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9 simple ways to feel safer and more prepared in 2015

For your New Years resolution this year consider improving your personal and family safety and preparedness. Here are some tips and recommendations from local firearm instructor Rob Parsons to help you and your family have a safe 2015:

 

Q: “I’m looking to buy a gun for self defense, but don’t have any experience with them. What’s the best way to become a safe gun owner?”

1. Take the Utah Concealed Firearm Permit course.

Rob: This will teach you about firearm safety and the laws in Utah regarding guns and the legal use of force. If you are in Utah County I teach private and small public classes. Contact me for more information. if you are interested in learning more. If you are outside of Utah County you can look through the Utah Certified Firearm Instructor.

 

2. If you don’t already own one, purchase a firearm.

Rob: Check out the following posts for some tips and help on the process of selecting and purchasing a gun. How to choose your first handgun and how to go through the process of purchasing your first gun.

 

3. Take an additional firearm safety class to become more proficient with your gun.

Rob: The permit course is not intended to make you a good shooter. You’ll need additional training in order to become proficient with your firearm. There are local instructors that can give you great instruction, or you can go to a large training school like Front Sight Firearms Training Institute. The training is great for those new to firearms and want to become comfortable and competent with their gun. Front Sight does offer individual class tuition, but most students buy some type of membership so they can take classes on a regular basis (if you are interested you can contact me for more information on a lifetime membership).

 

 

Q: “What else can I do on a budget to improve the safety and preparedness of my family?”

4. Increase your awareness.

Rob: Pay attention to your surroundings. Avoid walking down the street with your head in your phone or staring at the ground. If you become aware of your surroundings you can often avoid bad situations altogether, and even if you can’t, you will most likely have more time to react.

 

5. Secure your home.

Rob: There is a lot you can do to strengthen your home, but a few simple, low cost things will improve home security. First, add motion lights to each side of the exterior of your home. Strengthen your exterior doors by adding a security strike plate (or full door reinforcement) and replacing screws with 3 inch heavy duty screws. You may want to also change the screws for the hinges since those can be kicked out easily also. You can also consider a Nightlock or Door Club to really protect your exterior doors. All windows and sliding doors should have stoppers inserted. Simple wood stoppers cut to fit each window or sliding door are simple and secure. Consider doing the same to one interior door that you can gather your family behind should something happen. You can install a laminated security film that will make it much more difficult to break in through the windows. This can get expensive if you have a lot of windows, but it is one of the best things you can do to keep burglars out. Determined burglars can get past these measures, but it takes a lot of time, energy, and noise giving you time to secure your family, call the police, and take other necessary steps to stopping the threat should it continue. Your two main goals are to deter a burglar and increase the amount of time it would take for a burglar to get to you should they not be deterred.

 

6. Develop a home security plan with your family.

Rob: Have someone assigned to check all the windows and doors to make sure they are locked and secured. Make sure everyone knows what to do in the event of a fire or break-in.

 

7. Put together a car emergency kit.

Rob: Make sure that you have the proper supplies in your car in case of emergency or trouble. Check out these 25 essential items for your car. In addition, I would also recommend a multi-tool/knife (with glass breaker), some work gloves, and a tow strap.

 

 

Q: “Aside from personal protection, what can I do to keep my family safe and protected?”

8. Check your insurance coverage.

Rob: Make sure you have adequate and appropriate insurance. Your life and the lives of your loved ones are what are most important. Stuff can be replaced, and it’s easier to do so if you have proper insurance. Check your auto insurance levels. The state mandated minimum levels can easily be surpassed in a moderate to severe accident. You may also consider uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage in case you are in an accident with someone who does not have adequate insurance. These upgrades are relatively inexpensive and can be a huge benefit should you need it. Also check life, renters, homeowners, and jewelry insurance policies to cover you. Having personal experience with almost all sides of this, I’ve seen the importance of having appropriate insurance.

9. Work towards 6 months of savings and supplies.

Rob: This is so you could provide in the event of a job loss or 3 days of supplies in the event of an emergency. As we all know, the job market isn’t the best, and if you lose your job it could take several months to find another one (and in some cases the new job won’t pay as well). Being able to build up money, food, and other supplies for 6 months will help make that process a lot easier for you and your family and make sure that you can take care of them even during periods without income.

 

 

Like most New Year’s resolutions, you should analyze where your family is at currently, and make goals to better prepare yourselves. Break it down so you can prioritize and tackle chunks at a time, but wherever you are at, make sure you put some time and effort into making sure that you and your family are more prepared and protected.

Rob is the Founder and writer for Top Tactical and You Can Carry and is a NRA Certified Pistol Instructor and a Utah Concealed Firearms Permit Instructor. Connect with Rob on Google+