problem of mail

[AlCar]

Planning trip to Alaska in 2014. In the past, we have been gone mostly 2-3 weeks at a stretch and pick up our mail when we get home. The only down side to this is every once in a while I end up paying a late fee on the cards because I missed the deadline by not planning the trip careful enough. It is not much but I figure it will add up on this trip. So, how do people handle this situation? I am afraid to many late fees will eventually hit my credit score and I would like to avoid that problem.

[2oldman]

OP is gone.

[sue_t]

When we take extended trips, I keep track of how much we're putting on the credit card and pay it off a few days before the due date using online banking.

We try to use the debit card as much as possible though so the $$ are paid direct rather than being charged.

Utility bills are sent to me via email and I pay before the due date. Only one utility bill now comes in by mail, so I guesstimate that one and pay a bit more than I figure is due.

Because we now live in the bush with a GPS coordinate for an address :B I rely on online services much more than in the past. Works great for travel too.

[Butch50]

This year when we went to AK we used online payments (have been doing this for years) and had our mail forwarded to our local UPS store where they have mail boxes. We could call them and have them check for us what was in our mail box and decide it we wanted it sent us. We would just find a UPS store that was going to be in the area the same time as we were and have our local send it to us there. Works great. We also used this method when we worked on the road for a number of years.

[joe_b_]

I use the same basic method whether I am home or on the road in the RV. The credit union where we do most of our banking offers no charge ebill paying, which we use. Our retirements checks arrive in the bank by direct deposit and we have a schedule of when they are to be sent out. So on or near that date each month, we just plan to be in a location that has good cell service or good wifi. On a trip to Alaska, I don't think I have ever been more than a day or two from wifi service, especially in Canada. Several years back the Canadian government put in Internet services into every small community that didn't have it. Sometimes it is found at the community library or town hall. Free to use.

But on our trips to Alaska, I just plan to be somewhere on or about the 25 of the month to pay our bills. The bills just don't vary much from month to month so I carry a list of whom to pay and approx. how much. Our house payment is the same, as is the truck payment, etc. so I don't even need to check on these. Our stick house is all electric and doesn't vary much so often I will just send them a fixed amount each month, a bit more than what I think it will be.

If we are at a place with good cell service, I will turn on the hot spot on my iPhone and run my laptop off of that signal, more secure than a public wifi but I have never had a problem with any of the services since my bank uses encrypted data transmission as do most. For someone to hack into my account, they first have to hack the cell phone signal, then hack the encrypted data method of the bank and then they might be able to view my bank account. Most would probably feel so sorry for me having so little money, they might donate some money to my account. LOL

Over the years I have figured out about where I want to be at bill paying time. Often I will use Great Falls Montana, then have used Whitehorse YT, Watson Lake RV's wifi, Valdez, Fairbanks, either at the campground if their wifi is working or my cell service, in the past I have also used the parking lot at Pike's Landing Lodge or at the Assembly of God church on Airport Rd. in the evenings.

Our 36 YO daughter that lives in the same town we do is also signatory to one of our "petty cash" accounts if we need her to pay some local bill. But I don't remember ever having her do any bill pay for us. Since I know what our bills are each month, even if I didn't have access to the Internet, I can write checks, which I carry with, and drop them off at the nearest post office in the US or Canada. My wife and I bank both in Florida and Alaska. We have banked in Fairbanks for over 40 years with telephone service, Internet, I went over 13 years without ever walking into one of their buildings in Alaska. Even when we are in Fairbanks I have no reason to go inside any of the credit union buildings. We use their no charge ATM machines around the area if we need cash.

I do carry a small printer to print out my monthly bank statements as I prefer to balance my accounts by hand. My daughters both give me a hard time about this, as I am more of a gadget person than they are. LOL

[resmas]

I haven't written a check for a utility bill in about 10 years. Anything and everything that I have to pay monthly is set up to automatically deduct out of my checking account. I don't have to do a thing. Wouldn't have it any other way!

The only thing I write checks for anymore are the kid's school lunches (because if I pay them online, I get charged a 6% "convenience fee"!!!!) and my horses' farrier. A box of checks lasts me close to 2 years!

[Canadian_Rainbi]

sch911 wrote:
You need to move to the credit card web sites. Setup your accounts and pay direct from your bank. Very safe.....

Been doing that for years, we're away almost 6 months at a time. If anything urgent appears to be in the mail at home we get the house sitters to forward it DHL

[Islandman]

Have your utility and insurance bills automatically deducted from your checking account, do this all the time (not juat when you're RVing) so you're not bothered with watching for them in the mail. At the end of the month or whenever your bank statement comes, reconcile the amounts charged to your account. Regarding your credit card bills, call up the card issuing firm at the end of the month and after finding out what is due, have them deduct from your checking account. I prefer doing this stuff by telephone rather than computer 'cause getting online is sometimes difficult in remote locations.

[2gypsies1]

We would also advise to set up all your bill paying via automatic deduction from your checking account. No worries.

Or leave some checks with a family member and have them collect your mail and pay your bills for you.

If you do have mail shipped to you, plan on your first shipment going to Tok, Alaska. Everyone has to pass through Tok going and leaving Alaska. Have it addressed to you, c/o General Delivery, Tok, Alaska (and the zip code). We always use Priority Mail. Allow 5 days to get to you. Then you can have additional mail sent to you the same way as you're traveling in Alaska but pick a small town - not Anchorage or Fairbanks. As full-timers, we've had mail sent via General Delivery all across the country, including Alaska, for 16 years.

Definitely don't plan on having mail sent to Canada or the Yukon. It has to go through customs and it can take weeks to get.

Have a great trip!

[Dog_Folks]

Auto Pay

[Community Alumni]

Like many others, I have all my bills, including the 3 credit cards that we travel with, set up electronically to facilitate paying them online. I keep a log on my computer for which payments are due when. We are typically gone for stints of 3 months at a time and I have never missed a bill.

[2oldman]

Now we all anxiously await the OP's response.

[Artum_Snowbird]

Call everyone of the bills you can think of, and get them to tell you about how they will submit your bill to you without mail. Usually, it is just to your email, but there are options. Then have them set up your payment that will either take it from your Visa credit card, or directly out of your checking account. Some are getting picky about paying with your Visa because they have to pay the fee to process, but it's not an issue as long as you maintain a balance in your account.

Then go online and keep up with it regularly so you know who is paid, and who is not. Sometimes what seems like a given will not work, so be a good creditor and fix it before they call you and ask what is wrong.

[gmctoyman]

Online & Escapees mail service.

[gafidler]

OnLine bill pay, daughter takes care of everything else, pick up medicine and forward to us, ETC.