Home Safe Sales Soar in Wake of Unsteady Economy

Honeywell 2072 1.06-Cubic-Foot Anti-Theft Safe with Shelf and Digital Keypad

If you are considering purchasing a safe there are several types to choose from. Each has their pros and cons. We'll take a look at what your needs are and which safe will suit your needs. Characteristics of all home safes to look for:

1.) Heavy or bulky: applies to box safes; to make it difficult if not impossible to carry off.

2.) Fire proof: Other than possible theft and water damage, fire can literally devastate a business being run from home or completely destroy irreplaceable items of sentimental value and other valuables. Fire Safes are rated for ability to handle heat with Class A fireproof safes being able to handle 2000o for several hours; suitable for protecting computer disks and paper - to class C that can withstand 1000o for 30 minutes

3.) Locking features: all come with keys or combination locks; the best ones come with both keys and numerical locks

4.) Price: Should be relative to the valuables you intend to protect. What are they worth to you?

SentrySafe 500 1/2 Hour FIRE-SAFE Box, 0.15 Cubic Feet, Black

Wall safes: Probably the safest safe of all since it is part of your home and can be hidden easily. The drawback is that it needs to be built in to your wall so you must have a wall rebuilt for the purpose. Price range: $29 - $350

Box safes: Quickest to put in use since there is no installation; bulky; least secure unless it is heavy or bolted to floor. Please keep in mind the smaller and lighter the safe, the easier it is to be carried off. Price range: $35 for a document safe to several hundred dollars; $1000s for larger bank type safes.

Gun safes: The most obvious purpose for this is to lock up your guns for safe keeping. Price range: small hand gun safe - $35 to large gun vault - $700+

HOMAK HS10036683 Electronic Access Pistol Box, 10-Inch by 3.5-Inch by 7.5-Inch

The idea behind having a security safe for your home or office is to give you relatively the same security you would have if you kept your money and valuables in the bank or safe deposit box. Another obvious purpose, too, is having a security safe in the office is to have a place to keep cash collected from the cash registers till you either take it to the bank or have it picked up by armored security services.

A security safe can be as small as a wall safe, which is particularly useful for important papers and small valuables or as large as a bank safe. It really depends on your needs. Will it just hold cash? Perhaps you have large valuables or guns so obviously you'll look for a larger safe.

Honeywell 3035D Digital Locking Steel Box

There are many, many brands and types to fit all price ranges. But price is not the biggest consideration. Many who have purchased a small box safe have later found that they might as well have purchased a bigger bank safe simply because they found out that the smaller safe had to be bolted to the floor, thereby ruining the floor. This may be an important consideration for some.

Taking price, aesthetics and security into consideration, wall safes are the least expensive and can offer the best security while at the same time can be conveniently hidden. While they may take a bit of trouble to install, the trouble is minimal for the considerable amount of security they give. So, for cash, papers, jewelry a wall safe is the best solution.