Almost weekly older women come to our store looking to buy a safe for jewelry. They usually want something about two to three feet tall with fire protection and a reasonable amount of burglary resistance. Depending on the value of their jewelry, where the safe will be located and how much they are willing to spend there are a number of alternatives. People expect trade-offs between cost, weight, security level, etc. Two things they frequently have not factored in, however, are convenience and future practicality.
When I show them what they asked for they are typically happy with one vault or another. But then we have a discussion about convenience now and the future. With that three foot high safe they would normally be down on hands and knees to open it and find what they want from inside. I remind them that their back and knees are probably getting a little worse every year. “Think how hard it might be to use this safe in five or ten years.”
I then suggest a Fort Knox gun safe in size 6026 — with four shelves rather than a gun interior. This gives them a small footprint that will fit in many closets, more capacity and the ability to use the safe standing up. I will jokingly bring up that in the future they could still use this safe even if they use a walker. Funny or not, they understand this is actually a legitimate consideration. And while most safes are quite dark inside, getting the safe in Fort Knox’s Rimrock color with a beige interior (pictured) makes the interior light enough for them to find what they want. Plus, they are getting a vault with good fire rating and great burglary deterrence.
These ladies very often come in with their husband, son, daughter or girl-friends. They don’t come in looking for a gun safe, but their conversations turn to “I never thought of getting a tall skinny safe”, “what a great idea” and “that makes so much sense”. They also love the idea of an easy-to-use, dependable electronic lock. It always feels satisfying to make someone really happy with their purchase.
A safe that is inconvenient to use just won’t serve you well, especially in the future. Consider whether the vault you buy now will still be the right one in five or ten years.