Crooks also need extra money to spend on gifts and parties.

It isn't just the family group that needs cash this holiday season. Burglars and Bunko artists thrive during this time of year, if only to get gifts for their own families.

I recently went to a party at a friend's house. On the way, I noticed several houses completely dark inside at 8:00 Pm. It's like a welcome doormat for a burglar. Stay vigilant about your personal security.

Nothing can ruin a holiday more than returning home to find you have been burglarized with all of the gifts gone and most of your prized possessions taken. Fear replaces the peaceful feeling we like to have at this time of year.

The simple things involve good lighting, good locks and common sense. Use the locks on your doors and windows. Use your alarm system if you have one. Even while home. Few things are worse than a home invasion. Keep your lights on timers. Inside lights too. Vary the time schedules to make the lighting appear random so the house appears lived in.

Stop the paper if you will be away for a few days. Have a neighbor take your mail on a daily basis. As always, make sure the hedges and bushes near the windows are trimmed properly. If you have a front porch or attached garage, secure it. Burglars love nothing better than a hiding place to do their work.

Lock up your important papers, insurance certificates and banking information. Also lock up your extra keys you like to keep hanging in the kitchen. Any hiding space you can think of has been already thought of and will be searched by most burglars.

Your neighbors are an excellent ally. Don't give out personal information to a stranger on the phone. Don't tell your paperboy to stop delivering and don't tell too many people about your plans. Instead, trust a neighbor or two to retrieve your mail and papers on a daily basis.

Leave with a clear head and you will worry a lot less on vacation. There's more you can do. Some of the best deterrents are inexpensive. Feel free to contact me if you want some specialized advice on any specific situation or if you have a difficult area to protect.

I will be posting about various security items and methods. Many if not most involve very little cost. For example, this post deals partly with securing the doors and windows of your home. For those of you with old wooden double hung windows, your sash locks probably don't work well if at all. Here's a tip on how to secure those old windows.

Close the top and bottom of the window. Drill a 3/16" hole horizontally through the lower sash and 1/2 way into the top sash both sides. The holes should be near the top of the lower sash where the top and bottom window parts overlap. Now insert a heavy nail into each hole so that it is snug in the end of the hole through both sashes. Any attempt to pry a window open will jam the nail into place and prevent the window from opening. Nails are chosen due to their higher shear strength than screws.

This is really my first post on the subject I will be most often posting about. Sorry for the long length.