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jdcfsu
2010-05-21, 14:57
If my house ever closes I'd like to have something secure-ish to keep my important paperwork/documents. Was curious what you all use and would recommend?
Bryson
2010-05-21, 15:24
Safety deposit box at a bank. Keep your rotating backup in it too. That way if your house is ever destoyed in some way, you can at least prove that you own the smoking crater... ;) And your extensive collection of obscure pr0n is still intact.

Seriously, though, just "secure" isn't good enough. Secure and somewhere else is what you require. Yes, there are safes that advertise fire-proofing and so on, but why pay extra money when the facility to protect your stuff entirely exists? You don't want to pick through the burnt/flooded/radioactively contaminated* wreckage for those documents if it comes down to that.

ooh. If you write a post short enough to not get a signature, then edit in a novel later, you still don't get a signature. Hmmm.



*=Could happen. ;)
Kickaha
2010-05-25, 01:57
Scan 'em, pop 'em on a USB stick, toss in the safe deposit box suggested by Bryson. Bonus: no &*($@# paper to store or haul around. We replaced five filing cabinet drawers with a 4GB USB stick... which is half full. We have another three boxes to go, and then we will be mostly paper free. Finally.
jdcfsu
2010-05-25, 07:43
Scan 'em, pop 'em on a USB stick, toss in the safe deposit box suggested by Bryson.

What do you then do with the originals (only really concerning things like house deed, car title, birth cert, etc)?
Wyatt
2010-05-25, 08:30
What do you then do with the originals (only really concerning things like house deed, car title, birth cert, etc)?
There should be plenty room left in the safe deposit box for the small amount of stuff that you must have the original paper copy of.
kieran
2010-05-25, 08:43
I've been looking into this recently too, with the settlement on my house coming up on Friday.

Probably just going to get a safety deposit box at the bank and be done with it.
Yontsey
2010-05-25, 08:46
I thought about the safety deposit box at the bank but I don't like the idea of not being able to get what I need when I need it. I'd rather have my documents in my house so if I happen to need them on the weekend or a holiday, I can get them.

I'm probably just going to get a decent sized safe and keep it in one of my storage rooms in the basement or in my bedroom closet.
turtle
2010-05-25, 10:18
Safe Deposit Box really is the best way to go. Shop around and you can find some good deals too. I have two boxes (one for my family and one for my trust/estate) and the best rates on the boxes was trhough a credit union rather than a traditional bank. The national chains rape you for box fees and it's just not worth it.
Kickaha
2010-05-25, 11:08
What do you then do with the originals (only really concerning things like house deed, car title, birth cert, etc)?

What Wyatt said. The things that *must* have originals are about a dozen pieces of paper. The rest get shredded in a cross cut shredder.
zippy
2010-05-25, 11:16
I thought about the safety deposit box at the bank but I don't like the idea of not being able to get what I need when I need it. I'd rather have my documents in my house so if I happen to need them on the weekend or a holiday, I can get them.

I'm probably just going to get a decent sized safe and keep it in one of my storage rooms in the basement or in my bedroom closet.

What about a locked drawer or small fire safe in your office?