US Mail

[14 months and counting]

My husband and I are planning our winter 2017 and plan to be away for 6o+ days. We are renting a house for a month and then embarking on a cruise for a month, so forwarding our mail in not an option. We have never been away that long and wonder how to deal with our mail. Usually, we put a 30 day hold on the mail and pick it up when we return. Our children live in the same state but are an hours drive away from us, so we are reluctant to involve them in the process. How do you handle this?

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

[lukydog]

I've never been in that situation, but maybe renting a good size post office box that would hold 60 days of mail would work?

[blizzardboy]

My husband and I are planning our winter 2017 and plan to be away for 6o+ days. We are renting a house for a month and then embarking on a cruise for a month, so forwarding our mail in not an option. We have never been away that long and wonder how to deal with our mail. Usually, we put a 30 day hold on the mail and pick it up when we return. Our children live in the same state but are an hours drive away from us, so we are reluctant to involve them in the process. How do you handle this?

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

Why don't you have it forwarded to your kids. They can deal with important stuff, hold the rest, and ship you a box upon your return.

[mame42]

My housekeeper has a key card for my condo building and a key to my condo. We usually plan for her to come several times during a long absense to check the condo and to do those tasks that she does not usually perform on a weekly visit (ie clean the chandeliers).

 

I leave my mail box key in a predetermined spot so she can empty the box each time she visits. If I have the mail held, I usually time it for midway during my absence.

 

I like the idea of renting a Post Office box, but that would entail an immediate trip to the Post Office to retrieve the mail upon my return, something not particularly appetizing after a long flight and a late night arrival home. I prefer to sort my mail with my morning coffee the day after my return.

[PatsyAnne]

We don't have anyone to handle our mail, and the post office won't hold it for more than a month. For long trips, we use a mail service offered by Good Sam that provides an address for us to forward our mail. We use a temporary forward from the post office, and then the service lets us go online to see who has sent us mail. We have the option to toss or hold each piece of mail. If it looks important, we request that they open and scan it, and we can download the scanned mail. (I found out about jury duty that way while we were on a trip, and was able to get the date changed.) At the end of the trip, we have the remaining mail sent to our home. I can't remember the official name for this type of service, but it's pretty common for RVers.

[Hlitner]

Great question. When we retired (over 10 years ago) we started taking multiple 2 month+ trips every year. Not having any family living nearby, we turned to the Post Office for help. While their official policy is to only hold mail for up to 30 days, our post office has been willing to hold for longer periods which is what we do. An alternative, if your post office refuses to hold, is to simply rent the smallest mail box at your post office and forward all your mail to that tiny box. When the box is full, they just hold everything in a box :). You can also rent a mailbox at other places such as some UPS stores, and have your mail forwarded.

 

As to bills and financial matters, we quickly moved to doing everything online. But we still have to deal with a few bills that cannot be done online and this does require some planning. For somebody facing this for the first time we recommend going back through your checkbook and credit card accounts for the past 2 years to identify anything that you might have forgotten that requires some planning.

 

One other issue. Our post office is willing to toss out most 3rd and 4th class mail if we request that in writing. This gets rid of a lot of unwanted junk mail, catalogs, etc...but you do run a risk of having them toss something you might have wanted.

 

Hank

[mountainmare]

We only leave for about six weeks and I discussed this with our postmistess. We live in a very small rural area but she suggested filling out two forms. We have our cat sitter collect one batch and we get the second when we get home. When we were away 5 weeks they just held it for us anyway. As I said, we're in an everybody knows everybody situation.

[summer slope]

We have our neighbors and/or cat sitter take care of our mail. We give them a bag/box and they put everything in there. We do the same for them. We have been gone up to 60 days at a time. This has worked well for us. All our utilities are auto pay and we only use 1 credit card so that bill is easily paid online.

[durangoscots]

I have a friend in town collect the mail. I put all my bills on auto-pay so she just goes by the condo every few days and dumps everything into a box which I collect from her on my return. My biggest problem is my car insurance .... I have her watch for that bill and pay it for me. Otherwise, I would probably have to make an agreement and leave a check with my agent.

 

Susan

[Krazy Kruizers]

I have a special checking account where all the utility bills are automatically paid.

The rest of our mail just goes through a slot in the garage door. I put a box there so that almost everything falls into it.

But I do like the idea where someone mentioned about having your mail forwarded to your one of your children.

[POA1]

The USPS has a service called Premium Forward. Check your local post office and see if they can combine a few weeks of it with a 30 day hold. You'll also want to try to set up as many of your accounts for paperless billing and online statements as you can. We used to split our time between Maine and Florida, so we have some experience. With a little bit of planning, you can do up to 7 months with ease.

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

What I do is have mail forwarded to family, they then post back so it arrives a day after I get back,

 

However I also run a business so when away I use a virtual office where by

 

they take my mail and phone calls are also diverted to them.

 

I leave instructions, if A calls give this message, if B calls give him this message,

 

If a letter from this company arrives post it to C or a package call D to collect.

 

yours Shogun

[cb at sea]

For longer than the 30 days, I'd have it held, then have a neighbor pick up that month's stuff....and then start over again! You can put in 2 "hold" orders at one time. That way, a neighbor is only inconvenienced once!

[rkacruiser]

I have used the USPS Premium Mail Forwarding Service several times and have no complaints about it. It can be attached to the "free" 30 day mail holding period at the end so your most recently held mail will need to be picked up at your local post office. I have my mail sent to my friend who picks me up at the airport when I return and she brings the box(es) of mail with her (or puts them in my condo the day before I arrive) and the mail boxes and I arrive home at the same time.

 

For long trips, one really needs to set up automatic debits from one's accounts for all regularly occuring bills. This avoids the concern about missing payments due. Of course, the account from which the bills are to be paid needs to be properly funded.

[CaveDiving]

We cruise around six months each year, so we have developed our own system.

 

Over a few years, we have changed our address on virtually all of our mail to the Escapees RV Club Mail forwarding Service. So just about all of our mail goes to the mail forwarding service in Livingston, Texas. When we're home, they forward the mail to us once a week. When we're cruising, they forward the mail to the port agent in San Diego or Ft. Lauderdale if we'll be there for a day between B2B cruises. For longer cruises, they will hold the mail (for six months if necessary.)

 

All of our regular monthly bills are charged to a Visa card. Then once a month, I download and study the Visa bill. If I agree with the charges, I pay the Visa bill on line from my checking account. This system seems to work for us.

 

Scott & Karen

[Flatbush Flyer]

My husband and I are planning our winter 2017 and plan to be away for 6o+ days. We are renting a house for a month and then embarking on a cruise for a month, so forwarding our mail in not an option. We have never been away that long and wonder how to deal with our mail. Usually, we put a 30 day hold on the mail and pick it up when we return. Our children live in the same state but are an hours drive away from us, so we are reluctant to involve them in the process. How do you handle this?

 

 

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

 

We live in an urban area with a great REGULAR mail delivery person. But, there are days when she has a substitute. Even if the sub might be equally great, doing a "hold" on mail, which is nothing more that an advertisement that "no one is home," is a very bad idea. Have a trusted neighbor retrieve you mail and return the favor. As for bills, monitor and pay them online.

[SusieKIslandGirl]

We cruise around six months each year, so we have developed our own system.

 

 

All of our regular monthly bills are charged to a Visa card. Then once a month, I download and study the Visa bill. If I agree with the charges, I pay the Visa bill on line from my checking account. This system seems to work for us.

 

Scott & Karen

 

My question is how do you securely pay your bill on line? We'll be gone for over a month next year and I can plan for everything except for the Visa bill. Not sure how secure the ship's internet is-or maybe I am and don't want to do it.

 

For everyone planning on forwarding their mail, make sure you check the Temp. Forward box and put in an end date.

[Keith1010]

My husband and I are planning our winter 2017 and plan to be away for 6o+ days. We are renting a house for a month and then embarking on a cruise for a month, so forwarding our mail in not an option. We have never been away that long and wonder how to deal with our mail. Usually, we put a 30 day hold on the mail and pick it up when we return. Our children live in the same state but are an hours drive away from us, so we are reluctant to involve them in the process. How do you handle this?

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

We have been away for 100+ days several times.

 

First, visit your post office and speak with the postmaster. Sometimes they will hold your mail beyond the 30 days. It varies by post office.

 

This is what we do though. We fill out on line a temporary move form. This allows our mail to be forwarded to our daughter/son in laws home and they also live around one hour from us. They keep it all in a large bag for us. Third Class (junk mail) does not forward which for us is god so we don't come home to so much mail with a lot cluttered with junk. We have been very pleased with this arrangement and have done this for several years. If you go this route, we put the on line request (you can also do it hard copy at the post office) ten days before the start of our trip as it takes about a week for it all to go into effect.

 

Keith

[take us away]

Have also used the US Postal Service has a temporary forward option which can be used for up to 6 months. Have successfully used this and had the mail sent to me sister as no family in town to pick up the mail. Did have to renew at 5 months for another few months when gone for >9 months. All you need to do is stop it when you get back. Best part is it is all done on the website.

 

The UPSP is not supposed to notify senders of the forwarding address but some did sneak thru so had to change a few addresses back when I returned.

 

For this WC I am having a neighbor pick up the mail as we have adjoining locked mail boxes, and provided prepaid USPS mailing boxes and envelopes to have him send the 1st class mail to my sister just in case something needs attention.

 

To pay my credit cards, as do not trust the security on board or definitely not in a port, I gave my sister electronic access to the cards. She knows the bills that automatically post and I send an email when I use the card(s) and the amount charged so she can monitor before payment. Was 'burned' on both over and extra charges a few years ago at a port shop so quit having the cards automatically paid. Some cards will allow a prepayment or an auto-payment per month option (have one card with each option) so you can just add money to at least cover an estimate of the minimum payment for the month or take a guess at what you may charge for the time you will be gone and add that.

Edited November 13, 2015 by take us away

[14 months and counting]

Thank you for all your suggestions - so many good ideas. As always, I have learned a great deal from my very savvy fellow cruisers.

[Fouremco]

My question is how do you securely pay your bill on line? We'll be gone for over a month next year and I can plan for everything except for the Visa bill. Not sure how secure the ship's internet is-or maybe I am and don't want to do it.

 

For everyone planning on forwarding their mail, make sure you check the Temp. Forward box and put in an end date.

I use a VPN to pay bills securely online when travelling for an extended period of time. There are many out there, including some decent free ones. If the only time you'll use it is when cruising, one of the free ones will probably meet your needs. This is a recent overview by PC Magazine:

 

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2390381,00.asp

[Keith1010]

My question is how do you securely pay your bill on line? We'll be gone for over a month next year and I can plan for everything except for the Visa bill. Not sure how secure the ship's internet is-or maybe I am and don't want to do it.

 

For everyone planning on forwarding their mail, make sure you check the Temp. Forward box and put in an end date.

 

There are a couple of options.

 

What I do is we have our credit card payment set up so that it is automatically paid with our checking account. Very easy to set up and if one needs assistance one of the customer service reps can help you on the phone.

 

For us one of the greatest things we've done because we went on several 100 day trips is to automate everything and even when we are home it's a pleasure.

 

Essentially all bills except for our lawn service are automated.

 

Several bills are automatically paid by credit card with a few exceptions where they are paid by the checking account. And the credit cards are automatically paid by the checking account. We eliminated all paper copies of statements as well.

 

Very easy to do.

 

I do monitor all my credit cards daily and my checking account when we travel and when we are at home.

 

While not required I bring my own computer with me so when we are on the ship I use it from my room and when we are on land I use it from the hotel.

 

I've been doing this since 2007 and we have been on eight trips of 100 or more days and this has worked like a charm.

 

Keith

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

We have the mailed forward to a friend and all bills are paid on auto pay ..

[mor mor]

Last year we went on the wonderful Grand Asia, and rented a PO box for the time to collect our mail. BIG MISTAKE. The post office notified everyone that we had changed our address, though we marked it temporary, and we are still straightening out that mess. Magazines, real estate taxes, everything....Now we hire someone to pick up our mail.

[CaveDiving]

My question is how do you securely pay your bill on line?...

 

I simply go into the Visa website (which is supposedly secure) to pay my bill by saying use the bank account record they have on file. The only possible compromise of information might be my Visa number and internet password. If that happens and some fraudulent charges appear on the next month’s statement, I simply notify the Visa card, tell them the charges are not mine and have the charges removed from my account. This would be basically the same procedure as if my card were compromised at a store or restaurant.

 

By the way, I personally believe that the best fraud protection a person can have is an excellent credit rating. With a high FICA score, the banks will believe you about fraudulent charges while with a poor score, they may be far more doubtful.

 

Scott & Karen