Comments on: Holiday Safety Tips

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 15:33:57 +0000

Another piece of advice… In addition to lights on timers, there’s a simple LED device (called FakeTV, I think) that simulates the blue flicker of a television. We have one on a timer in our upstairs bedroom, so it looks like we’re watching the TV at night when we’re out-of-town.

By: Moneyblogga

Moneyblogga — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:45:26 +0000

Removing the garage door opener from vehicles parked in the driveway is an excellent tip, not just for vacations but for ALL the time. I have two vehicles sitting out in the driveway right now, both belong to the kids and both have garage door openers inside. From now on, the openers come in at night because I just never thought about the (obvious now it seems) potential for someone to come right into the house – so easily!

By: DavidK

DavidK — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:11:35 +0000

Or when protecting your home while away, you can just leave one of your younger male children at home and he will protect your house even better than an armed policeman would. He may also learn a valuable lesson about independence and growing up.

Wait… what? What do you mean movies aren’t real???

Timers on interior lights, definitely. Have someone pick up your papers/mail, check. That’s a good tip about the phone ringer — I’ll keep that in mind next time I travel. Of course, I do have a rather sensitive security system in place so that’s the first line of defense.

On the parking/shopping part, I would agree with RC in that I’ve seen people whip out wads/envelopes of cash to pay for stuff and it’s like, man, do you really want people seeing that you have that much money on you? If I use actual cash (I mainly use plastic when shopping) I keep the bills folded in half in my pocket with the fold towards the top of the pocket. I know I keep large denominations on the outside, so I just reach in and pull off a 20 or two from the outside of the folded cash. This way no one sees how much I really have.

Small tip, I read somewhere (I think a self-defense website) that when you have your keys out to get into your car, put one of your fingers through the ring and wrap your hand around your keys. That way you can hide the keys in your hand and you should be able to hold on to them if anyone were to try and grab them from you. For added protection (for those interested in self-defense), you can pass a single key (still on the keyring) between your 1st & 2nd or 2nd & 3rd fingers to act as a jabbing/scraping weapon against attackers.

By: RC@Thinkyourwaytowealth

RC@Thinkyourwaytowealth — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 04:12:39 +0000

Great tips, FD. Good for any time of the year as well when traveling or shopping.

For your readers who are on a cash only system, don’t pull out that envelope in front of people- I have seen people whip out envelopes full of cash to pay for their purchases- put what you are going to use in your pocket or wallet out of view.

Also, if you are by yourself, especially at night, try to park as close to the front door of the store as possible.

By: Chris @ BuildMyBudget

Chris @ BuildMyBudget — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 03:15:42 +0000

Yeah, can’t forget to have the neighbor grab the mail. Great list of tips!

By: Broke MBA

Broke MBA — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 02:30:06 +0000

Thanks for these tips. Since I’m posting anon, I hope it’s ok to “broadcast my plans!” I’ll be heading away for two weeks soon myself and will implement a couple of these. I have never heard the “vacation watch” tip. I live in an apartment complex so I’m not sure this would be very effective in my situation, but will definitely keep this in mind once my wife and I own a home.

By: Jane Frye

Jane Frye — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 23:47:51 +0000

I place my keys in a zipped pocket, and my charged cell phone in another when shopping. My fear is someone will grab my purse while I am shopping and will end up with the keys to my home. If this should happen I will at least be able to use my cell phone to call for assistance and still have the keys to my car and home in my possession.

By: Craig

Craig — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 21:04:45 +0000

@Frugal Dad Absolutely. Also if you can’t find a neighbor, a lot of people just call up their newspaper company and ask to have their account frozen for the duration. More of a process though, glad I could contribute.

By: Leah Ingram

Leah Ingram — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 20:34:09 +0000

Great advice. I’m going to link to this post over at my blog’s new address.

One other thing to add to your terrific list: lights on a timer. Might seem passe but I think it’s probably pretty important to remember, too.

Leah

By: Condo Blues

Condo Blues — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 20:23:24 +0000

In our city we have cardboard recycling but we have to take the boxes to the dumpster – usually set up at schools, firestations, etc. Saftey issues are an added incentive for us to recycle the boxes of any big ticket items that enter our house.