It sounds like a bit of a catch 22 to me. You could go down the route of making your house like fort knox, only to have your car robbed from you as you step out of it on your driveway, which inherently attracts greater risk to your health - Or, you leave your keys in plain view so that anyone who is determined to take it gets in and buggers off quickly, leaving you and your loved ones none the wiser until morning.
A lot of how you view security depends on individual circumstances. If you live on a busy street you may prefer the fort knox option, as a determined thief is going to cause a racket trying to break in. I don't think that method is particularly effective in isolated properties in the country, as a criminal may be less averse to causing a scene? I don't know, I'm just trying to find a middle ground between not making it too easy and making it too hard so they resort to more frightening methods.