Is Your Home Security Affected by Your Lifestyle Choices

By: Richard Armen

Even if you are a completely trustworthy and upstanding member of your community, your everyday habits and lifestyle choices can still have a substantial impact on your home security. Although these choices do not mean that you will necessarily fall victim to a home invasion, if you recognize yourself in the below list, you should be paying particular attention to your home security. By installing appropriate home security devices, you can counteract some of the security dangers presented by these lifestyles.

1. The entertainer. If you frequently invite large groups of people into your home, you run the risk of inviting over people that you don't know very well. Whether they are friends of friends, or that coworker you've never had the chance to get to know, the problem of having lots of people inside your home is that they get plenty of opportunities while you're entertaining other guests. While at your party, they could easily sneak away to explore the layout, find out what you have, or even slip your jewelry into their pocket or purse.

If you like to host parties, you don't have to lock up your doors and never let anyone inside again. Instead, make sure that your valuables are kept out of sight while you're entertaining, and be aware of any guests who go missing while in your home, as they might have slipped away from the group.

2. The partier. You're not immune from risk if you prefer to go out to parties rather than hosting them in your own home. If you often go out at night and come home very late, typically inebriated, you are at risk of being targeted by a criminal. Someone watching your routine may assume that if you go out at night, you won't return for many hours. Also, inebriated homeowners are incapacitated and easy to overpower, and tend to leave doors or windows open while sleeping, forget to lock the door, or make other basic security errors.

If you see yourself in this description, it may be a good idea to take it down a notch with the partying, as you are putting yourself at risk. In order to stay safe, always have someone accompany you to your home at the end of the evening to thwart a surprise attack, and consider features such as automatic locks on doors.

3. The traveler. Heading out on the weekend to go camping, stay at your vacation home, or travel to a faraway destination is certainly a lot of fun, but your home is more vulnerable while you're away. If your routine is to head out of town as soon as the clock hits 5:00 on Friday, you can bet that any burglar watching you has picked up on this. If your home is left empty all weekend, this gives criminals plenty of time to empty out all of your valuable belongings. Consider asking someone to house sit, purchasing a dog barking alarm, or installing extra security features to protect your home while you're not there.

4. The workaholic. Most home invasions happen not at night, but in the middle of the day, while most people are away at work. If you work long hours, a criminal may have anywhere from 8 to 18 hours to clean out your home uninterrupted. Those who are never home during daylight hours should consider light timers, dog barking alarms, or other security features to make it look as though someone is home.