Have you ever given much thought to what you'd do if you were locked out of your home or vehicle? Do you realize that it's most likely a matter of when, not if, this will happen? If you're like many people, you probably hate even thinking about getting locked out. But thinking about and preparing for this eventuality will help make the resulting situation easier and less expensive to deal with. Some of the things that you can do right now that will help you if you're locked out include:

Find a reliable local locksmith: Finding a good locksmith requires more than simply calling the first number that you can find locally. Some of the listings that you might find could be for locksmiths that claim to be local but that are actually located in a city some distance from where you are. If you were to call one of these numbers after being locked out, the distance involved means that you could be waiting for some time to be let back into your home or office. Finding a locksmith ahead of time will allow you to choose one that is close to where you live and work. 

Have extra keys made: Once you find a good locksmith, have them make copies of all of your important keys. If possible, leave one of the sets with a friend or a relative. Otherwise, you should at least keep a set of keys in a safe location within your home. Having a spare set available may prevent you from having to spend any money on an emergency locksmith. Should you lose all of your keys, having a spare set will at least mean that you'd only need to pay for a locksmith to let you into your home so that you can retrieve your keys and return to your vehicle.

Keep emergency funds available: Having to call a locksmith out to let you into your home or vehicle isn't free. Depending on what time it is and what type of lock you have on your home or vehicle, the fee could be substantial. By setting aside a little money at a time, you can be sure that you'll have enough if you should ever have to call an emergency locksmith. This way, you won't have to dip into funds that have been set aside for the paying of important bills or your grocery money.

Check with companies like Ability Lock & Key for more tips.