Want to have a fair-size vent here....
So my apartment was broken into today...
I left to play soccer at 11:55 am...
Arrived back at 13:15 pm...
Noticed nothing different initially... just noticed my pillows were at the foot of my bed instead of the usual head of the bed... I thought "Emmm... that's weird... maybe the wind blew them or something..."
Forgot about that.... went into Kitchen had lunch, logged on here [ :-) ] , surfed net and then came the time to go to work...
Went into spare bedroom where I keep my money, keys etc.... Noticed that 250 euro was missing, that the drawers and wardrobes had been gone through and that some boxes had been moved around... then I thought about the pillows in my own room... and thought "Oh, I've been burgled"...
So was really pissed off at the invasion of privacy, the cheekiness of the burglars and the fact that 250 euro of my money was stolen...
Now I know that I shouldn't have had that much money in the apartment but I had paid for my mother's and brother's holiday using my debit card. The total was 520. My mother gave me her half. I was waiting for my brother to give me his half so I could lodge all the money together - save queueing twice... and I thought... "ah sure, it will be grand there for a day or two..."
The door wasn't damaged so the intruder may have had a key... A window in the kitchen was open but I live on the 3rd floor... you'd need a big conspicuous ladder to get in... so could have been another resident in my block...
The landlord changed the locks this evening. The police are coming tomorrow to check for finger prints - they said there was a second burglary in my vicinity....
Nothing else was touched - computer etc... just the cash...
so inititially my reaction was I'm gonna move from this place at the end of the month. I could rent a room in a shared house for half the money I pay here... I'd be saving 250 a month in rent...
Then I thought... but that's letting them win.... I remember reading a book about a buddhist female monk and in it was a paragraph about people taking material things from you.... so if people take material things from you... that is one thing.... but if you let them take your peace of mind away AS WELL as a result of the material thing robbery... then they have robbed you twice... and your peace of mind is so much more important than material possessions....
So I won't let them take my peace of mind. The locks are changed, the police were informed and I've learned my lesson about leaving cash around... c'est fini...
I had been thinking about paying extra towards my debt (from overtime) over the next few months (I will be debt-free by New Year's Eve regardles of whether I do this) and today I thought is this burglary the Universe telling me to stop pre-allocating every penny... loosen up a bit financially... go with the flow more... like punishing Scrooge by taking some money from him ?
I've decided:
1. To stay where I am - but I will be asking for a 20% reduction in my rent effective 1st January 2010. If I don't get this, then I will leave at the end of my lease.
2. To start enjoying this beautiful apartment to the max... maybe buy a few bits of small furniture I've wanted (second-hand), maybe personalise with pictures/accessories, maybe get a proper-size TV, make it feel more homely, get some plants for the balcony, maybe a beer-fridge !, and maybe start inviting more people around... maybe even throw a party !!
Emmm... I know the most frugal thing would be to leave and rent a room in a shared house... but I love having my own space.... and I am confident I will get a 20% rent reduction at the end of the year... I won't be here forever... it just suits me at the moment... so I better get on with enjoying it ! get bang for my buck I guess !
Oh... and I was in the Bank last week and the Bank Official suggested Renter's Insurance to me... (I don't have insurance) and I said no... I actually said I live in a safe block and I have no valuables apart from my computer .... Anyways the Renters insurance is 10 euro a month.... over 2 years that is 240 euro.... so as long as I'm not robbed in the next 2 years, then I won't have lost anything- if you know what I mean -give 240 to an insurance company or 250 to a burglar...
Then you go Dear Burglar... I hope you put it to good use... I really do !
So my Apartment was broken into.....
August 19th, 2009 at 11:58 pm
August 20th, 2009 at 12:20 am 1250727650
August 20th, 2009 at 01:22 am 1250731354
On the positive side, I'm glad they didn't take the computer.
August 20th, 2009 at 02:06 am 1250733992
Once I got my renters insurance I found out that by pairing my auto insurance with the renters I save more on my car policy than the renters policy cost because then my car was covered under the renters for fire damage.. Go figure. You should check if it will save you money to get the renters policy.
August 20th, 2009 at 05:37 am 1250746656
Oh, well, at least you have a good attitude about it.
As I was once told (when my car was burglarized): Be thankful you weren´t there when it happened!
August 20th, 2009 at 09:55 am 1250762119
Coupon Addict ... I'll look into possibly pairing renter's insurance with car insurance if it will save money....
Miclason... I wish I was here - I would have loved to have seen the look on their face- and to give them a good kick up the back-side ! lol
The police have just been here - 2 other apartments were hit in my block - my next door neighbour and one further down the hall....
Apparently they knocked on the doors to see was anyone in...
The police reckoned they slippped the locks...
August 20th, 2009 at 01:20 pm 1250774457
Knock on wood, I haven't been burglarized yet. But I am also very cautious. If nothing else, I have a lot of weaponry at home that I simply don't want them to fall in the wrong hands. So I keep most everything locked away or at least concealed. Even if someone is to find it, I don't want to make it too easy for them.
Yes, I was going to say that it is most likely that they somehow slipped the lock open. I don't know what the locks are like in your area, but that's why I use deadbolts in both external and internal doors. That way, at least they can't be slipped open.
Knocking on doors is a common burglary tactic.
These guys sound like they are experience burglars. Maybe not first-rate pros, but certainly knew what is harder to trace than others, and sadly, cash is among the hardest to trace.
Haha, love the comment about giving them a kick in the back side. Yeah, it's probably wrong to say, but I've always wanted to throw somebody out my window.
August 20th, 2009 at 05:30 pm 1250789410
When I was burglarized once, the feeling of being violated was the worst thing... that someone had walked in my home, among my things, and helped themselves. It's a bad feeling but it will get better especially since you have a positive attitude. And then there's Karma...
Now, about keeping cash in your home... 240 euro is about $340, a large sum, but not as bad as if it had been 2,400 euro. I do feel one should be able to keep money at home for emergencies, so maybe you will need to get creative about where you stash it. Some people keep cash in a cereal box (inside a plastic bag) or other secret places. One lady I know stows her well-protected cash ($500) in a container that she uses to keep used cat litter. I know... this is a bit gross, but the point is the money's there for emergencies.
August 21st, 2009 at 12:02 am 1250812928
Great point Analise about finding a creative hiding spot for the cash.... I feel bad because I left the cash in a very easily "findable" location... they would have seen it very easily.... so yeah.. I will get creative !
BA... yeah they look like they've done this before... no evidence left, no one seen them etc... I could have prevented it had I locked the bottom lock on the door - its a deadbolt type one. But I thought "Its midday and I'll only be gone for an hour".... You live and learn I guess !
August 21st, 2009 at 09:13 pm 1250889195
Jerry