The safe I use is not really a "gun safe" but rather a large commercial style safe. Remember that gun safes are for multiple purposes -
first and foremost, as in your mentiond circumstances, it is used to secure and keep your firearms away from anyone who does not have permission or who you do not want to have access to
- second, a gun safe is also to protect your firearms in case of fire - when you look at them, considering the fire rating of the safe - i.e. 1 hour rating, 2 hour rating, etc. - this is a guideline to how long the contents of the safe will be protected in case of fire although the location of the safe, intensity of the fire, etc. also come in to play
- third - a safe is used as a deterrent to the theft of your firearms - however you have to consider the size/weight of the safe. Some of the ones I've seen are nice safes, but if I was buying one, I would want to make sure that it could either be bolted to the floor or the wall so that it couldn't be easily picked up and carried out by a burgular or easily moved on a hand cart. Having been a business owner and the victim of several burglaries, I can attest to the fact that even large commercial safes can be moved if the burgular / s are determined.
- in your circumstances - if you cannot afford a safe right now, look in to the various "lock boxes". I've seen several different styles and models up at the range that I shoot at that are reasonable in price - one style looks like an electrical service box that you cut a hole in the drywall between studs and bolt to the studs on the inside and it has a key lock - I'm guessing you could get maybe 4 handguns in it depending upon size. It would work great in a closet and to the casual glance, it could easily be mistaken for a electrical service box - especially to a burgular who was in a hurry.
Just my thoughts . . .