We don't turn off water because we usually have someone watering plants and don't travel for extended periods when freezing is likely. We have friends that check on things for us and, in the event an off season freeze was expected, I'm sure they'd do whatever necessary to protect the pipes. We do turn off water to toilets after a friend returned home to a flood due to a faulty valve.

We bank online but, if you don't choose to, can you prepay many of your monthly bills? Once I did that with electric as the bill was due the day we left and we were going for a month. I looked at what it was that same month the year before, added a $50 cushion and paid with the previous month's bill.

I didn't answer your mail question. Since most of our lengthy trips are international, we have the post office hold our mail.

OK TDu - I won't tell to use online banking. But you should be able to access your bills online from anywhere - you might have to arrange with the company or utility to post them, then you can send in a check from anywhere but you may have to use an expidited mail.

As far as water, I assume you are going during the winter if you want to prevent freezing.If that is the case, ask your plumber about installing a temperature controlled thermal convection powered hot water recirculation valve. These can be set to a trigger temperature and when the trigger is hit, it will circulate warm water through all of your pipes. It will reach them all. If you do not want the cost of that, insulate your pipes in unheated areas or use heating tape on them with a thermostat, shut off the water supply, open all outside taps, keep your home temperature no colder than the mid 50's and open the doors in under sink cabinets on outside walls so that the warmth can circulate. The first option works best though.

If you are going not in cold weather, just shut off the water supply and hot water heater just in case. When you return though you may find the flapper in the toilet has dried out so you might have to replace it.

We work with our neighbors. While we do pay most of our bills in advance, some do not allow it, so we just put together the payments in envelopes and have our neighbor mail them for us. Same is true on picking up the mail. Oh, and this isn't a one-way street as we do the same for them when they travel in their RV so it works out well.

On the water bill, this pissed us off on our last trip. We always prepay the bill and it never is very much. Before we left we prepaid the norm for two full months, even though we would not be at our home for 3-4 weeks of the billing cycle. The week before we returned our neighbors luckily caught a notice on the door stating the town was going to "cut off our water" if we did not pay the $11 owed on the Feb. bill. Our neighbors paid it. When we returned we went to the water department demanding to know what was going on as the prepayment should have been far in excess of the normal usage. As it turns out, it was in reality, but they were too lazy to actually read the meter so they used the previous year number and estimated the same amount for 2012. They then told us that had they disconnected the water we would have had to pay a penalty. WHAT!?! I'll be running for mayor in the next election.

dave

I turn my water off at the street rather than the house, since I'm responsible for the pipe between the street and the house. I don't worry about pipes freezing, but I live in central NC. I let the town know when I'll be gone, and they put me on a different base water rate. (One time when I didn't tell them they thought my meter must be broken and installed a new one!)

I travel for months at a time, which is longer than the US Post Office will hold mail, so I have it forwarded to a friend. All my bills, except for lawn care, are on automatic bank draft. I send post-dated checks to the lawn care people.

FYI, my leaving home list is here: http://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com/2010/02/24/the-leaving-home-list/

I'm planning a trip next year but have already contacted some of my utility companies. Both have suggested I could pre-pay or could set up automatic billing.

With the auto billing you need to fill out a form provided by the company and they then automatically deduct the amount owed from the account you specify on the date the payment is due.

Both also stated that if I use online banking and notify them before I leave if my estimated payment doesn't quite cover the amount due, they would not shut off my utilities if I paid the past due amount promptly upon my return.

I used to have the same problem before on-line banking (I fought it too, but finally made the change - turns out it was easy and convenient). In the meantime, call the merchant/s before you leave and pay the estimate for that month before you leave. I've never had a problem with a merchant caring a balance forward. If you have a regularly occurring bill of a similar amount, just double up on the payment before you leave.

My basement water pipes are wrapped with some kind of insulation which is plugged into an electrical outlet. I keep this stuff plugged in during the colder parts of the winter because otherwise the pipes freeze overnight even when I'm at home.

I have the post office hold my mail until I return home. I usually pick it up at the post office. If I'm to be gone less than 2 weeks, I have the mail carrier bring it on the day of my return.

Several bills are paid automatically, either from my bank account. These include house payment, car insurance, gas and electricity. A couple of things automatically go on my Visa.

Great replies all. And thank you basingstoke for not doing that!

"A couple of things automatically go on my Visa."----would electric and cable companies do that?

FYI, when hub and I were gone, it was usually 2 weeks and one time, our return was going to miss a credit card due date. I called them and they changed the due date.

thursday will read your link. Thanks!

ps-Basingstoke, you said that the auto system recirulated warm water. Although all of our pipes are wrapped, the one line fartherest from heat will freeze. So I turn the tap on to drip, catch the water in my watering can, BUT was told to not use warm water. Why would there be a difference?

We have all of our utility bills, including internet provider, on Auto-Pay by debit from checking account or on a credit card. Have done this for many years without any problems. We take long international trips, 6 weeks.
Can't turn off our water as it's needed for irrigation. We have someone check our home weekly.
Our post office will only hold mail for 30 days. If in the US, I use Priority Forwarding if we're going to be away for an extended time, all mail is shipped to us in a Priority box once a week. If out of the country, after 30 days, I have mail delivered on a pre- arranged day and house checker comes and puts it inside house,the post office then continues to hold it for another 30 days.

Our gas and electric are automatically charged to my credit card, [even in a small town]. The water co isn't set up for that, so I simply pay a big amount, that I know will be more than sufficient, upfront.

Then one can go online and pay the credit card while I am traveling, but even that I have set up to be paid automatically via my bank account. And you can also pay MORE that you own on your credit card too, prepaying for it before you leave, so that even the card won't have to be paid.

As far as forwarding mail for a month or 2 - DON'T DO It! You will be chasing it all over the place. You might never see it. A hotel may or may not forward it back to you if it continues to get deliveries after you checkout. At an apartment, the owner may not even want you getting mail there.

Again, very interesting. And thanks again to those who DIDN'T suggest online stuff.

BTW, friends of mine who once lived on a boat used a mailing service. Since they were sailing with no special itinerary, it worked for them. The service has an address with a street name. When friends knew for sure about their next port, they called the service and the mail was delivered to the local P.O.

With internet, such a service is probably not needed anymore.

TDu - this type of system will reach even the furthest outreaches of your pipedom and mixes water from both the cold and hot water pipes so all are covered.

RE the mail -- currently the USPS will only hold your mail for 30 days. They used to hold it for longer if you got approval, but no longer per our postmaster in DC.

basingstoke -- about how much does a system like that cost?

Wre are normally gone for 5-6 weeks in June/July and 4 weeks in Sept Oct.

Just about all of our bills are charged to one of our credit cards, and all of our credit cards are automatically deducted from our Brokerage Account. The only recurring thing we pay is the gardener.

Someone checks our house from time to time.

At one time we had house-sitters - but they usually broke things - like the car, refrigerator, stove, bathroom faucet, toilet, and our cat!!! So we fired them.

Stu Dudley

Also check whether you need to alert your home and contents insurer of an extended absence.

We engaged a fellow Fodorite to house sit when we were away for a couple of months. We left a few signed cheques with her for "just in case". Prepaid the water, elec and phone bills before we left.

Too easy.

Re: Mail With Premium Mail Forwarding all of it goes in a large sealed box every Wednesday and you get it all on Friday or Saturday, no matter where we are in the US,Everything delivered to your address is included, even packages sent via US Mail.No piece of mail is indivually forwarded. Our mail carrier told us this was the only safe way to do it unless it's a permanent move. We only have it sent to one place and have done this for several years. It's expensive( a set up charge plus a weekly fee paid ($15.00? in advance) but worth it, peace of mind. We let the post office hold it the last 30 days if we're away for many months.

yestravel - as far as the system cost, I really do not know. It does not seem to be a difficult installation and I imagine what plumbers charge in your part of the country will determine that. Around here it is $100 just to show up.

Stu, they broke your cat??

HappyTrvlr, that sounds like what my friends had. Worked great for them.

You know what, I'm going to stay home!

>>Stu, they broke your cat??<<

Yep - cat stopped eating. Had a respitory problem plus couldn't poop. Lost 1/3 of his body weight. Our housekeepers didn't take him to the vet. After we got home I spent the next 3 days shuttling him from the daytime vet to the nightime vet so he could be monitored & IVs maintained. Didn't think he would survive - but he did. That was when we fired the housekeepers.

Stu Dudley

I've been thinking about this issue, too. I tend to use Amex as much as possible when overseas. (I'm surprised at how many hotels and shops do take this card in Italy and Spain..)

So how to pay that (possibly substantial) bill every month if one is on, for example, a 3-month overseas stay?

I'm assuming that one can pay this by US check at an Amex branch in an overseas city (??)

But what about smaller cities that may not have a dedicated Amex office, but do have an Amex rep at a travel agency. Can one pay bills there? For those using Amex, how do you work this?

I now pay my credit card bills online, directly from one or other of my checking accounts. Does Amex not allow that? Of course, I suppose that violates "no online banking".

Before I switched to this method I left signed checks with the friend fielding my mail. She was a trusted friend...

A very low tech solution (and the simplest)is to just prepay what you estimate the bills will be plus a $100 or so safety. All utilities allow you to overpay and to have a "credit" balance for your account.

@bardo1 - that's fine if you're only gone for a month or maybe two, but not for longer trips.

Auto Pay. Set it up once by sending a voided check along with a filled out form (ask for it from utility company). It can take a month or two to set up. From then on it will be automatically taken out of your checking account every month. We have it for utilities and when we had a mortgage did it for that also.

I prepay as many bills as possible usually utilities,cable,maintenance on co-op .For the bills that I do not prepay, I check the balance due on line and then email info to a very trusted nephew . I leave several presigned checks for him to fill in and mail in the preaddressed envelopes that I also leave.
For trips overseas my post office holds my mail for as long as I am gone.and then delivers it to me when I return from my trips.They have held it for as long as 45 days.When my trips are in the USA they forward all mail to me once a week to the address tha I have given them.
In the winter I completely winterize my home by turning off all water etc.



.

All of my bills (including credit cards) are simply withdrawn from my checking account or put on my credit card automatically each month. It's easy to setup online, BUT most (or all) of those can also be setup over the phone/by mail/in person.

My family live very close so it's easy for someone to stop by every couple of days to pick up the mail and drop it off in the house. That means that someone is in the house every few days to make sure nothing looks out of whack.

I've never turned the water off at my house, but I only travel for 2-3 weeks at a time and someone is in the house every couple of days to drop off mail. Leave the heat on at a decent temperature (45 is NOT enough of a buffer incase the power is out overnight) and the pipes should be fine. When I travel in winter I generally turn the heat down to about 55-60 and open the doors under my sinks so those pipes get more airflow. I generally check over the pipes that I can find and make sure that nothing looks stressed or leaky before I go. If I had any concerns that a pipe looked weakened/stressed or was leaky in the least then I'd call a plumber and definitely turn the water off before I left.

like onetwo, every credit card bill, homeowners insurance, medical insurance premium, newspaper, phone, electricity, gas, water, gym membership, ISP, etc is paid automatically - drawn against our Morgan Stanley brokerage account. About the only necessary payment that isn't automatic is our gardner, twice yearly property tax, and quarterly payment of estimated income tax. We pay our gardner in advance & the taxes in advance if we plan to be gone when they are due. We frequently are gone for 6 weeks, return home for 6 weeks, then gone again for 4 weeks. This has been going on for 14 years and so far no problems - except for the cat.

Stu Dudley

ekscrunchy, another interesting suggestion. Thanks!

IowaRedHead; We were on holiday in Mexico a few of years ago. We go for a month at a time. While sitting on the beach a woman told the story of how a small water valve under her powder room sink had failed during a week-end trip. In the two days they were gone, her entire finished basement filled with water nearly to the ceiling! It was a major disaster. I kept thinking and thinking about her story -- we had never shut off our water supply. I finally sent an email to my neighbor and asked her to go to our house and shut down the main water supply. Which she did. Returning home, I turned the main supply back on and about 5 minutes later we noticed water dripping from the ceiling in our finished basement. Turns out that we had a pin hole in one of the pipes -- a water circulating pipe, I might add. If we hadn't had the neighbor turn our water off, our house would have floated away in the month we were gone. I still thank that stranger on the beach for making me parinoid enough to take precautions. We never leave home without shutting down the water main now.

>>We were on holiday in Mexico <<

You sound like you might be from the UK

>>We never leave home without shutting down the water main now.<<

That wouldn't work here in California. Lawns, flowers, trees would wither & die without water 2 times a week in the summer months.

Stu Dudley

For bills that are fixed amounts, we leave envelopes with a posit on them as when they should be mailed.

The real issue is credit cards which you need while traveling. You should not only pay your bill in full but as someone mention add some extra. That way you cover the minimum bill for the next month.

We are lucky, one SIL loves to stay at our apartment in Manhattan when we are gone and takes care of everything.

"That wouldn't work here in California. Lawns, flowers, trees would wither & die without water 2 times a week in the summer months."

I live in North Carolina and much of mine (not trees) did die in the drought a few years back. Now I have drought-tolerant plantings. I've always let my lawn die off in the summer - grass wasn't intended to grow in this climate and I'm certainly not going to water it twice a week, here or not.

We've been talking about similar issues as we have a month long trip coming up. Utility bills we can - I think - prepay which will cover the period we're away. We've never considered turning off the water but after reading this maybe it's a good idea.

The post office here in Australia will hold our mail (no limit on how long) but our biggest problem is what to do about the junk mail and local papers which come twice a week, thrown on to the front lawn whether you want them or not. We will ask a neighbour or friend to collect I suppose.

If my husband mows the lawns just before we go it should last until we get back and not look too jungle like.

There are companies I have seen advertised in caravan magazines who will forward your mail anywhere you go. This is ideal for the many 'grey nomads' who caravan their way around Australia, for months or years at a time.

Kay

Stu....I live in beautiful Minnesota and we are away in the dead of winter, so no, the lawn isn't an issue. However, I would rather have dead landscaping than a flooded home.

The poor woman I mention above, had to have all the walls in her lower level removed and rebuilt after the water damage. In addition, her nasty home insurance company was sticky about the fact that the house was "left empty without sufficient care". (For a weekend! Really!) They balked at paying her claim. She finally won out, but it was a hassle. You know insurance companies, they will look for any way to keep from paying a claim.

Might you consider a way to keep the lawn water active, while shutting down the interior water?

Why not just use online banking, It is so easy . All my bills come in online and I pay online. We don't have a mailbox rather a slot in the front door. It is big enough to accomodate small packages. sINCE ALL THE bills come online the mail is mostly charity requests and magazines and JUNK!! We have 2 seperate water meters for house and lawn sprinklers. We have a very convenient outside shutoff valve for the inside water supply.I do turn the hot water heater off and unplug the garage door opener. We do turn off the pool pump as it is inclined to burn out if the basskets are full and it isn't getting water thru it. It only takes a great dose of chlorine when we get home to clear the water again in less than a day.

We always over pay our bills. Credit rating is a+ . To some this is odd, but my hubby was self employed and never knew what our income would be so we got in the habit of overpaying should there be a dry spell. Not for all, but our mortgage was paid when we retired early.

I contacted the utility companies and cable and phone companies when we were gone for 2 months. Some had vacation plans like the cable company so they actually suspended our TV service for those 2 months and you just tell them when you will be back. The utility companies had the same policy, you just pay the mininum. Of course, if in the summer and you need to have some AC or in winter, epending on where you live, to keep the pipes from freezing, you'll just pay what you use as normal.

Oh, another thing about the utility companies--there billing dates are so different and depending on when you go and when the billing dates are, you may be gone for 3 cycles, so that was another reason I contacted them. They then had it in their records, so would hold off on disconnecting my service although I did pay in advance for the cycles I would be gone.

Don't know if it's available where you are, but my mum used to do all her banking by phone. Would call up and tell them to pay x to this bill and y to that bill. Could transfer $$ between accounts. I have all my utility bills on direct debit- saves late fees and stamps.
Mind you once you've used online banking you will wonder why you resisted, I know I went in not keen on the idea, but love it now.