How to Budget for a Home Security System

Step 1
Discuss a cost ahead of time. Your family should all sit down together to talk about getting a home security system. Go over the type of alarm you'd like to have. Talk about the price range you're willing to spend.

Step 2
Do some research. Hop online and browse the websites of multiple home security system companies. Consider this as window shopping. You'll get to see pictures of the various systems as well as read up on pricing, and the functions of each system.

Step 3
Make an appointment. After your research, call your top two or three choices and ask for an appointment with a salesperson. The company will send one of their salespeople out to your house to tell you what type of systems your house can get, how they'll be hooked up, where they'll be hooked up, how they work, and what they'll cost. Sure, you saw most of this information on the website, but it's always helpful to get to see the system and how much each costs in person.

Step 4
Discuss your financial situation with the salesperson. If you would have just bought the system online, you'd be stuck paying the full cost mentioned on the site. If you talk to the salesperson themselves, you can get a better deal. Generally the salesperson works on a commission on sales, so they'll usually be more than willing to lower the price of installation for you to get you to buy through them. There's nothing they can do about the monthly monitoring fee, but at least you're saving some money.

Step 5

Budget for the system. Once you've got the system, you need to do some bookkeeping just as you would for any other expense. Set aside the proper amount each month for the system and don't spend it. Pay it off just like any other bill. Most systems only have a monitoring fee of $30 a month, or a dollar a day. It shouldn't be too hard to set aside the correct amount.

Step 6
Find out if there's a discount for your home security system if you pay annually rather than monthly. Many companies will offer you a discount on your monitoring if you pay on an annual basis.