What are the best places to hide large amounts of cash at home?
The best places for hiding cash at home include underground safes and secret safes. Underground safes place your valuables outside in waterproof containers where thieves are unlikely to find. Secret safes are hiding spots disguised as everyday items (e.g. a can of corn) which burglars would be uninterested in.
Imagine, finding a good place to hide your money so nobody but you can find it. You can keep your valuables secure with a foolproof hiding place.
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The best places for hiding large amounts of cash at home
The best places for hiding large amounts of cash at home are outside underground safes and secret safes. Underground safes keep your valuables buried outside for easy, long-term storage which would-be thieves won’t find. Secret safes are storage areas designed as everyday items which go unnoticed in a burglary.
Underground safe
Building your own underground safe is easy and relatively inexpensive. All you need is a large diameter (e.g. 4”) PVC pipe, an end cap, female adaptor, threaded end cap, and PVC cement.
Here is a video from americanprepcentertv which shows you how to build your own underground safe.
Once assembled, you’ll have a waterproof storage which can be buried outside. You can bury the PVC ‘cache vault’ horizontally, but then you’ll need to dig it up when you want to access it. Alternatively, you can bury it vertically so the end cap is sticking out of the ground for easy access.
Secret safes
There are many secret safe options which are storage areas disguised as everyday items. Most of these items cost less than $20 and can be found on Amazon. Examples of secret safes include:
- A clock where the face opens up
- Dr. Pepper cans where the top screws off
- Hair brushes that have a cap which pops off
- Dictionaries which are hollow on the inside
- SPAM cans which have a key to unlock
- Water Bottles where the bottom screws off
- Fake grocery canned items (e.g. canned corn) where the bottom screws off
- Shaving cream cans where the bottom screws off
- Fake light bulbs
- Fake outlets
Most burglars are not concerned with everyday items when rummaging through your home. Your cash is kept safe because nobody is going to try and steal your dictionary. Therefore, everyday items that are secret safes are one of the best places to store your valuables.
Envelope storage
You can also place your cash into an envelope. This envelope can then be taped in numerous locations throughout your home. Locations you can tape your envelope include:
- Behind a painting
- Under a kitchen drawer
- Under your desk
- In your dresser
- Inside of an air vent or duct
- Under furniture
The best fireproof places to hide money at home
A fireproof safe is one of the best places to hide your money at home. Other locations may not be fully fireproof, which means you could lose your money if a fire did take place. Therefore, it is recommended you invest in a fireproof safe if fire is a concern.
Where should you not hide money in your house?
Money shouldn’t be hidden in any place that can be exposed to water or fire. You should also avoid hiding money near other valuables (e.g. behind a tv) where burglars are likely to search. Therefore, keep your money away from toilets, under sinks, jewelry boxes, electronics, under mattresses, closets, and offices.
Burglars always try to look for money under mattresses, dressers, closets, and offices. People will often leave valuables such as jewelry in jewelry boxes which are in plain sight. Burglars are attracted to high ticket items like TVs, stereos, and other electronics.
Is it illegal to hide your money?
It is not illegal to hide your money, unless you are doing so to avoid paying taxes (tax evasion). Withdrawing money from your bank and hiding it at home is legal. However, hiding large amounts of cash at home can be suspicious.
There are plenty of legitimate reasons for hiding money at home. Reasons to hide money at home include living in an area with frequent natural disasters. Having cash on hand may be necessary for extended power outages.
Summary: The best places for hiding large amounts of cash at home
As you can see, the best places for hiding large amounts of cash are buried outside or in secret safes. You can also use an envelope to tape cash around your house. However, try to avoid placing your cash near other valuables, fire, water, or in obvious places.
There is no good substitute for a fireproof safe. You should purchase a fireproof safe if you are concerned about fire.
Hiding your money is perfectly ok as long as you’re not trying to avoid paying taxes. You own your money and have the right to hide it. However, you will lose purchasing power due to inflation for hiding money at home.