1. Plant a Fake Stash
We mentioned that burglars are looking to get in and out of a home as quickly as possible. That means that one of the best ways to get them off your property as quickly as possible is to convince them that they've already got their hands on something worth having. Although you might balk at the idea of giving a criminal anything that you own — and we don’t blame you — it's worth noting that some thieves will continue to tear your house apart until they find something that they want. With that in mind, you could save yourself a lot of heartache by leaving an obvious stack of money somewhere a burglar can see. This may deter the thief from continuing to ransack your home.2. Use a Home Safe (and Hide It)
A home safe is by far the best way to protect your valuables. Whether you're defending documents against burglary and fire, or you're hoping to keep guns out of the wrong hands, you can't get much more secure than a high-quality safe. It's important to remember that you need to store your safe in the best location to get the most out of it. Remember that the safe doesn't have to be located in the bedroom — it can just as easily be built into a space behind the washer and dryer in your laundry room, or behind a closet in the hallway. The more careful you are about tucking your safe away into some secret place, the less likely that a burglar will attempt to crack it — or walk out with it.3. Know Where to Store Additional Cash
You may not want to put every dollar bill inside your home safe. After all, we often need cash on hand, and having to go and enter your safe every time you need to go shopping, or pay the pizza delivery man, can be very frustrating. For those occasions, you'll need a place that you can hide your cash and keep it secure when you're not taking out with you. A few great solutions include:- The hollowed-out book trick: If you can, hollow out a book, or several books that you can attach together, on your bookshelf. Make sure that the books look as natural as possible from an outside perspective, and you can use this hidden space to store valuables, jewelry, and cash that you don't want to keep in your safe.
- Use a hole in the door: You can create a fantastic hiding place for money by simply drilling a hole into the top of your door. Buy a small cylindrical container, similar to one you might use for storing film, and fill it with your cash, then simply slot it into place when you don't want the money to be found.
- The fake plant option: If you've got a large amount of money to hide that might not fit in a small container, you can always wrap it up in some cling-film or a plastic bag, and hide it beneath the soil in one of your potted plants.