When I moved into my rental in Jackson last year, the front door had a deadbolt that barely lined up, the windows were held shut by little more than old paint, and the back porch was darker than a country road at midnight. My landlord was a friendly man, but he was never going to spend money upgrading any of it. I had a renter's budget, not a homeowner's budget, so I spent one Saturday afternoon and about sixty dollars making the place noticeably harder to break into. None of this is expert advice — I'm not a tradesperson, just a regular homeowner-style renter who did some reading and a bit of weekend DIY. Here's what actually worked.

1. Longer screws in the door's strike plate

This one cost me less than a fast-food lunch. I took out the short screws holding the strike plate (the little metal plate the deadbolt slides into) and replaced them with 3-inch wood screws. On most doors, the original screws only reach into the thin door frame, which is basically decoration against a hard kick.…