Tag: safety

This post does contain affiliate links. Regardless I only post legitimate offers from trusted sites.

It seems there’s all kinds of safety products available on the market. Everything from identity theft protection to sophisticated home security systems.  But what is safety features should your really have in your home when you’re on a budget?

Smoke alarms:  I know you hear this all the time.  But it’s true.  A smoke alarm will give you the time you need to be able to escape if there’s a fire or maybe even put it out if it’s a small one.  You can get affordable smoke alarms, you don’t have to go for the top of the line ones.  A simple beeping smoke alarm will suffice. Remember to check your batteries on your smoke alarms too.  Some will even beep when the battery is low.

Carbon monoxide detector:  We actually got one for free from our local fire department during a fire safety fair.  They’ve really come down in price over the years.  Our gave instructions to put it in the basement or lowest level of the house nearest our heating system.

House Insurance or renters insurance:  If you have a mortgage on your house, your bank may require you to  have insurance. Even if they don’t this is really something you don’t want to skimp on if you have a choice.  A fire, pipes busting, a freak accident, a burglary, there’s a lot of reasons one might want to have house insurance.  Renters insurance is usually very cheap. You might not think you need renters insurance since you don’t own the place but if you have something stolen  or there is a fire renters insurance will help replace those items.  I  lived in a 3 bedroom apartment at one point and renters insurance was only about $16 a year.  Granted it may have gone up and it may vary depending on the insurance agency and what you need to protect but it’s almost silly not to have it.

Baby Safety device: If you have a baby or toddler you know (or will soon learn) they get into everything.  There are tons of safety devices out there and i’ve tried many of them with 4 kids. The ones I used the most with all my kids was cupboard latches (to keep them from getting a cleaning products and from pulling heavy pans onto themselves), furniture tethers (for chest of drawers), corner cushions for those pointy corners on the entertainment stand, coffee table etc, outlet covers, and baby gates.  I did try a stove guard, actually a few stove guards but I never found one that worked quite right.  Most baby safety devices are pretty affordable.

Fire Extinguisher: again for obvious reasons.  There are a few different types. Getting a multipurpose one for your home is probably a good idea.  What I didn’t realize when searching for prices on these things is that they actually make fire extinguisher aerosol cans now too. I’ve never personally used one so I can only imagine they’d only be good for a small cooking fire or something along those lines.

I also did a guest post on safety features to look for when buying a family vehicle.