How to keep your money, valuables safe in your home

By John Kariuki

Kenya: Linda Maingi, an insurance broker, remembers how she and her siblings would spy on their father as he “inspected” the chicken houses and cattle sheds while she was growing up. The old man would spot a good hiding place for his money, take out his wallet and deftly stash it in a crack in the timber or under the roof of these structures.

Trained by their mother to be observant, the children would mark the spot and move away, apparently unconcerned. When their father would go out of the home, they would run to the hiding place, take out the wallet and peel off a few bank notes that their mother would use for meeting the cost of essentials.

Convinced that someone or an evil spirit had busted him, their father would look for more creative places to hide his cash.

Money antics

But his children would always discover his antics. The old man would even stash his money in the dog kennel, under the floor mat and on top of the water tank but his children would always discover these spots.

Scores of men who take a beer or two after work have learnt the hard way that mugging is not a preserve of hooded and gun totting criminals on our streets. It routinely happens at home!

Consequently, creative guys always leave some “mugging money” where their spouses can easily see it, saving a few high denomination bank notes stashed in secret pockets of the same wallets!

Burglar proof

But on a more serious note, when you are hiding cash at home, you may think that the best place is right under everyone’s nose; under the television set, behind a wall painting, in hollowed-out furniture legs, or stuffing it inside a child’s doll.

However, if someone takes these items out of the house or if they get burnt in a house fire, you may end up with a huge loss. Besides, of late, burglars seem to have discovered these common hiding places.

One solution is to purchase a fire-proof safe in which you can store money and valuables. However, there is no need of installing an expensive home safe that is visible to everyone because burglars will force the passwords out of you when they strike.

The best thing to do with your safe is to disguise it and/or keep it hidden behind another item.

However, it is wiser to take your valuables like jewellery and important documents like title deeds, log books and birth, shares and marriage certificates to banks with custodial services.

But even with these services and others such as mobile money accounts, people are bound to routinely keep some cash around their homes for petty expenditures. There are always some transactions that need hard cash like paying your Mama Mboga, the milk man and scores of hired hands.

Loose change

With time, you may have discovered a hiding place for this loose change that is good enough to fool even seasoned housebreakers. All you need to do is use a little more imagination to hide the cash you need around your home.

If you use your imagination, you will find that your kitchen has some of the most fool-proof spots for hiding money.

Forget about hiding money and other valuables under your bed or in the bedroom as scores of people are bound to do. In most house breaks, burglars often tear down bedrooms and wardrobes looking for hidden items.

Fast job

While burglars want to get out as soon as possible, they will generally keep looking until they find something valuable.

One way to protect your house from being torn up, and secret hiding places getting exposed in their rage, is by enticing them to do a fast job and beat it!

Leaving a little cash in your wallet or drawer can convince thieves that it is probably all you have and that they have not wasted their time. It also gives them the impression that there isn’t much left in the house.