes.

1.      A safety deposit box has unique key and 24 hour monitored security. Only, you and the bank have the combination of keys that will open your safety deposit box. This means your box is unique and there is no possibility of anyone else getting a duplicate key. On the down side, you only have access to your box during business hours and depending on what you put in the box, you may need after hours.

2.      A lock box can be stored and hidden  in your house so that you can have easy access to your valuable documents and things. They are lightweight and easy to hide, but easy to steal too. A larger safe is more obvious and a thief may try to get you to open your safe at gun point.

No matter which way you chose to keep your documents and valuable save, take advantage of printing services and get copies made of the important ones in the event of an accident. This may not be use in replacement of the original docs, but might make things easier to get new ones issued. Whether you choose a safety deposit box or a lock box or safe, you are the only who can decide which options you need more access to items or top rate security.