As you know, we love to travel. For this month, my posts are going to be about how we plan the day to day details of our upcoming cruise.
There is so much to do in the days before you leave on vacation. Here is a check list of what has to be done before we leave:
- Place a mail hold with the Post Office – we stop it one day before we leave just to make sure it’s done correctly. This typically can be done up to 30 days in advance.
- Stop the newspaper while you are away – we can automate a vacation stop with one call.
- Notify your neighbors and police – one quick call to each, so that your home can be watched. Our local police department will take your information and keep an eye out.
- Pay your bills ahead or schedule them to be paid from your account while you are traveling. You don’t want a missed payment or worse a late fee. Start the month before and make a note of the due date of each bill, keep a list so that a bill doesn’t get forgotten.
- Contact your debit and credit card companies and notify them that you are traveling to …. and on what dates. They will approve your charges especially if you are traveling internationally. Note this is not a prefect process. Have a back up plan just in case.
- For international travel, make sure to have some foreign currency with you ahead of time. We will have three separate currencies to deal with, so we typically get some of each before we leave. Make sure to get some small bills and coins as you will need these.
- For international travel, you can notify the State Department’s STEP program (Smart Traveler Enrollment Program). This service for US Citizens notifies the nearest embassies of your travel plans and contact information. They will contact you if necessary about events you need to know about.
Happy Travels!
Leave a Reply