edited for length....


ok. not too much action really... but...

About 20 minutes ago, these 2 guys come up to my door, selling magazines for their school

they are talkin for about 5 mins...they are pretty good at their act..

Solicitor1: reaches for a brochure, i see a faded green tattoo (prison looking)

(odd)

cop car drives by they get spooked, and ask if they can come inside cause they are technically soliciting cause they are selling magazines for school, and i snap back to reality... what the fuck am i doing???

these guys are obviously on drugs or have been, and have been to prison. and are trying to get into my house to get away from the cops. FUCK!

so i say no thanks i dont have any spare money and close the door...

thinking back..


i'm an idiot.. these guys looked like they were in their 20's acting like high school kids (to my credit, they were great actors)

well its dinner time and i'm tellin the wife how i effed up..

after dinner i go put new lights in the garage fixtures, and my neighbor comes over and tells me that some guy just ran up to my driveway and picked something and took off again...he yelled at him "what are you doin?"

he says "oh i had to pick somethin up"

i am 90% sure i didnt have anything out so i am guessing they tossed some contraband incase the cops talked to them.

PROBLEMS SEEN:

i gave out personal information (ex-military Bomb squad)

i am WAY too trusting.

i opened the door in the first place

i let them get too close to the door, possibly look inside

i had no weapons on me incase they rushed in

i was holding my baby, again unable to protect myself

my lights on the garage were burnt out

the streetlight on my corner is burnt out

GOOD THINGS:

my neighbor notices things that some people might not

i snapped out of it before it was too late


THINGS TO FIX:

dont tell anyone anything about yourself

be aware.

dont be fooled by anyone

keep your lights all lit

keep a weapon (at least a pocket knife) at the ready

keep hands free when opening the door.

check to see who it is at the door

lock all my doors..

make sure nothing is left out.

sorry for the length......

had a guy come to my house one time. says he was doing a survey for school about how many young kids in the neighborhood.  he was told asking questions like that around here would get him being found at the end of a dirt road in a ditch.   he left. end of story

Well looks like you did a pretty good job of summing up what went wrong.  I don't trust anyone. When someone comes to the house to try to sell something, or give a "free" sample they are firmly yet kindly told no thank you. If they continue to try to talk I say no thanks one last time and shut the door.  

Also when I open the door I keep one foot behind it holding it so they can bash their way in. Not super effective, but should give me time to react.

what pisses me off so much about it is i am usually so wary of people.

i pride myself on not trusting anyone...

i guess i am getting lax...

i have my shotgun sitting next to me right now, my pistol next to my bed and my  AK at my bedroom door. just incase they were scoping my house out. i also turned on all the lights around my house and made sure my motion lights were working. also put the stroller against the door, hopefully it'll keep it closed, or at least make some noise..

People have given me a hard time for carrying at home.  Do I live in a bad neighborhood?  NO.  Do I need to explain myself here?  I don't think so.

I almost had a draw down in the same situation.  I was home alone,sick and 16. 2 older bigger guys knocking on the door trying to sell the magazines they were dressed in suits by the way.  I like you opened the door, told them I was not able to buy the mags and to have a good day.  I went to close the door one stuck his foot in the door.  My parents keep a .357 revolver next to the door.  I pulled it out and they took off.  Not alot more to it then that.  I called 911 and let them know what had gone on.  Went back to watching tv, pistol at my side.

do you concealed carry or open carry? do you have a ccw

i dont have a ccw and i'm not 100% on open carry on my own property... does that include the front yard?

cheap intercom + peep hole. Tell them no solicitors. Please leave.

thebrassnuckles,  I took me some years to realize that with small kids I had to have some different habbits than when it was just MA and I.  I'll offer this so you can benefit from my learning curve.  



house rules

1) If you have no business here, then you have no business here––get off my lawn.



2) If I didn't invite, you then you have no business here––see 1



3) If I don't know you––see 1



4) If it is dark––see 1



5) If I'm busy posting on the SF––see 1



You get the general idea.  Polite people get their business done in daylight.  Polite people have a web site to sell stuff from.  If I didn't surf for it, or walk into your brick store to buy it then I don't want it.  



For family time we may not answer the phone of the door.

"well its dinner time and i'm tellin the wife how i effed up.. "

there is the key...
You got a wife in the kitchen surounded with knives and impact weapons.
All she needs is a "go code" and a pump 20 gauge.
It's nice to have a gun in your hand when you open a door but having a code word to get her online with a real gun might be better.
and you can fight with a baby in your arms.  
Just be aware that if they force the door it will swing on it's hinges and you need to be clear of that arc
if the door hits you as it goes by it could stun you or make you drop a weapon.

Wow, interesting.

A great source of information for everyone:

http://www.crime-safety-security.com/home-security-scam-in.html

At least you identified your weak spots, you now know what to work on.

I had one not that long ago. Buddy had come over and we had just received a shipment of Magpuls new sling plates and were installing them on a couple of AR's, We were in the kitchen, weapons and parts on the kitchen table, large window facing front of house and entrance to front door. Guy comes walking up front path looking into kitchen table with AR's stacked across it, and I had just slung a AR with a single point sling on to try it out. My first thought was " Great, opsec is now blown ". This turd thinks he just hit the jack pot.

My buddy opened the door, Latino guy claimed he was selling vacuum cleaners. Had a brochure that had seen better days. Buddy stopped him mid sentence, asked if he could read English? Guy looked at him weird and said "yes". My buddy asks "Are you sure? Cause you just passed two NO SOLICITING signs on your walk up to the front door, did you not understand what no soliciting means?"

Guy once again in his best front door salesman voice says he's selling the best vacuum cleaners....bla...bla...bla. My buddy then asks to see his company ID. At this time the solicitor finally see's the duty gun and badge on my buddies hip, and he starts backing up. My buddy once again asks for some kind of ID from the company he is supposedly selling vacuum cleaners for. The guy kept saying he was just selling vacuum cleaners.......Buddy then identified himself as a LEO and asked for his drivers license or any ID. As it turned out he was indeed legit, he had no wants, so we let him leave with the reminder of what a no soliciting sign meant and advised him to properly display a company ID badge. He was more then a little nervous. You never know.

We had a couple of tweaker kids try selling the magazine thing in my neighborhood a year or so ago. They were casing peoples homes and would come back that night or the next day and rob them. Needless to say we caught up with them the very next day doing business as usual, in the same freaking neighborhood. They are out there.

Normally I am hard pressed to answer my door if I don't know who you are or what you want. Just cause you knock does not mean I have to answer it. Just cause my phone rings does not mean I have to answer it either. That is why I have caller ID and a answer machine. Were does one sign up for the no knock list?

Cheers BT

edit for spelling

I've read that door-to-door salesmen quickly learn that the "No Soliciting" sign means easy sale.  I know a lady from a church I used to attend.  Frugal, balanced budget etc.  Anyway she cannot say no to a salesman and make it stick.  She knows this and compensates by simply refusing to talk to salesmen.

If there were no legal obligation then I would not post a "no soliciting" sign.

Thebrassknuckles my family and I have a habit of "not" opening the doors for anyone we do not know.  Lately there's been an up swing on home invasion.  Having a peep hole does help but would be better is to rig up a motion sensor way before the front door so you will be alerted that someone is approaching.  I believe Northern Tools, Lowe's or even Home Depot sells driveway alarms for less than $70 that can be used for pathways.

You want to talk stupid?

I work nights, and sleep days. I was woke up at around 3pm by banging on my door. Not knocking, BANGING.

My dogs are going apeshit, and I'm stark naked. So I put on pants and a shirt, yelling "Hold the fuck on!" to whoever is at the door.

As I go to the door, I grabbed my XD(M)9 and stick it down the back of my pants, SOB. I wasn't wearing a belt, and just as I opened the door, my XD(M)9 dropped down the back of my pants and ended up in my pant leg. Not good at all.

It turned out to just be the guys from my cable company, asking if I wanted to upgrade my cable package. I was pissed.

Especially so, when one of the guys noticed I was wearing a Dropkick Murphy's T Shirt, and said "Oh, you're Irish (I'm from New Hampshire, and it's a pretty safe bet that most people here are of French or Irish -or both- descent.), were you up drinking late last night?"

I gave him the evil eye and told him that I was up WORKING last night. Douche.

It could have been much worse. I had no chance of getting my pistol out of my pant leg if I had been attacked.

A number of years ago we had an husband and wife in the area killed by kids that said they were doing a survey for high school.  Turns out they just wanted to see what it was like to kill someone.

There are roving bands of these "kids" that travel the country selling magazines. We get calls on them often as we have a soliciting ordinance that requires a permit. 90% of these people do not carry an ID and are shady at best. Many of them are rude little turds with criminal backgrounds. Your instincts are correct.

Everywhere I go except my bed, I CCW.  Period.

Good reminder. I need to spend some time going over how to handle solicitors with my Mom. She is alone during the week. Thank God for our neighbors who watch out for her. Too bad they are moving.







Anyway! This is a great reminder to keep our heads right when life is happening all around us. Too easy to let little things like situational awareness go out the window when the kid is screaming or hungry.



Good on the OP for paying attention to detail and really checking out their appearance and demeanor. Its always good when these things become a learning experience and not a fight to the death.

Must read...long version

For those with ADD

This was their first try......


Possible first murder attempt

Andrew Patti, a resident of Vershire, Vermont (a town a few miles east of Chelsea), says that Tulloch and Parker attempted to murder him and his family in the summer of 2000. Patti's tale appeared in the 2003 book Judgment Ridge: the True Story Behind the Dartmouth Murders— and in 2004 Patti shared his story in more detail with Massad Ayoob of American Handgunner magazine.

Patti states that on July 17, 2000, Tulloch and Parker went to Patti's remote house, armed with hunting knives, intending to murder the inhabitants and to steal their belongings. Near the house, they dug makeshift graves for their intended victims. Then late at night, Tulloch knocked on the door while Parker waited off to the side in the bushes intending to ambush the homeowner when he opened it.

Inside, the 47-year-old Patti, at home with his 11-year-old son, was alerted to the teens' presence by the sounds of his dog barking. Suspicious of the knock on his door at such a late hour, he answered the knock by going to the door and pulling back the window blinds without opening it. Behind his back, he held a Glock pistol in his hand.

Claiming to be a stranded motorist, Tulloch asked to enter the house, but Patti refused. After receiving several more requests for entry, Patti became concerned enough to hold up his Glock where Tulloch could see it. Then Patti closed the blinds on the door and went back to call the police. When he got to the phone, he discovered that the line was dead. But when he returned to the door, Tulloch and Parker had left the house. They would not return.

Tulloch and Parker would not attempt to strike again for another six months. During that time, they upgraded their weaponry, purchasing high-quality SOG SEAL 2000 combat knives over the Interne

I used to come around from the side door to surprise the "steak salesman".    Got to the point where I had a plan to photo their license plate with my cell phone camera, then deal with them.   Also along with a firearm a good non lethal will might lead them down a different career path.

Folks, google 'magazine salesmen' and read a few of the results. People soliciting magazine sales door to door are rarely locals, almost never in school, and can be a lot of trouble. Be wary of anyone going door to door selling magazines. The companies that run these operations don't care who they send to your front door. Be vigilant.

That reminds me, I need to get a couple more movement alarms.

We have a motion sensor at the main gate to the property (3 acres) so when anyone drives in (or walks in) it beeps inside the house - but there are a few other gates on the fence line, so I'm thinking I need to add those to the security mix.

Good analysis tho - great reminder to keep thinking always about how to improve your response

UPDATE:

good news!

Wife and I are still alive.. baby too...and my tv is still on my wall...

wife was nervous and brought the baby into our room last night ad we closed and locked the door.

nothing of note through the night.

a light came on, wife thought it was the motion lights we have and woke me up around 11pm, it was our rear neighbors flood light in their back yard. i think they turned it on because of my flood light.

i did a quick look out the doors and windows and nothing was moving and nothing was inside the house. back to bed.

i slept like shit had a dream someone kidnapped my daughter and i went and got her back by killing the shit outta a bunch of savages...

i hate dreams like that...

wife dreamt she had a baby boy.... (last time she dreamt of a baby girl 9 months later we had one.)

thanks for all the replies guys..

i am going to seriously look at a wireless security camera or at least motion sensor system.. funds are EXTREMELY low right now. work fucked up on payroll and didnt take out the insurance payment for my daughter for 2 paychecks, so now i gotta double up...

hopefully nothing happens while i'm at work.....

Had a call from the wife...solicitor had come to the door but instead of just knocking opens the out glass storm door first.......our German Shepards run to the door of course barking etc so my wife working from home does not answer........I tell her that it was unusual to open the outer door first and she goes to retrieve her .38 from the bedroom.   Guy leaves, but then about an hour later apparently came back and did the same thing again.

Third time I'm home now from work and my female shepard starts barking while looking a front window....so wife comments it's that same guy....so I watch my door and sure enough see my storm door open and the doorbell rings.....In my mind I'm thinking this guy is persistent or just making sure we aren't home and the balls to open my outer door before knocking?....so I grab my holstered SIG .45 and watch him from the fish eye peep hole...once he clears the porch and is heading out the driveway....I confront him with my weapon tucked behind my leg and call him back.....I ask him why he was opening my door and coming around.....he stammers about some ECO watch group crap and I see him glancing at my gun nervously......I remind him that in some places, opening somebodies door will get his guts stomped out.....he offers to step up on the deck to give me a brochure and I tell him sure...just set it down on the steps and I'll look at it when he leaves.......

I went back inside and my wife by now was just sitting at the table....she smiles and says....'did you just make yourself a new friend out there?" ................

One of the other posters said it well.....you are on my property uninvited with no appointment....knocking on my door.....it's a fundamental issue to me...my property and to me they have no right coming on it without asking me.....

if anyone comes to my door, that I have not invited or am expecting, and they get the bum's rush, and quickly.

Part of why I bought some of the 3 d cell maglights lowes had on sale around christmas time was because it is a heck of a deterrant to people up to no good, big light with lots of light output.  I never threaten with it or anything but some groups of people really spend a lot of time looking at a large metal flashlight when it is in your hands, even if you turned on a flood light and the flashlight is not turned on.



The mention of a security system reminded me that the main reason I want to get my cameras set up is so that when I am home I can look at the computer screen or tv screen, whatever I set up, and see what vehicle is on the driveway and who is getting out of vehicle and who is at my front door.  I have my own parking area away from where the landlord parks most of her stuff so doing this is not too hard to do while letting her have her privacy.



Since I am in the country and there are a lot of outbuildings I am thinking that I can't just ignore someone since they might go wandering and casing the place.



Being able to come out a different place than expected, and to some extent you have to consider setting that pattern as well, and being able to already have some decent pics of the person or people out there are what I want a security system for.  It will also be nice when I am away as well of course, but it provides a lot of safety when home as well.



I am just setting up cameras, I rent so I am not going to get into door and window sensors and what not.

Can you share what hardware you are using for your security camera setup?

I rent, and I'm trying to setup something.

This.
Runaways, drug addicts, on the lamb, ect. They are "run" by older crooks, they hole'up in dive weekly motels and travel scamming and ripping people off.

quick story different outcome.
Takeing a shower before going to work b shift. Lived at end of dead end rd, on rural lake with no naboirs. Someone was laying on there horn in my driveway. I calmly finnished my shower put my pants on and went to the door. There was a frantic old man yell'in "call the sherif, my boy just shot himself"  I called the sheriff finnished getting dressed and went to work. The road I lived on was a single lane windy rd with a mountain on one side and a bluff on the other. I come around a curve and there are a bunch of trucks, the sheriff, ambulance ect. sheriff said I couldnt pass that some one shot themselves. I told him I was the one to call, but really needed to get to work too. I had to wait 15 minites or so before I could get past.
Come to find out it was a good friend of my landlord (landlord was salt of the earth great people) Guy shot himself in the chest with a slug out of a 16ga single shot shotgun. His wife was running him through the wringer with a divorce and had enough. I guess he lived long enough for his father to find him. That is who was honking at my cabin.
I wondered what if I would have jumped out of the shower right away, would it have made a difference? I doupt it, maybe givin his father a chance to get back to him quicker berfore he died? cant dwell on that stuff though, what happend happend. I had had some folks being a$$'s around my place before. End of the road at the lake, partying and raising hell, figured it was someone pulling that crap. A day in the life.

Midnight,,,KNOCK KNOCK.......hi , does so and so still live here.....NO......do you have a number for him....ive been away with the barnum and bailey circus and just got back into town.Do you have the mortgage companys name you bought the house from...NO....CAan you check NO!.....he gets rude, SO YOUR NOT EVEN GONNA CHYECK.....!!......45 OUT he appologized and left....whole time my dog has been goin nuts at the back of the house

Next AM cops three houses up.......stole his harley....they were going for mine......3 of them......barnum boy was on parole for raping an 11 year old............LUCKY SOB I didnt know that at the time.........Dog has been spoiled ever since, She still does a great Cugo imitation

Ah the magazine guys. You should have asked them where they were from. The companies round up deliquents from all over and travel the country looking to "sell magizines". The last group we had come through ended up gettig arrested for car burglary.

No trolling~ Waldo

We had a couple guys trying to sell something a few years ago. My neighborhood is a nice solid middle class area and we rarely get that kind of riff raff. After I told them we weren't interested (they just seemed out of place and funny acting), he went to my neighbor's house, he met them on the porch to and we locked eyes like "WTF is with these guys?" I called his name and asked how it was going so the guys knew I was still watching.

He rushed them off too. I continued to watch them too and made sure they knew it (followed them around the block in my truck) and then wrote down the make/model/color and license plate of the car they got into. Glad they came when they did, 20 minutes later and I would have been gone for work...

Please don't feed the trolls~Waldo

Last year the wifes daughter decided to bring home someone looking to sell something. Not sure what they were selling, but two ghetto looking guys just waltz into my house looking over everything and sit at my table with her daughter. Yes, she walked them right into my house. Door to door type guys.



I was beyond livid.




I had zero warning, no clue what was happening. And these two had a very bad look about them. Supposed to be professional businessmen. Cheap suits and $5 shoes. And jail tats galore.



Went upstairs and armed myself with two Glocks. One one my hip, one in pocket. Made sure to walk by the kitchen in front of them. The older guy asked her "is that your dad?" she answered "step dad".



"Is he a cop?"



I answered for her, "yes I am a cop and some of my work buddies are coming over right now for dinner, so you'll have to leave. We have cop get togethers almost nightly here".



They left, never came back. And I lit into her daughter like you wouldn't believe, AND Her mom. OPSEC.



Then we set down online and went over stories of guys like them robbing houses, raping and killing women. They were shocked.

I'm still pissed when I think about it. And no, I'm not a cop. But they didn't know that.




And the guys who generally come over to hang out are not cops, but usually WAY better armed.

From dealing with door to door solicitor's when living in suburban neighborhoods to now at my house in the country, you'd be surprised at how brazen these people are.  I live off a quiet side road ok, the main road goes straight to my house and right before you basically pull into my driveway I have an offshoot access road to my large outbuilding which is about 50 yards away.  These MF'ers will come ring my doorbell (which I dont answer and watch them armed from the 2nd story windows, I see them peer around the house at the outbuilding, like hmmm I wonder if he's down there.  They then jump in their car and drive down there.  That shit pisses me off to no end.  I take a short cut path and meet them down there as they are about to ENTER THAT BUILDING!!!!!  EVERYTIME!!!!!  WTF?  Let's just say that between the SIG and pump action, they get the idea.  One guy was lucky enough to get the AR pointed in his general direction.  If I was selling stuff I'd ring the door bell, no answer? well then I'd LEAVE.  I wouldn't wonder all over someone's place like it was my god given right to do so.  I just don't get it.  I don't want to gate off the secondary road as 1. it will look like shit and 2. be more money and hassle for me.  Maybe I need to sneak around the house like the one guy above with a drop leg on and scare them off right there.

These days I suffer from what the doctor tells me is "hyper-alertness"  A legacy of growing up on Chicago's southside and then moving to Tampa just in time to catch the effluvium from the Mariel.  I'm up and out in the alley three or four time a week.  Sadly, once or twice a month, I'm out there confronting some dirtbag who doesn't understand the concept of private property.  

Also, as I live in the back of my shop, I don't always get to intercept the solicitors before they get in the front door.  I'll occasionally have to deal with them walking right in and soliciting my customers.  They get told, not very politely, that reading the no solicitors sign would be a helpful life skill and that they should leave.  I've only had one or two people thus confronted (the guy I caught one night pissing on my back door for instance) demand to know if I was a cop.  I told him he should be so lucky, as I had no requirement to follow cop rules of evidence.

Half the time I don't even call the cops.  Takes them forever to show up, I get questioned as hard as the thieves/vandals/skulkers, and even if they haul the assholes away, they're back in what seems like less than an hour, and intent on showing me how little I matter by breaking stuff just to break it.  I can't be everywhere everywhen, after all.  

Lately, I go out with a holstered pistol and a T handled spade in my hands.  

Used to have cameras out back, but they keep getting busted.  Maybe I should just move?

http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100309/GJNEWS_01/703099927/-1/newstest


local


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DURHAM — Police believe a group of individuals used the recent windstorm to help commit a burglary last week.

The burglary occurred March 3 between 10 and 10:30 p.m. at a Route 4 residence. Deputy Chief Rene Kelley said a male posing as a utility worker asked the resident if he could check the home's basement for "water problems" due to the power outages.

Kelley said the resident escorted the man down to the basement.

"At which time the male got on his cell phone and made a call to a person that we believe was waiting in the driveway, while the resident was distracted," Kelley said.

Kelley said one or more people then went inside the home and stole multiple personal items from the resident, including the resident's birth certificate, vehicle title, social security card, and banking information.

The theft wasn't reported until the following evening when the resident discovered multiple items were out of place, making him suspect someone rummaged through the house.

The male, posing as the utility worker, was described as having a dark complexion, possibly Hispanic, under 5 feet 6 inches tall, approximately 50 years old, with a thin mustache. He was wearing dark colored pants and jacket and gray suede gloves.

Kelley said there are no descriptions available of the accomplice(s).

"It's just unfortunate that someone would stoop so low and use a situation where people are affected by a catastrophic event," he said.

No other similar incidents have been reported in town but there was one in Barrington on the same day at about noon, according to Kelley. Two suspects were seen at that incident.

The suspects were described as driving a small silver or gray pickup truck. One suspect was described as a white male in his 40s with a medium build, unshaven, and wearing a baseball hat with a red "B." The other suspect was described as a white male, unknown age, wearing a white fleece-type jacket.

"The descriptions are similar but beyond that detectives are looking into it," Kelley said.

Anyone having information is asked to contact the Durham Police Department at 868-2324.

I had one of the magazine salesman come to this girls house I was dating. Same routine, in school. He was horrible, think Ben Stein reading a script. Even on the jokes he didn't show any enthusiasm.

Had a decent price on the magazines, I figured he was at least trying to work. So I bought 2 subscriptions guessing they would never come. Believe it or not, they did.

I opened the door and took it outside though, unarmed at the time because the lady friend wasn't super comfortable with it. I coulda taken him though

I do not live in the city or a neighborhood for a lot of reasons.  I understand that many do for a lot of reasons.  For those who live in the country, I just do not understand why a fence is not installed.  (If you can not afford it now, make that one of your goals.)  A fence is wonderful.  But only if you secure the gate(s).  All the time.  With a chain and lock.  Locked.  All the time.  "But it is a hassle to get out of the car and open/close the gate all the time."  Get over it.  So it rains.  So it is cold.  So it is hot.  So...  "I came by your house the other day and I could not get anyone to come to the gate."  OK.  Did they call first?  Do they even have my number?  "There is someone at the gate."  I wait for the phone to ring.  No ring, no going to the gate.  

Had a guy come to the gate one day while I was out in the yard.  Called out to me.  He starts telling me a sob story of how he needs some gas money.  OK.  I do understand that it can happen to good people.  So I go to my shed and get the "small, just a little amount of gas can" container and carry it to the gate.  (Gate remained closed/locked and dog going off the whole time).  "Here is some gas to get you down the road."  I watch as he pours the contents in to his tank.  Then after a minute of small talk, "I am a little low on oil.  How about $5 for oil?"  OK.  Now I know what he is.  I said, "Be right back."  I returned with a quart of oil.  "Here ya go."  I stood there and watched him pour that oil in.  I could tell that he really did not want to.  Then I watched him drive off.  One quart too much.  

And as I was reading this post, my Pit Bull/Chow went running toward the pine thicket with that growl and tail/hair standing up.  Man, I love good dogs!

I had a similar situation one Sunday night.  It was about 11:30 and my doorbell rang.  Out the second floor window I could see that there was a car backed into my driveway and there was one person standing on my front porch.  I decided to just ignore it and hope they went away.

No such luck, they just kept ringing the doorbell and knocking on the door.  I had my roommate take my AR and stay and the top of the stairs while I answered the door with my 1911 behind my back.  It turned out to be a middle aged, raggedy looking woman.  She asked if this was 1043 ________________ (my address was clearly visible to her while she asked).  I told her it wasn't and she asked if so-and-so still lived there, I told her they never had (I bought the house from my parents and have lived in it since it was built).  Then she asked if she could come in to use the phone to call her friend.  I told her that it was time for her to go and shut the door in her face.

It taught me a few things though.  First to keep more alert, if someone had been standing out of view and came rushing in I would have been late reacting because I was too fixated on the conversation I was having with her.  And second, keep the damn security door locked.  I had just let a few friends move in to help me pay the mortgage and hadn't gotten around to getting them keys to the security door yet, so we had been leaving it unlocked.

+1 on the cameras.  I'm in a very rural, high-meth traffic area with (in my opinion) a higher than average rate of burglaries.  Added a camera setup a few years ago, and it was well worth it.  My cameras are very visible - on purpose - and at least three times I've noticed strange vehicles driving by slowly, just "checking things out".  Two actually stopped in the road in front of the detached garage.  In every case, once they notice the cameras, whatever they were looking at doesn't seem to be nearly as interesting any more... they generally take off like they just remembered they're late for an appointment.

There's an extremely informative thread on home security cameras on the site, here:

CCTV cameras 101
(Thanks GrayMan!)

Since you mentioned funds are tight (strangely, I'm suffering almost exactly the same paycheck-witholding-snafu situation right now... hmmmm...) you might even consider a 'dummy' camera, or a broken one someone might have lying around that they'd let you have for the shipping.  Just having a visible camera on site can be a fair deterrent, until you have time to piece together a real system.

Not necessarily on topic with solicitors. But I just had a white chevy blazer (year model circa 1997) park in the end of the cul-de-sac I live on. It was facing my driveway and had it's lights on. I grabbed my AR and made what should have been a visible pass by the window. I stood by the window and acted like I was talking on the phone.  A minute or two later they drove away. I know of at least one person who isn't really pleased with me at the moment. But I'm not sure they would do anything.
Regardless I'm going to be extra alert just in case.

I should have gone out and asked them if they needed something.
I should have had my binoculars and gotten a license plate when they drove away.
Basically, I should have been more proactive...

I treat any strangers asking for anything or trying to sell anything as "hey can i come in and see if you have anything cool i can come back later and steal" and deal with them acordingly

I had the cable guy ask me today, "Open up that safe.  Let's see what ya got in it."  It was all I could do not to just SSS his dumb ass.  I just told him it was full of tax records for businesses and it was a fireproof safe.

I hate having contractors of any kind coming into my house.

Last week we had a similar group here looking to "Demonstrate" their products in our home. When the guy knocked I thought it was the pizza guy we were waiting on so I didn't even look to see who it was just opened the door. The guys eyes got kinda big and he backed\jumped off the porch and started his speech about blah blah blah, about that time the pizza guy shows up and we conduct our buisness and he leaves, the sales guy is still going on about whatever hes selling. Very politely I tell him no thank you and get this he gets back in the van and they leave. I go inside and my wife says " You know your gun is showing." Well shit that explains why he was in such a hurry to leave. From now on that seems to be the way to get them to shove off quickly.