During a time of crisis, safeguarding your valuables is one of the most important things that you should do. Depending on where you live, you’ll need to prepare for the possible crises that are most likely to affect you.
One important point to note is that no matter where you live, your valuables at home should be protected from human threats. Do not place your jewelry, cash, expensive watches in closets or drawers.
An experienced burglar will know exactly where to look when they break into your house and ransack it. The modus operandi for many of them is to take one of the pillow cases from your bedroom and put all the valuables they find into it. Experienced burglars don’t even bring their own bags to carry the loot.
In this article, we’ll look at several ways to protect your valuables during a crisis.
- Safe
Whether you use a safe or not will depend on the type of crisis. If you live in an area that’s prone to earthquakes, etc. having a floor safe might not be a good idea. Even a wall safe might fall out if the structural integrity of the house is compromised. You’re better off keeping your valuables in a safety deposit box at the bank.
When getting a safe, it should always be heavy and fixed to the wall, ground, etc. Even if a safe is heavy, 3 or more people could cooperate and lift it away when you’re not around.
The safe needs to be airtight, waterproof and fireproof. Invest in a good safe. Ideally, if you’re a prepper, it’s best to only keep cash and your important documents in the safe. Gold jewelry would be good too, since gold doesn’t lose its value during a crisis.
- Is your home secure?
Burglar-proof your home. Install motion sensor flood lights, burglar alarms, etc. You may wish to keep a dog such as a German Shepherd to discourage even the most motivated burglars.
If you live in a country where ownership of firearms is allowed, invest in a shotgun. This is one of the best home security systems. A houseowner holding a shotgun and ready to fire will make any criminal run off.
- Are you carrying too many valuables?
If you decide to bug out, only take the cash and documents you need. You could bring a few items such as your jewelry, watches, etc. but do not wear them.
Split these items up into a few airtight sealable plastic bags and place a few in one bug out and a few in another. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
- Cash is NOT king
Contrary to popular belief, during a crisis, cash is usually not king… but this will also depend on the crisis. If there’s a major flood, a box of aspirin will be more valuable that a hundred dollars because the pain can only be addressed with the medication.
So, having useful items can be just as valuable as having cash. This is especially true for items like bottled water, food rations, eye wash, medicine, first aid supplies, and items that people will really NEED in a crisis.
If you have enough of these, you can always barter them for items that you may need.
The key point to note is that it’s best to keep your valuables in a bank vault. Floods can wash houses away, wildfires can burn houses to the ground and terrorists can tear your entire house apart just to get to the valuables inside.
Be aware of all of these points when deciding how to protect your valuables and investments. You do not have to lose everything in a crisis. Plan cautiously.