So You Want to Buy a Safe

Buying a safe for your home or office is a good choice, especially if you have small valuables (too large for a safe deposit box) or important documents that need to survive a fire. Not all safes are created equally though. Make sure the safe you're considering has a seal describing its Underwriters Laboratory rating. No rating? No good.

For safes, the Underwriters Laboratory is kind of an inspection and classification system that rates safes according to how fire resistant they are. A "Class A" safe is the absolute best you can buy, guaranteed to protect paper documents in temperatures of 2000°F for up to 4 hours. All safes with UL ratings should be able to resist damage from dropping from a collapsing building.

One other key thing to remember when buying a safe is that it shouldn't be light enough that a thief could just waltz out with it slung over his shoulder. Shell out the extra bucks for something sturdy and heavy. Even better, have a floor or walll safe built into your house as it's being built or remodeled.

More resources for safes:
Information on Buying a Safe
Browse Safes at Amazon