Ran into this last night when I was cleaning out my place in preparation for moving and thought it'd be an fun story to share:
I ordered a large, heavy duty Browning safe a while back, very happy with the quality of it, and the company I ordered it from threw in one of those small Fortress 4 button electronic combo safes for free, big enough to fit a full size handgun and a few mags. I figured, whatever, I probably won't use it, but it's free so I guess I can't complain. It sat under my bed, empty, for over a year. I was going to get rid of it yesterday and wanted to see if I had left anything in it first. Couldn't find the key, couldn't remember my combo either so I tried a few I thought it might be. After 4-5 tries, the built in "alarm" started going off. I promptly picked it up and dropped it on the carpeted floor from a height of about a foot and a half. Alarm stopped (I found out later it was because the battery cover inside had popped off and the batteries fell out). I still wanted in and thought what the heck, I don't care about this thing anyways and now I'm curious to see how tough it really is. So, I went into the other room, grabbed a hammer and my AR15 multi tool, wedged the screwdriver end in between the frame and the door, gave it a couple taps, and pried it open. Took me about 15-20 seconds and that was without a crowbar.
I realize this Fortress lockbox is on the extreme end of "budget conscious" but they still go for around $100 (which seems like a waste after this, glad I never paid for one). Point of the story is, people often skimp on low end security hardware thinking they're getting a great deal when in reality, they're getting junk. I also realize not everyone can afford to drop $2-3k on a nice safe but if you can't afford something solid now, don't waste the money you do have on something that is barely going to slow someone down.