25 $5 Security Upgrades That Matter More Than Another Camera

Most home security upgrades don’t need an app, subscription, or another camera. This video counts down twenty-five low-cost changes—many around five dollars—that can make a home harder to approach, enter, or move through quietly. From gravel, thorny landscaping, motion lights, timers, window pins, slider dowels, door alarms, and neighbor check-ins to stronger strike plates and reinforced entry doors, the focus is on buying time and creating noise. The number-one upgrade is also one of the cheapest: replacing short hinge and strike-plate screws with three-inch screws that bite into the framing studs behind the jamb. A camera records what happened. These upgrades are designed to change what happens before anyone gets inside.