5 Things to Consider Before Choosing the Right Home Security System for Your Family

xxxJuly 16, 2013 by Featured Author Leave a Comment

According to the FBI, in 2012, the number of home burglaries rose by 4.7 percent. With one in six homes being broken into, have you considered a home security system to prevent theft at your residence? Here are five things to consider helping you choose the most effective system.

What Features Does the Company Offer?

Image via Flickr by vagawi

It’s important to make a list of features you want in your security package. Some possible options are:

Alarm and monitoring services only
Fire and smoke detection and monitoring
Carbon monoxide alarms
Surveillance cameras
Motion sensors (indoor and outdoor)
Home automation and remote control features
Wireless service in you don’t have a landline
Window or window screen alarms
Monitors for measuring water levels or home temperatures
Identity theft protection
Pet monitoring
Medical alert monitoring
Affordable service contracts

Make a list of all the home security features you need before you begin searching for the right company.

Is the System Easy to Use?

No family wants a system that’s so complex, it’s too hard to use. A good security company will not only offer adequate training but also systems that are easy-to-use—even for young children.

If you have out-of-town guests coming but can’t be home to let them in, can they easily enter using verbal instructions from you or via remote disarming?

If an alarm is accidentally tripped, what are the next steps and how do you inform the company to cancel emergency medical, fire or police from coming to your home? Will the company be able to cancel these organizations from arriving in time so you avoid “nuisance alarm” fees that some counties charge?

Do you own or lease the equipment? If it’s owned, does it come with a warranty? If leased, what are the lease terms and buy-out options? If elements are defective or not functioning properly, how quickly can they be replaced?

Considering your desired features, how long will it take to install the system? Do they use employee and company-wide security controls so your passwords aren’t leaked?

Will the System Fit Within Your Budget?

Based on the features you choose, how much will you pay each month in total? Figure this dollar amount into your monthly budget to see if you can afford it. If it’s beyond your budget, you may need to prioritize the system a bit, keeping the features that are most important to you, and eliminating anything you can do without.

How to Choose the Right Company

If you’re seeking home security systems in Nashville TN, once you have made a list of desired features, what should you look for before choosing a company?

Before making a selection, call various companies and ask if they:

Have positive ratings from the Better Business Bureau
Participate in the community by supporting non-profits and other community events
Provide free videos that demonstrate and teach how to operate their systems
Have made the top 100 ratings list compiled by the Security Distributing and Marketing organization
Offer in-home training until everyone in your home is properly educated on the system

Will You Save on Homeowner’s Insurance?

Call your insurance carrier and ask them if they offer a discount for homes equipped with security systems. You may also want to ask if the amount of the discount depends on the type of system and the number of features.

If you consider these five things before choosing a home security system, the process will be much smoother.

About the Author: Susan Pizarro is a freelance writer based out of Florida with a degree in Marketing. She loves writing about personal finance, health, and frugal living tips; and she enjoys travelling the world and trying different foods.

It Could Almost Always be Worse

xxxOctober 31, 2012 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

If the economy is not doing well, don’t blame our house.

We’ve been pouring out enough cash to keep a crew of drunken sailors spending through re-enlistment.

It’s not necessarily because we want to; it’s just — well, you know — sometimes life kicks in. And when you own a house, it needs repairs. Unfortunately, they’re all at one time. We weighed the alternatives: save money versus living in a cave, but what can I say? We like the finer things — like walls.

Within the last week, we had to hire someone to cover up several patches on the house’s exterior where paint was peeling. Normally, my wife and I would do that, but the spots were near the roof and we didn’t have a ladder that long. (Besides, either of us on a high ladder? Not a good idea, even on the best days…)

While getting those walls retouched, we discovered windows with leaky frames. Ka-ching! That’ll set up back some coin. As it also turns out, the bathroom is leaking like a sieve in to the garage. It turns out we are putting a plumber to work now too, and — because of said leak — might also hire a carpenter. We sure hope so! We just love stimulating the local economy!

As they say in those TV ads, “But, wait! There’s more!”

Every year, we avoid turning on our home’s heater until November first. Since October can be chilly, we practically sleep in parkas, while donning sweaters and jackets all day long. I’m not complaining (much), because we save a few dollars — as well as feel we’re being good stewards of the environment. I don’t know if you’ve looked at a calendar, but — Hooray! It’s November! “Sweet heater, bring unto us your warmth!”

Guess what. I flipped the switch, and, nothing. Nada. Silence. No wondrous balminess doth emanate from its magical vents. I’m just guessin’ here, but I’ll wager that repair won’t be a freebie.

As the adage goes, “When life gives you lemons, they’re usually really bitter, nasty, ones.”

Okay, maybe that’s not the expression, but it feels like it, because on top of the home repairs, a few family members have hit rough patches. We’re not codependent, but there’s also a set of priorities by which we live. So, when family needs you, you do what you can, which in this case involved our checking account.

[Read more…]

Working Hard at Relaxing

xxxAugust 24, 2011 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

I’m not dead.

At least when I wrote that; I wasn’t. Being the intelligent reader of this column, you put two and two together and surmised that in a flash. Hopefully, as you read this, I am still in the not-dead state of being — and shall remain so for decades yet to come.

Having proven therefore that I understand very little about what it’s like to die, you will cut me slack about not really knowing — but safely assuming — that no one’s last words were ever, “I wish I would have spent more time working and less time enjoying life.”

We would agree, wouldn’t we?

So, then what’s the deal with non-stop, dawn-to-dusk, 24/7, busy-making? We don’t ever just “chill.” Well, at least I don’t; maybe you do, but I’ll bet dollars to donuts that you’re in the same place. There’s so much to get done with so few hours to do it.

Forty-hour workweek; what’s that?

Wake up. Shower. Shave. Throw some frozen waffles down your gullet while checking the mail and packing lunches. Get the kids to school, pick them up, and beat feet to soccer practice and gymnastics. Straightaway back, homework, meals, brush teeth, and off to bed. To accomplish everything requires groundwork: grocery and clothes shopping, housecleaning, home maintenance, and car servicing. These necessitate steady income — and, oh yes — have you heard the news about the economy? You better not slack off at work or they’ll swap you out quicker than a DVD rental on a Saturday night. So, off to the salt mines, bringing our assignments home so we can get them on our kitchen tables in the morning and the bed stands at night. We’re work harder while having the privilege of paying more for everything. Come end of day, it’s drop like a lead brick off a six-foot wall.

It’s no wonder we don’t have time for “a life.” Or do we?

My sister phones, “What are you up to?” She asks.

I reply, “I’m working hard at relaxing.”

Stop the clock. Re-read that response please: “I’m working hard at relaxing.” Huh? That statement makes as much sense as “same difference,” or “kosher ham;” but I swear it was my reply and I’m betting you relate. Our lives are so cluttered, that if tasks were boxes, we’d be featured on the TV series “Hoarders.” No longer are we human beings, we have become “human doings.”