In an interesting sign of the times, the sale of safes has been booming. This story has apparently been making the rounds on some local news programs and last week was the topic of an article in the LA Times.
Safe companies mentioned in the article are reporting sales increases of as much as 50% in the last few weeks. One chiropractor interviewed for the article mentioned that he has recently purchased a fourth safe, which he intends to fill with cash.
Some of the unspoken implications of this recent phenomenon:
- People are investing in tangible assets like gold and silver instead of intangible assets like stocks and mutual funds. They are also opting for the physical version of the investment rather than certificates, ETFs, or derivatives. The boom in safes is a result of the need to store all of these new assets.
- People have less trust in banks. They are willing to forgo the nominal rate of interest offered by the bank and keep their cash at home in a safe.
- People have abandoned belief in safe deposit boxes. In the past, people may have kept tangible assets in a safe deposit box at their bank. Are people growing fearful of bank closures, bank holidays, or a gold seizure?
Here are some semi-hilarious quotes from the LA Times article.
“What people are putting in them I have no idea.”
This comes from a spokeswoman for the company Lowe’s. Not sure why they interviewed Lowe’s to determine what people put in safes, rather than asking the people buying them.
“It’s just stupid.”
This well considered and comprehensive opinion comes from a CPA and Financial Planner. Perhaps some of his clients think his investment advice is stupid. I’ll wait for that interview.
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