TOP 10 TIPS TO MAKE YOUR HOME MORE SECURE
Read these top 10 tips to make your home more secure.
1. LIGHTING
Like owls and vampires, burglars like the darkness, so good lighting in and around the home is important. External lighting around the house will fill in the hidden dark spaces and put burglars off. You can get lights that are activated by motion sensors to flood dark spaces, this is great when you come home and you don't want to fumble around for your key in the dark. It is always a good idea to leave a light on inside the house when you go out at night or if you are going away for a few days. You can also get timers for lights, meaning they can be set to turn on only during the evening.
2. LOCKS
If you're moving into a new home, change the locks, so you know you and your family are the only ones with keys. Don't hide a spare key. Burglars know the usual places spare keys get hidden, that plant pot next to the front door or under the mat are the first places they will look. Ever leave home in a rush and get to work wondering if you locked up? There are now smart locks you can install and control remotely from your smartphone, saving you time and worry.
3. FENCING
A good, well-maintained fence creates a solid barrier around your property and hinders access, which is added security. It also stops prying eyes seeing into your property to appraise what you have.
4. SECURITY SYSTEM
Explore the range - from high tech, fully installed and monitored to the more basic. There are a lot of options out there which are becoming more sophisticated as technology progresses. You can have sensors on doors, windows and motion sensors to detect movement within your home. A good option is to install video cameras inside and outside your home to capture footage. Alerts, images and video footage can be sent straight to your smartphone or tablet so you can immediately see if something's amiss at home.
5. DEADBOLTS
These locks are stronger than spring locks and they will make it more difficult to force entry into your property. Whilst more expensive, it's important to try to have at least one deadbolt lock on your main door.
6. SECURE RANCH SLIDERS
One of the weakest entry points to your home can be sliding glass doors. A good way to prevent a burglar from forcing a ranch slider open is to put a metal bar along the bottom track of the door. You can do the same with sliding windows.
7. MEET THE NEIGHBOURS
If you have a good relationship with your neighbours, they can keep an eye on your house when you're away or at work and of course you can do the same for them. You may already have a neighbourhood watch scheme in your area, so it won't just be the people next door looking out for you.
8. CLOSE WINDOWS
It is easy to leave a window open, especially during the summer but an open window is an easy invitation to a burglar. Even if you are just going to pop out to the shop for 10 minutes, take a moment to walk around your home and close any open windows, even better, make sure they have locks.
9. BE SOCIAL SAVVY
Away on holiday and can't resist posting a photo? We don't blame you. However, try to be conscious of who can see your posts, especially if you're away on a longer trip. You can easily share with the world that you're not home. An easy way to combat this is to set all your post sharing to 'private' or 'just friends' rather than 'public'.
10. COME UP WITH A PLAN
Make sure you and your family are on the same page with what would happen if you were ever burgled. Remind your children not to go near the burgled area and move away from the property and phone the police. Look for unusual signs like broken glass or an open window or door. If in doubt, get out and always call the police.
Poll: Have you ever had a scary flight?
A plane flying from Christchurch to Wellington on Sunday had smoke billowing out of the engine and upon landing, passengers had to open the emergency exit and jump out. Have you had any scary flying experiences?
-
56.6% Yes!
-
43.4% No, it's always been smooth flying
ALEXANDER ROAD SPEED LIMIT
Alexander Road in Trentham-Wallaceville of which 50% separates a golf course from a military encampment enclosure and the rest has mostly high fenced off industrial and residential areas on both sides, should have a 70km speed restriction.
Only a short time ago the road had a 80km restriction and was reduced to a pedestrian 50km much to the frustration of many. It has never been an accident prone stretch of road.
The several round-abouts ensure speed is reduced to 30-40km when these things occur.
I recently stayed a few days in Feilding - often given the title of the best town in NZ - and one of the lengthy main streets has a 70km speed restriction despite a predominance of unfenced residential properties on both sides.
LIVE Q&A: Financial well-being with Cat Rikihana
Today (Wednesday) we're having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with Cat Rikihana who is a financial mentor, educator and financial capability practitioner at Financial Freedom Trust in the Manawatū.
Cat Rikihana (Ngai Tahu) like many financial mentors around Aotearoa, works with individuals, groups and whānau to successfully navigate financial stress and hardship. Mentors work alongside whānau to increase confidence and skills in personal money management and advocate with and for clients. Cat enjoys delivering online and face-to-face workshops which provide opportunities to normalise money conversations and encourages people to make time to consider their financial well-being.
Cat is also an independent financial well-being coach, educator and indigenous life coach at Restore Wellness Network. She is a published writer and currently in the process of writing her first non-fiction book: 'A financial self-care guide for women in Aotearoa.'
She'd love to answer any questions you may have around your budgeting and spending habits, strategies for saving, retirement planning and debt. (Don't be shy, but be mindful about what you disclose!)
↓ Share your questions now and Cat will reply to your comment below ↓
Loading…
