5 Tips to Keep Your Home Safe and Secure
Podcast Transcription
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Maddy: Hey everyone, thank you for joining me on PFCU’s Money Talk. Liz, the Executive Administrative Assistant here at PFCU, joins me for her second time on the podcast to talk about home safety. And if you don’t already know, she sends out a safety and security newsletter to the staff here at PFCU and she has been so kind as to share her awesome tips with all of you. And If you missed it in her last episode, she talked about debit and credit card safety so check that out. And in this episode, she shares strategies to keep your home safe and secure. And we’re not just talking about putting up cameras, there are some tips in here that might surprise you. So, take a listen and keep your house as secure as possible.
Liz: Thank you for having me. Yes, we focused this quarter on home safety tips, especially with vacations coming up and summer, it’s never a bad time to think about home safety. So, the first thing that we have is make sure your front door is locked. The most common point of entry for criminals is the front door so make sure you invest in a deadbolt lock with a heavy-duty strike plate and make sure your mounting screws are at least 3 inches long.
Maddy: I will never forget when I was in college, my mom got after me because we kept our door unlocked when we were at home like we thought it was fine, like we’re at home we can just leave our door unlocked. She’s like, people can still try to come in or if they don’t think you’re at home so now I’m in the habit, we always keep our deadbolt locked. I will lock my husband out of the house sometimes, because it’s just, close the door and I lock it! It’s like what I think now.
Liz: It’s better to lock it too much instead of not enough, right?
Maddy: Not enough, right, yeah.
Liz: Another home safety tip we have is to hedge wisely and this has to do with your landscaping. So, make sure you create a deterrent for criminals by planting prickly evergreens beneath your first-floor windows. If you already have a hedge, trim back existing bushes. And any unruly plants can provide a tempting hiding place for opportunistic criminals. So, check overhanging trees to make sure they could not help someone climb into a window or over a fence.
Maddy: I never would’ve thought about looking at my landscaping and how that would work to a criminal’s advantage.
Liz: Oh, I know, it’s like, I feel like people think of landscaping being as what you do to make your house look pretty but there’s actually, I think, a lot of features to help with home safety and how you choose to layout your landscaping.
Maddy: Yeah, that’s so interesting.
Liz: Another home safety tip is to make sure that your house numbers are visible. Check to see if your house numbers are clearly visible because in case of an emergency, would an ambulance or policeman know which house was yours? And I think this is even just good for when you have visitors coming over to know which house is yours. But especially in the case of an emergency, you never want them to be trying to figure out which house is yours.
Maddy: Right, that makes sense.
Liz: Another safety tip, is use your lights. If the thought of keeping lights on all night long makes you quiver, save some energy by replacing your outdoor lights with compact florescent bulbs. And I know we also did this at my house. We put the dawn to dusk lights outside our garage, so you don’t have to worry about forgetting to turn them on or leaving them on too long.
Maddy: Oh yeah, that’s a good idea.
Liz: And then that way they just come on every night and turn off in the morning. You never have to think about it.
Maddy: Right, yeah.
Liz: Make sure that you clear the way. Make sure your walkways and pathways are clear and well-lit so that you can see anyone approaching the home. And I think this kind of goes back to the landscaping too, making sure you can see who’s at your front door. I know bushes are beautiful by the front door but you can’t see who’s coming. And also, a big thing is don’t announce your vacation. I know going on vacation is very exciting, I love going on vacation however it’s not a safe idea to announce on social media when you will be gone. Criminals can use this information to learn when no one is home. If you want to share pictures on social media it is best to post after your vacation is over.
Maddy: Okay.
Liz: You can still share those moments and exciting, fun times
Maddy: But when you’re already back home.
Liz: Yes. But you had the best vacation ever and the criminals didn’t know.
Maddy: Right.
Liz: And I thought this was interesting, I was doing some research on home safety for this and it said that the rate of household burglaries tends to be the highest in the summer. Which, I mean, it kind of makes sense with the nicer weather but still a scary statistic to know. And of course, at PFCU we love our products and services that we provide to our members. So last time I know we talked about debit card and credit card safety. This time we’re talking about products that we offer that would help you with your home safety. Here at PFCU we offer credit cards and loans to help finance your home security projects so if you’re worried about needing a little money to make sure your house is safe, or just planning everything out, we’ve got products here that can help you finance your needs.
Maddy: Yeah, very good! Well thank you, that was very informative.
Liz: You’re welcome, thanks for having me.
Maddy: Of course! I’m sure we will talk again when the next newsletter comes out. I’ll be knocking on your door.
Liz: Yes, sounds good.
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