I would like to hear from people about how they handle their personal business (bankning, paying bills, etc.) when taking extended vacations. If you are out of the country for a month or a few months, how did you take care of this? On line options won't always be available so I would like to hear about others you have used successfully. Thanks!tions appreciated.

i will pay two mortgage payments if we will be away for an extended period. thank goodness for direct deposit and online banking, bill payments, etc.

Well we have most of our payment s automatically deucted from our checking account every month anyway. (Mortgage, car payment, student loan payments) That way it really doesn't matter if we are here or not and direct deposit for our paychecks. I'm not sure what other bills you would be speaking of except maybe credit card? I would call the credit card company and advise them ahead of time and make a large enough payment before I leave that there would be no minimum payment due the next month even if there is a balance.

You can also have utilities deducted directly from your checking account or arrange for them to be charged to you credit card. Iwouldn't see that as a problem.

I've only gone for about a month or a little more at a time, and I just double-paid the bill the previous month to cover the next one. I don't have that many bills -- a few utilities and mortgage, so it wasn't that much trouble. I know pretty well from prior history about what my utility bill will be during a certain month, so I estimate it and add on a little to be on the safe side. My pay check gets deposited directly into my checking account. Even if I were going for three months, I would do that as my utility bills aren't that big that it would make much difference and when you are away from home, utility costs are pretty minimal. I don't like anyone deducting things automatically from my checking account, so I don't allow any company to do that. If I really were gone a very long time and had major bills to consider, I suppose I might reconsider that, but my utilities only run about $60 total a month, anyway (gas+electricity+water+phone), except in winter when the heat is on more.

the best really is to have auto deductions and deductions. however, if you don't to do that and don't want to pay before your pay gets deposited, write the checks and leave them with a friend or co-worker. Put a postit on the front of each envelope with the day it should be mailed. I always date it a little early, just in case they forget.

For credit cards or utilities, estimate the amounts. You can leave a few extra envelopes for the credit card companies with $500 checks in them. If you get the feeling you are spending more than originally estimated, the friend can send those in.