Protecting identity/legal docs/electronics on a budget?

[Evil_Jester]

Question: what is the best way to protect your social security, bank account info, electronics, etc without buying a heavy and expensive safe? Or is there a safe you would recommend for less than 1k?

I've had a rude awakening in december 2015/january 2016. I was naive before. That changed when electronics and other things were weirdly stolen by a professional thief. I am paranoid about my identity in a good way. Long story..

What I do now:
-I have an apartment to myself.
1) Every morning I climb on top of my counters and hide laptops in hard to reach places.
2) I keep check stubs/bank account info in a place that could be safer. Don't have a better option without buying a safe.
3) SS/passport, birth certificate is in a decent hiding spot. I would prefer that it was locked up.
4) I have lifelock monitoring my credit/bank accounts/etc.
5) I check my bank accounts at least every other day.

**edit. I have about 15k cash, no debt. I don't want to spend $3000/20% of my money on a safe. Or maybe I should?

 

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[Newpollz]

Buy an inexpensive safe, hide a few "less valuables" in there. Hide the rest in plain sight (still hidden).

 

[Jon L]

I'd worry about other things first: how to turn that $15K into $15M. Once you've done that, buy a safe.

In the meantime, get some renter's insurance.

And: make sure your computers are backed up. Laptops are easily replaced, especially if they're insured. The data on them isn't. I have a NAS drive that backs things up to Dropbox. I have two Dropbox accounts - one for personal items, one for business. My computer is backed up to Backblaze.

 

[Evil_Jester]

I'd worry about other things first: how to turn that $15K into $15M. Once you've done that, buy a safe.

In the meantime, get some renter's insurance.

And: make sure your computers are backed up. Laptops are easily replaced, especially if they're insured. The data on them isn't. I have a NAS drive that backs things up to Dropbox. I have two Dropbox accounts - one for personal items, one for business. My computer is backed up to Backblaze.

Forgot to mention, I have all my files backed up on either onedrive or dropbox.
I'm not worried as much about electronics as I am my identity. It doesn't matter how much you have if your id is stolen. People can have their lives permanently messed up with that

 

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[Jon L]

Forgot to mention, I have all my files backed up on either onedrive or dropbox.
I'm not worried as much about electronics as I am my identity. It doesn't matter how much you have if your id is stolen. People can have their lives permanently messed up with that

I think you're doing about all you can and should be doing right now. With LifeLock, they say that they will work to clear your name if anything happens, right? That's about as good as you can hope for. The likelihood that your identity is stolen is very low.

Compare that to the likelihood that you'll never have much money unless you get your fastlane business going vs the high-likelihood that you will be successful financially if you keep pursuing your fastlane business. (in other words, focus your energy on where you can make the most difference in your life)

 

[AmericanSpartan]

If you do decide to get a physical safe, make sure it is bolted to the floor or some other immovable object. Also make sure that it is safe from being opened by rare earth magnets.

A safe that is not bolted just becomes a challenge that a thief will eventually overcome on his terms once he removes it from your property. You could also look into safe deposit boxes with a bank.

For digital security, install a wifi-enabled, encrypted external hard drive in a hidden place, or ideally within a wall that you can only use with a password.

 

[Evil_Jester]

*Yes I would want to get it bolted or have it heavy enough to make it difficult to move.
*Lifelock insures up to 1 million in legal fees. That's basically it.
*I knew a highly intelligent sociopath who mentioned he had a talent at picking locks. He also talked about having the ability to set somebody up with a new identity. Like the Saul character in breaking bad. I saw too much crazy sh*t that he did; I informally worked with him for a month. It would be my fault if he ever decided to screw me over. There are some lunatics out there. Be careful.

 

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