I make a list of all bills that I normally pay or that I know will come due in the time that I am on vacation. I pay off my credit cards and don't charge anything for a month before we go on an extended vacation. I also pay all utility bills right up until the night we leave. I have also put our insurance premiums on an annual payment basis, so that I know when those will come due and pay them before we leave. One year, when we were on an extended sabbatical leave, I had our house-sitter forward our mail once a week to us.

Patrick that is very nice to have a friend that would do that for you.

Yes, Katherine, I am truly blessed.

We travel for monthsat a time and use online banking . Most hotels we stay in have computer service so it's a cinch. Also 99% of all of the companies we use are online, so we check the bills and pay online. Computers make life so simple now, you can pay bills in Connecticut while lounging on the Riviera

For what it's worth, and at the risk of repeating what others have said:

1. I do all my bill-paying automatically through my bank. The bill comes in, it gets deducted from my checking account, I reconcile at the end of the month when I receive the statement - voilà! Doesn't matter whether I'm at home in the USA or in Timbuktu, the bills get paid as long as I put money in the checking account.

2. Whenever I plan a trip abroad, I call my credit card companies and let them know. This is to avoid the unpleasantness that can ensue when you go to check out of, say, an expensive hotel after a 5-day stay and have the concierge tell you "Sorry, but your charges have been denied," as happened to me once, of course on the occasion of checking out of one of the most expensive hotels I'd ever stayed at. A quick call to the 800 number of AMEX solved the problem, but still, I remember the embarrassment vividly - NYCFoodSnob would have cringed.

Most bills are due 30 days from receipt, so on a 17-day trip you shouldn't have to worry if you pay all accounts payable right before you leave, but perhaps setting up your accounts at your bank to pay automatically in the future will save you the hassle of worrying about getting bills paid on time whether you are in residence in the USA or on travel.

"most bills are due 30 days from receipt."

Maybe in your world, St. Cirq, but in my world most are done on a monthly billing cycle and if the cycle closes on the 30th of the month, I usually wouldn't get the bill until maybe the 6th. Then they have to receive payment several days before the next billing cycle -- say the 25th. That leaves just 19 days between receipt of the bill and the time it must be mailed back with payment. Maybe less. That's why those automatic debits are so handy.

Way back in the dark ages of the eary 80's my parents had all the cards. On an extended trip though Asia after a three year stint in India they had their Amex refused in Singapore.

The policy was pay at billing or else.

Their version of 'or else' was to cancel their Amex card and never use that company again.

Years later. Amex 'invented' pay as you go.

Let the customer speak.

For anyone who plans to do their banking at internet cafes, let me share something I read in a computer magazine.

There are thieves out there who install "keystroke memory software" on public computers. Everything you type can be recorded, including your account number and password. To prevent this from happening, instead of typing in these numbers/letters, copy and paste from elsewhere on the webpage or another document you have open. For example, if I needed a "7" then a "3" I'd copy the 7 from the first post on this thread, then a 3 from the date of that post.

Sounds paranoid and time consuming, but better safe than sorry!

Nutella, the way my credit card payments are set up, I don't have to enter any sensitive info. They already have my checking account number, which is where the money is transferred from. I just fill in the amount I want to pay, and authorize it. (and only the last 4 digits of my account even show on the screen)

Marilyn, yours is a good system. Sounds like mine is the opposite - logging onto my bank's website with the acct number, then actively requesting electronic checks to be written to my various creditors. More room for error and forgetfulness on my part. I should think about this!

Bill paying is a service (either temporary or permanent) offered by many CPA's. I know, because I am one.

Nutella, just to clarify, the system I described is a payment method offered by the credit card company (Citibank in this case). It is not a system set up by my bank to pay any and all bills. But since the credit cards are the most unforgiving about late payment (i.e., they will charge me interest) they are the most important to me to pay on time.

There are some companies like bill pay or pay trust or click pay that lets you pay any bill to any company and have a data base of all the major compaines for a little fee some are free for trial membership you can pay EFT or they send a check. You can also send a check to a faimly menber for their birthday check out www.billpay .com or www.clickpay .com www.paytrust. you set the date when the payment is made and you save on postage.

On paytrust you can have them receive all you bills and they download the bills so you can view your actual credit car statments/ bills and check balances or charges and you can manange your checking account from any computer with internet access.www.paytrust .com less mail to go thu when you return great for long trips. Great for taxes has it on reports.it your personel CPA

Got ya, Marilyn. Mine is the opposite. Citibank is my checking account. I log into their website and tell them to send checks to the phone company, the credit card, etc. It's a good system, as long as I remember to click Pay! Yours is good too, as long as you remember to have enough in your account when it's automatically deducted!