Being a full-time traveler can be both busy and hectic. It’s hard to move from one location to the next, to the next, and keep everything aligned and organized. Read our top five tips and tricks for making each transition a little easier:
1. Take care of your mail. When it comes to dealing with mail delivery, you have a couple different options. A lot of travelers forward their mail temporarily. Visit your local post office and alert them that you will be gone for a certain amount of time. They will forward your mail to your new temporary address. It’s as simple as filling out a forwarding-address form. Make sure you list the specific dates in which you want your mail forwarded to the new address- when that time is up, mail will go back to your home address.
If you prefer an even easier route, as a close family member or friend to come by and collect your mail. It’s important that they come by daily, or every other day, so that your mail doesn’t stack up.
2. Suspend your newspaper subscription. While your friend or family member is collecting your mail, make sure they collect your newspaper from your driveway as well. Having your newspapers stack up in front of your house is very dangerous—it’s a sign to burglars that you are not home, and haven’t been for quite some time.
If you aren’t having a family member or friend collect your mail and newspapers, you can call your local newspaper service and temporarily suspend your subscription as well. There’s always the option to resume service when you return home, or you can catch up with the news online.
3. Notify your bank or financial institution. Banks strive to be very secure and reliable these days. It’s important to notify your bank that you will be in a different city making transactions for a specific amount of time. This way your bank will not flag your account for possible fraud. Without notifying your bank, multiple transactions in a different city than you reside may lead to a hold on your account while they investigate the matter. Certain banks, like Wells Fargo, can send you text messages asking you to authorize specific purchases as well.
4. Notify a family member or close friend of your itinerary. Being in a new city and state can be a big culture shock. Make sure that a family member or close friend knows where you are traveling to, and check in with them from time to time to ensure safety.
5. Withdraw cash & get change. You never know when you will come across toll booths while traveling; seldom to toll booths take cards (especially in the Midwest). So, save time and the hassle, get some cash and stash it away for these instances. Cash will also come in handy for tipping at restaurants and such along the way.
